Just calculated projected college costs for my kid and almost vomited

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:WHY ARE WE accepting this?????

It’s complete bullshit. Next on agenda: college reform. It’s absolutely immoral.

Them we can't accept the rich getting richer either, which by and large we do. Mostly because we benefit or think we do from that. We would also not accept any benefits of inflated housing prices. I agree with you on reform, but it would take systemic economic and social reform. Are you ready for that?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We did the prepaid for our site college. Then are saving for room and board and graduate school in a 529. We will not even consider privates.

So with the prepaid option, what happens if your kid doesn't want to go there or doesn't get in? Do you lose the money?

In MD, we can cash it out and use it for any college. MD has multiple state schools so child should get into one, just may not be UMD. Thankfully my kid so far wants to go.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That seems awfully high. The most expensive colleges we’ve seen are $70K a year so $280 for four years currently. Even 15 years out that seems high.

OP here. I was surprised too, but that's what Vanguard said.

I agree with the PP who said it's unacceptable. I struggle to imagine more than a small handful of families who can pay today's tuition without struggling, much less the projected tuition costs 15 years out. Something has a give at some point.

I doubt they will get that high with state schools and those private investment companies are doing a money grab. But, bottomline is save. State schools are no where near that price you posted. We live in a small house/low mortgage and save (plus the prepaid so if something happens we know we have tuition paid for). Tuition prepaid was maybe $40-50K.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That seems awfully high. The most expensive colleges we’ve seen are $70K a year so $280 for four years currently. Even 15 years out that seems high.

OP here. I was surprised too, but that's what Vanguard said.

I agree with the PP who said it's unacceptable. I struggle to imagine more than a small handful of families who can pay today's tuition without struggling, much less the projected tuition costs 15 years out. Something has a give at some point.

Yes of course that’s what Vanguard said because they want you to invest as much money with them as possible. It’s not happening. You tuhonk colleges are going to be able to file their classes with people paying that much. No.

[Anonymous]

To be clear to folks questioning the projections: They aren't mine. Of course they might be wrong, but they assume a 5% per year increase, which Vanguard said is roughly what's been happening in recent years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:She's 3. I used the Vanguard calculator and it came out with the following projected tuition costs:

Public in state: $196,681
Public out of state: $343,454
Less expensive private: $446,837
More expensive private (so the ones that now cost around $60K/year): $539,392

We make a good living and have one kid, but how the hell are we supposed to be able to afford these tuition costs?! To get to the public in-state option, and assuming no appreciation from investment options, we'd have to put away roughly $1100/month starting now. Well, we pay for preschool and have a mortgage, so that isn't happening at all easily. Saving for the most expensive private universities would require putting away $3000/month starting now.

Someone tell me how the hell people do this.

I was like you when I was starting out with a new-born daughter. Then everything turned upside down after a divorce. I had no savings to speak of. I had to stop my retirement contribution, even if that meant losing out on a 5% employer contribution. Long story short is I am now sending my daughter to an Ivy League. Most of my daughter’s life, I was too overwhelmed by bills to even plan college savings. Things worked out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That seems awfully high. The most expensive colleges we’ve seen are $70K a year so $280 for four years currently. Even 15 years out that seems high.

OP here. I was surprised too, but that's what Vanguard said.

I agree with the PP who said it's unacceptable. I struggle to imagine more than a small handful of families who can pay today's tuition without struggling, much less the projected tuition costs 15 years out. Something has a give at some point.

I doubt they will get that high with state schools and those private investment companies are doing a money grab. But, bottomline is save. State schools are no where near that price you posted. We live in a small house/low mortgage and save (plus the prepaid so if something happens we know we have tuition paid for). Tuition prepaid was maybe $40-50K.

I did tuition prepaid about 15 years ago and it was half what you are saying now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That seems awfully high. The most expensive colleges we’ve seen are $70K a year so $280 for four years currently. Even 15 years out that seems high.

OP here. I was surprised too, but that's what Vanguard said.

I agree with the PP who said it's unacceptable. I struggle to imagine more than a small handful of families who can pay today's tuition without struggling, much less the projected tuition costs 15 years out. Something has a give at some point.

Yes of course that’s what Vanguard said because they want you to invest as much money with them as possible. It’s not happening. You tuhonk colleges are going to be able to file their classes with people paying that much. No.

College Board's calculator produces roughly the same results:

Public in-state: $192,000
Public out of state: $304,000
Private: $378,000 (for those that cost about $40,000/year now)
Privates that now cost around $60K: $537,000

Link: https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/pay-for-college/college-costs/college-costs-calculator#results

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:She's 3. I used the Vanguard calculator and it came out with the following projected tuition costs:

Public in state: $196,681
Public out of state: $343,454
Less expensive private: $446,837
More expensive private (so the ones that now cost around $60K/year): $539,392

We make a good living and have one kid, but how the hell are we supposed to be able to afford these tuition costs?! To get to the public in-state option, and assuming no appreciation from investment options, we'd have to put away roughly $1100/month starting now. Well, we pay for preschool and have a mortgage, so that isn't happening at all easily. Saving for the most expensive private universities would require putting away $3000/month starting now.

Someone tell me how the hell people do this.

That's for 4 years, right?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:She's 3. I used the Vanguard calculator and it came out with the following projected tuition costs:

Public in state: $196,681
Public out of state: $343,454
Less expensive private: $446,837
More expensive private (so the ones that now cost around $60K/year): $539,392

We make a good living and have one kid, but how the hell are we supposed to be able to afford these tuition costs?! To get to the public in-state option, and assuming no appreciation from investment options, we'd have to put away roughly $1100/month starting now. Well, we pay for preschool and have a mortgage, so that isn't happening at all easily. Saving for the most expensive private universities would require putting away $3000/month starting now.

Someone tell me how the hell people do this.

That's for 4 years, right?

Yes, that's total tuition for 4 years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:She's 3. I used the Vanguard calculator and it came out with the following projected tuition costs:

Public in state: $196,681
Public out of state: $343,454
Less expensive private: $446,837
More expensive private (so the ones that now cost around $60K/year): $539,392

We make a good living and have one kid, but how the hell are we supposed to be able to afford these tuition costs?! To get to the public in-state option, and assuming no appreciation from investment options, we'd have to put away roughly $1100/month starting now. Well, we pay for preschool and have a mortgage, so that isn't happening at all easily. Saving for the most expensive private universities would require putting away $3000/month starting now.

Someone tell me how the hell people do this.

That's for 4 years, right?

Yes, that's total tuition for 4 years.

I suspect that includes room and board too

[Anonymous]

So, just to make you feel a tiny bit better....I have a rising Freshman in college. Back when he was an infant, I was running the same numbers and getting the same types of projections (in early 2000s dollars) and the numbers seemed just so bonkers and unattainable.

We started slowly, with what we could afford. Like $50/month. It was better than nothing, then we bumped it up as we could. When daycare ended, we stepped it up to $350/month for years. In just the last year, I doubled that.

Today, he has $80k in his account. Compared to many of the Richie Riches here, that doesn't seem like much. BUT--if we continue to contribute our current $700/month to his college, along with that 529 month, we easily cover his in-state tuition, room and board.

And unlike when I went to college, merit scholarships, particularly at privates, are a BIG part of the equation. Do not blanket rule out privates, as you may find they deeply discount and end up the same as UVA for your kid. I see those stories all over the place. It's a norm. Basically, don't accept the first offer if your kid has the stats a school wants.

Of course, Ivies and the big, popular schools are an entirely different story.

But we didn't find it to be the horror story that we expected it to be. Not to say things won't change in the next 20 years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:WHY ARE WE accepting this?????

It’s complete bullshit. Next on agenda: college reform. It’s absolutely immoral.

Them we can't accept the rich getting richer either, which by and large we do. Mostly because we benefit or think we do from that. We would also not accept any benefits of inflated housing prices. I agree with you on reform, but it would take systemic economic and social reform. Are you ready for that?

There is a lot of dead wood jobs on college campuses. I have a number of friends who work on college campuses who are not professors and have nothing to do with students but fly around and go to meetings.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:She's 3. I used the Vanguard calculator and it came out with the following projected tuition costs:

Public in state: $196,681
Public out of state: $343,454
Less expensive private: $446,837
More expensive private (so the ones that now cost around $60K/year): $539,392

We make a good living and have one kid, but how the hell are we supposed to be able to afford these tuition costs?! To get to the public in-state option, and assuming no appreciation from investment options, we'd have to put away roughly $1100/month starting now. Well, we pay for preschool and have a mortgage, so that isn't happening at all easily. Saving for the most expensive private universities would require putting away $3000/month starting now.

Someone tell me how the hell people do this.

That's for 4 years, right?

Yes, that's total tuition for 4 years.

I suspect that includes room and board too

OP here. I'm not sure that it does. For example, it assumes a tuition for the expensive privates of $60K and projects off of that. Does that $60K today include room and board?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:WHY ARE WE accepting this?????

It’s complete bullshit. Next on agenda: college reform. It’s absolutely immoral.

But wait, free education is socialism. We don't want to be like socialist Germany or socialist Scandinavia.