What's your HHI and how deferential are you to your DC in school selection?

[Anonymous]

HHI was $38K / year when our oldest child - who starts college this fall - was born. HHI is much higher than that now, of course, and over the course of the past seventeen years we have saved for all of our DCs entire college tuition in 529 plans.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm a little schocked by some of what I'm reading in this forum, and I suspect it's because you people are simply far wealthier than I am. So out of curiosity:

1. What's your HHI?

2. Are you paying the tuition or are the grandparents helping out (did someone leave money for this purpose)?

3. Scholarships or financial aid?

4. Did you set any financial guidelines RE: school selection? If so, what were they?

5. Will you give your kid a monthly allowance?

6. Do you expect your kid to have a PT gig during school (and over the summer)?

1. $215k, both parents working, 2 kids

2. We are paying for college ourselves.

3. Our EFC (based on FFASA) is ~$45k, so our teen qualifies for some financial aid at schools that pledge to meet 100% need. However, we don't feel we can afford anything close to this amount. We think about $30k per year per kid (4 years each) is reasonable for us. (Our kids won't be in college at the same time.)

4. We absolutely set financial guidelines re school selection. We told DC what we could afford, which would limit DC to in-state options or private schools that offered enough merit aid to bring the cost down to what we could afford. So DC did not apply to any schools that offer only financial aid (which meant skipping most of the top schools).

5. Not sure yet how we will handle spending money. DC has money saved from last year's summer job and will work again this summer. We will figure out what seems like a reasonable monthly spending allowance and supplement if DC does not have enough saved.

6. I would like DC to get a part time job at school if possible. And of course DC will be working this summer. In the future, we will weigh the merits of jobs/internships--I am willing to consider subsidizing DC if an amazing unpaid or low paid internship is on the table. It will depend on the costs and potential benefits.

This is us, as well, similar HHI and same approach. We can go up to about $40K/year (it would be a stretch).

I'm astonished at those able to pay full sticker price at expensive schools on similar incomes to ours. We have saved aggressively and there is no way we could pay $60K+ year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm a little schocked by some of what I'm reading in this forum, and I suspect it's because you people are simply far wealthier than I am. So out of curiosity:

1. What's your HHI?

2. Are you paying the tuition or are the grandparents helping out (did someone leave money for this purpose)?

3. Scholarships or financial aid?

4. Did you set any financial guidelines RE: school selection? If so, what were they?

5. Will you give your kid a monthly allowance?

6. Do you expect your kid to have a PT gig during school (and over the summer)?

1. $215k, both parents working, 2 kids

2. We are paying for college ourselves.

3. Our EFC (based on FFASA) is ~$45k, so our teen qualifies for some financial aid at schools that pledge to meet 100% need. However, we don't feel we can afford anything close to this amount. We think about $30k per year per kid (4 years each) is reasonable for us. (Our kids won't be in college at the same time.)

4. We absolutely set financial guidelines re school selection. We told DC what we could afford, which would limit DC to in-state options or private schools that offered enough merit aid to bring the cost down to what we could afford. So DC did not apply to any schools that offer only financial aid (which meant skipping most of the top schools).

5. Not sure yet how we will handle spending money. DC has money saved from last year's summer job and will work again this summer. We will figure out what seems like a reasonable monthly spending allowance and supplement if DC does not have enough saved.

6. I would like DC to get a part time job at school if possible. And of course DC will be working this summer. In the future, we will weigh the merits of jobs/internships--I am willing to consider subsidizing DC if an amazing unpaid or low paid internship is on the table. It will depend on the costs and potential benefits.

This is us, as well, similar HHI and same approach. We can go up to about $40K/year (it would be a stretch).

I'm astonished at those able to pay full sticker price at expensive schools on similar incomes to ours. We have saved aggressively and there is no way we could pay $60K+ year.

PP here. We could go up to $40k as well, if DC and we borrow. I prefer not to do this because we will be almost 60 by the time DC2 finishes college (too old to be taking on debt IMO) and because I suspect DC1 will go to grad school and will need to borrow for that (because we will not be paying for it). Better to go without debt for undergrad, IMO.

[Anonymous]

1. What's your HHI? Upper 6 figures.

2. Are you paying the tuition or are the grandparents helping out (did someone leave money for this purpose)? We are.

3. Scholarships or financial aid? No.

4. Did you set any financial guidelines RE: school selection? If so, what were they? Not really -- has to be worth the money in the sense of having very strong academics in DC's likely field(s). No party schools or finishing schools.

5. Will you give your kid a monthly allowance? Yes or maybe a lump sum each semester.

6. Do you expect your kid to have a PT gig during school (and over the summer)? No, but do assume DC will do internships/research related to future career. So choices will be based on experience rather than income generation.

Also plan to contribute to grad/professional school expenses, so DC starts off debt-free. We expect DC to be self-supporting post-education but want to create a situation where DC can choose a career based primarily on interest rather than income. It really sucks that college costs (and admissions requirements at the best state schools) have gotten so daunting that it's a luxury to be able to do that now. A generation ago, my parents were able to do that for three kids, even after having put themselves through college by working days and studying nights. On their income today, I think all three would end up leaving school with mortgage-level college debt, even after having chosen colleges based on cost.

[Anonymous]

Should add that I needed to earn spending money during summers -- so no unpaid internships or monthly allowances. And no parental contributions toward grad school in my case. (DH had some of each). But the basic deal -- choose whatever work you want so long as you're willing to live on the income it provides -- was the same from my POV.