Looking back, do you wish your child attended the least expensive college?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What I find odd is how much parents on here think of college as trade school. College was such an important coming of age time in my life. I am so glad I went where I went and met my dearest friends. If my parents had just been focused on ROI I think it would have taken a lot away from it. I did well enough, went to la good aw school, and have had a successful life, but it was never totally about that. I hope my teenagers find a place where they can connect with friends, faculty, and the whole thing, and learn and grow as people. I am not obsessed with the ROI equation.

Did the parents on here have fun in college?

I went to a top public before anyone chimes in with how I am just a product of privilege.

why do you assume the two are mutually exclusive? i AM focused on roi, because besides my house, it's the most expensive thing i'll ever "purchase." and my kids do not have a trust, nor will we be supporting them financially post-graduating, so yes, should they choose to go to a $90k/year university with no real thought to how they're going to provide for themselves afterwards...yea, that's a problem. also, if my kids are incapable of "connecting with friends, faculty, and the whole thing" or growing as a person unless they're attending some exclusive $90k/year school, i'd feel like i had failed as a parent. raising independent children/adults who can bloom where they are planted is a big deal to me. to each his own though.

Not mutually exclusive, but I seldom see people on here with what I consider to be a more grounded view.

To help me not solely focus on ROI, I work at a university that will pay 55% of my kids' tuition at any school. There are ways to take the pressure off of your kids if you strategize a bit.

Oh interesting, which university may I ask? Many only offer a tuition reduction at that university and a select few offer a pay-out opportunity, such as CMU, where my BIL works.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's pretty cringy when people throw around Cost of Attendance to exaggerate costs. Unless you're super rich you're not paying $85,000 a year for UChicago, nor are middle class people taking out "six figures" of loans for their child's undergrad. Most financial aid students at flagship state schools leave with $30k or so in loans. That's frankly not a big deal -- unless your kid flunks out. I believe the starting median salary for a bachelor's is now around $60k (?), so an average kid can easily pay off $30k in loans living at home for a year after graduation. Or even faster if they get an engineering degree or any other path that leads to a six-figure starting salary ex. nursing, tech, finance, or consulting.

There are such things as Parent Plus and private loans that allow you to take out more than that, and plenty families do.

Define plenty. I don't think it's that common for parents to take out loans, is it? For undergrad. When schools and College Scorecard report median loan sums of graduates, wouldn't the Parent Plus loans be factored in that as well? So the median is still about $30k for public U, right?

For NYU, USC, Pitt and Penn State, it is very common to take out thousands in PPLs or private loans. Pitt’s average student debt is $40k+

My wife works at Pitt and teaches and advises many students who have loans. Quite a few are middle class OOS students, from NY or NC or NJ, etc. who wanted to go farther away. My college-age niece was aghast when she heard that one of the students "didn't like UNC Chapel Hill enough" and took out loans to go to Pitt. Most of these kids aren't taking out anywhere near $100K but substantial debt does seem avoidable in some instances for these solid HS students who had more affordable options. Pitt's a great school but I'm not sure it's worth it to go into debt over Rutgers. (Family friend who is a Pitt prof has a DS 22 who was not admitted to Pitt, so they are forking over the money to send him to Illinois.)

[Anonymous]

The best deal is working at a university or college with tuition benefits for dependent children. Most offer half-full tuition remissions, which is huge!

[Anonymous]

OP, had I to do it over again I would have gone to CC the first two years. That would have saved my parents a ton of money.

I got to where I am today via connections made in the workforce, not the piece of paper hanging on my wall.

[Anonymous]

The "cheapest" option, community college, wouldn't have been a good fit for me because of my field of study, it was also a situation where, at least at the time, the kids from my high school who went to CC did so because they didn't know what else to do or because they didn't get into the closest state university. I took a couple classes over the summer there and it was like being back in my worst gen ed classes in high school with other students sleeping, being disruptive, etc.

I sometimes wish I had chosen the cheapER option that still would have been a good fit for what I wanted to do- I still would have had to take out loans but not as much. Ultimately, the small college I attended helped me achieve my career goals and I was able to pay off my loans eventually, but it did hamper my choices in my 20s/early 30s.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's pretty cringy when people throw around Cost of Attendance to exaggerate costs. Unless you're super rich you're not paying $85,000 a year for UChicago, nor are middle class people taking out "six figures" of loans for their child's undergrad. Most financial aid students at flagship state schools leave with $30k or so in loans. That's frankly not a big deal -- unless your kid flunks out. I believe the starting median salary for a bachelor's is now around $60k (?), so an average kid can easily pay off $30k in loans living at home for a year after graduation. Or even faster if they get an engineering degree or any other path that leads to a six-figure starting salary ex. nursing, tech, finance, or consulting.

There are such things as Parent Plus and private loans that allow you to take out more than that, and plenty families do.

Define plenty. I don't think it's that common for parents to take out loans, is it? For undergrad. When schools and College Scorecard report median loan sums of graduates, wouldn't the Parent Plus loans be factored in that as well? So the median is still about $30k for public U, right?

Looking at it, parent plus loan averages are about 30k and fed sub and unsub for public is 30k. Now the PP loans are split between private and public I guess, but I would say loans coming from school are reasonably higher than 30k

For UNDERGRAD is zero chance there are just as many parent borrowers with $30k as students with $30k. Last I looked only a small % of parents borrow on their name for undergrad. Only a fraction of the student borrowers.

How does 30k in student loans pay for 90k worth of tuition and living expenses?

Okay, $90k - $30k is $60k.

Does a parent contribute literally $0 towards that $60k? Does the kid contribute literally $0 of that $60k? A low impact work study gig alone is $5K each school year, so we're down to $40k. A college educated kid can make easily $5k freshman summer and $10k plus each summer after. If the kid is a CS or engineering major, internships can be more like $20k to $30k each summer.

While that is possible, that can be a fairly extraordinary. I would applaud anyone who does that for college, but this doesn’t change the fact that college tuition has exploded at an obscene rate. I wouldn’t encourage my child to work their butts off like that for a religious studies degree.

I didn't describe anything extraordinary. $5k school year work study is literally nothing. And working full time in the summer is normal. It's not like work study gigs are slaving away at Burger King for 40 hours a week.

Pick the right work study gig, you can get $10+/hr and be able to study half the time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's pretty cringy when people throw around Cost of Attendance to exaggerate costs. Unless you're super rich you're not paying $85,000 a year for UChicago, nor are middle class people taking out "six figures" of loans for their child's undergrad. Most financial aid students at flagship state schools leave with $30k or so in loans. That's frankly not a big deal -- unless your kid flunks out. I believe the starting median salary for a bachelor's is now around $60k (?), so an average kid can easily pay off $30k in loans living at home for a year after graduation. Or even faster if they get an engineering degree or any other path that leads to a six-figure starting salary ex. nursing, tech, finance, or consulting.

There are such things as Parent Plus and private loans that allow you to take out more than that, and plenty families do.

Define plenty. I don't think it's that common for parents to take out loans, is it? For undergrad. When schools and College Scorecard report median loan sums of graduates, wouldn't the Parent Plus loans be factored in that as well? So the median is still about $30k for public U, right?

For NYU, USC, Pitt and Penn State, it is very common to take out thousands in PPLs or private loans. Pitt’s average student debt is $40k+

My wife works at Pitt and teaches and advises many students who have loans. Quite a few are middle class OOS students, from NY or NC or NJ, etc. who wanted to go farther away. My college-age niece was aghast when she heard that one of the students "didn't like UNC Chapel Hill enough" and took out loans to go to Pitt. Most of these kids aren't taking out anywhere near $100K but substantial debt does seem avoidable in some instances for these solid HS students who had more affordable options. Pitt's a great school but I'm not sure it's worth it to go into debt over Rutgers. (Family friend who is a Pitt prof has a DS 22 who was not admitted to Pitt, so they are forking over the money to send him to Illinois.)

It's not. No school is. If you need to take more than the $5.5K in loans to attend college each year, you should be going to the most affordable place you got into.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The "cheapest" option, community college, wouldn't have been a good fit for me because of my field of study, it was also a situation where, at least at the time, the kids from my high school who went to CC did so because they didn't know what else to do or because they didn't get into the closest state university. I took a couple classes over the summer there and it was like being back in my worst gen ed classes in high school with other students sleeping, being disruptive, etc.

I sometimes wish I had chosen the cheapER option that still would have been a good fit for what I wanted to do- I still would have had to take out loans but not as much. Ultimately, the small college I attended helped me achieve my career goals and I was able to pay off my loans eventually, but it did hamper my choices in my 20s/early 30s.

Bingo. Folks who recommend CC for an above average student are idiots. Outside of maybe a random single course to take over the summer and transfer in (if your university will even allow it), it’s a pointless waste of time and just ruins your social life and segue to university. You miss out on all the freshman connections.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The "cheapest" option, community college, wouldn't have been a good fit for me because of my field of study, it was also a situation where, at least at the time, the kids from my high school who went to CC did so because they didn't know what else to do or because they didn't get into the closest state university. I took a couple classes over the summer there and it was like being back in my worst gen ed classes in high school with other students sleeping, being disruptive, etc.

I sometimes wish I had chosen the cheapER option that still would have been a good fit for what I wanted to do- I still would have had to take out loans but not as much. Ultimately, the small college I attended helped me achieve my career goals and I was able to pay off my loans eventually, but it did hamper my choices in my 20s/early 30s.

Bingo. Folks who recommend CC for an above average student are idiots. Outside of maybe a random single course to take over the summer and transfer in (if your university will even allow it), it’s a pointless waste of time and just ruins your social life and segue to university. You miss out on all the freshman connections.

Better to go to a cheap state school or some barely-open LAC than CC->UVa I guess.




Nobody, and I mean nobody, should be taking out more than the $27k in student loans. Nobody should be taking out private or parent plus loans regardless of the school. I do mean that. “Social life” doesn’t pay off student loans.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's pretty cringy when people throw around Cost of Attendance to exaggerate costs. Unless you're super rich you're not paying $85,000 a year for UChicago, nor are middle class people taking out "six figures" of loans for their child's undergrad. Most financial aid students at flagship state schools leave with $30k or so in loans. That's frankly not a big deal -- unless your kid flunks out. I believe the starting median salary for a bachelor's is now around $60k (?), so an average kid can easily pay off $30k in loans living at home for a year after graduation. Or even faster if they get an engineering degree or any other path that leads to a six-figure starting salary ex. nursing, tech, finance, or consulting.

There are such things as Parent Plus and private loans that allow you to take out more than that, and plenty families do.

Define plenty. I don't think it's that common for parents to take out loans, is it? For undergrad. When schools and College Scorecard report median loan sums of graduates, wouldn't the Parent Plus loans be factored in that as well? So the median is still about $30k for public U, right?

Looking at it, parent plus loan averages are about 30k and fed sub and unsub for public is 30k. Now the PP loans are split between private and public I guess, but I would say loans coming from school are reasonably higher than 30k

For UNDERGRAD is zero chance there are just as many parent borrowers with $30k as students with $30k. Last I looked only a small % of parents borrow on their name for undergrad. Only a fraction of the student borrowers.

How does 30k in student loans pay for 90k worth of tuition and living expenses?

Okay, $90k - $30k is $60k.

Does a parent contribute literally $0 towards that $60k? Does the kid contribute literally $0 of that $60k? A low impact work study gig alone is $5K each school year, so we're down to $40k. A college educated kid can make easily $5k freshman summer and $10k plus each summer after. If the kid is a CS or engineering major, internships can be more like $20k to $30k each summer.

While that is possible, that can be a fairly extraordinary. I would applaud anyone who does that for college, but this doesn’t change the fact that college tuition has exploded at an obscene rate. I wouldn’t encourage my child to work their butts off like that for a religious studies degree.

I didn't describe anything extraordinary. $5k school year work study is literally nothing. And working full time in the summer is normal. It's not like work study gigs are slaving away at Burger King for 40 hours a week.

Pick the right work study gig, you can get $10+/hr and be able to study half the time.

Campus jobs pay $15+ these days! And you’re right, they’re easy and if you get in with a professor or department, they can be especially useful additions to your resume. I know plenty of rich kids working on campus as “research assistants” and pre-med kids working in health care related gigs. There are ways to make decent money as a student that don’t involve slaving away in the service industry.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The "cheapest" option, community college, wouldn't have been a good fit for me because of my field of study, it was also a situation where, at least at the time, the kids from my high school who went to CC did so because they didn't know what else to do or because they didn't get into the closest state university. I took a couple classes over the summer there and it was like being back in my worst gen ed classes in high school with other students sleeping, being disruptive, etc.

I sometimes wish I had chosen the cheapER option that still would have been a good fit for what I wanted to do- I still would have had to take out loans but not as much. Ultimately, the small college I attended helped me achieve my career goals and I was able to pay off my loans eventually, but it did hamper my choices in my 20s/early 30s.

Bingo. Folks who recommend CC for an above average student are idiots. Outside of maybe a random single course to take over the summer and transfer in (if your university will even allow it), it’s a pointless waste of time and just ruins your social life and segue to university. You miss out on all the freshman connections.

You’re an idiot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The "cheapest" option, community college, wouldn't have been a good fit for me because of my field of study, it was also a situation where, at least at the time, the kids from my high school who went to CC did so because they didn't know what else to do or because they didn't get into the closest state university. I took a couple classes over the summer there and it was like being back in my worst gen ed classes in high school with other students sleeping, being disruptive, etc.

I sometimes wish I had chosen the cheapER option that still would have been a good fit for what I wanted to do- I still would have had to take out loans but not as much. Ultimately, the small college I attended helped me achieve my career goals and I was able to pay off my loans eventually, but it did hamper my choices in my 20s/early 30s.

Bingo. Folks who recommend CC for an above average student are idiots. Outside of maybe a random single course to take over the summer and transfer in (if your university will even allow it), it’s a pointless waste of time and just ruins your social life and segue to university. You miss out on all the freshman connections.

Better to go to a cheap state school or some barely-open LAC than CC->UVa I guess.




Nobody, and I mean nobody, should be taking out more than the $27k in student loans. Nobody should be taking out private or parent plus loans regardless of the school. I do mean that. “Social life” doesn’t pay off student loans.

Do that many kids annually actually transfer from a CC to UVA? I bet the number is very small. If your kid has the academics to get into UVA, they would have a lot of AP credits, right. Why would you want your kid to waste a year being the smartest in the room at a CC? I doubt there are even that many courses that would be applicable for someone with a lot of AP credit. If you’re that hard up for cash, trying to get them to graduate from UVA in 3 years is the sharpest move.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The "cheapest" option, community college, wouldn't have been a good fit for me because of my field of study, it was also a situation where, at least at the time, the kids from my high school who went to CC did so because they didn't know what else to do or because they didn't get into the closest state university. I took a couple classes over the summer there and it was like being back in my worst gen ed classes in high school with other students sleeping, being disruptive, etc.

I sometimes wish I had chosen the cheapER option that still would have been a good fit for what I wanted to do- I still would have had to take out loans but not as much. Ultimately, the small college I attended helped me achieve my career goals and I was able to pay off my loans eventually, but it did hamper my choices in my 20s/early 30s.

Bingo. Folks who recommend CC for an above average student are idiots. Outside of maybe a random single course to take over the summer and transfer in (if your university will even allow it), it’s a pointless waste of time and just ruins your social life and segue to university. You miss out on all the freshman connections.

You’re an idiot.

This forum is full of people who would send OTHER people’s kids to CC. Or are trying to rationalize why their unmotivated kid went to one or why they are control freaks who forced their kid(s) to live at home and commute to a local college. If your kid is bright, CC is a waste of time and just produces atrophy and torpedos your kid’s social life and experience they’ll get out of university once they transfer. Lot of fun being the weird CC transfer kid doesn’t have any friends from freshman year.

[Anonymous]

For generic MC people, CC makes a lot of sense. Transfer in 4 or 5 APs to NVCC and get a CS degree in 3 semesters. Live at home. Guaranteed transfer to GMU with 4 semesters remaining. Saving 40k between room and board and tuition.

Or guaranteed transfer to VCU for CS or JMU CIS. The options are plentiful and the savings are meaningful.

Not every kid is going to show up at college in a dorm and have the time of their life. Although I will say I did. I knew quite a few who were not built for that life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The "cheapest" option, community college, wouldn't have been a good fit for me because of my field of study, it was also a situation where, at least at the time, the kids from my high school who went to CC did so because they didn't know what else to do or because they didn't get into the closest state university. I took a couple classes over the summer there and it was like being back in my worst gen ed classes in high school with other students sleeping, being disruptive, etc.

I sometimes wish I had chosen the cheapER option that still would have been a good fit for what I wanted to do- I still would have had to take out loans but not as much. Ultimately, the small college I attended helped me achieve my career goals and I was able to pay off my loans eventually, but it did hamper my choices in my 20s/early 30s.

Bingo. Folks who recommend CC for an above average student are idiots. Outside of maybe a random single course to take over the summer and transfer in (if your university will even allow it), it’s a pointless waste of time and just ruins your social life and segue to university. You miss out on all the freshman connections.

You’re an idiot.

This forum is full of people who would send OTHER people’s kids to CC. Or are trying to rationalize why their unmotivated kid went to one or why they are control freaks who forced their kid(s) to live at home and commute to a local college. If your kid is bright, CC is a waste of time and just produces atrophy and torpedos your kid’s social life and experience they’ll get out of university once they transfer. Lot of fun being the weird CC transfer kid doesn’t have any friends from freshman year.

I’m glad that finances aren’t a concern for your family. Hopefully though, your child is mature enough to understand that not every family has the money to send their kid for 3-4 years and pay their rent + tuition.