Avoiding top 25?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You have to use the calculators that are on each of the college's websites to see what, if any, aid you may qualify for.

waster of time for HHI $350k

especially if you have something in a 529. We used those calculators, and we got zip.

I told DC to not RD to an expensive school because honestly I don't think a CS degree from a T10 is worth much more than a CS degree from UMD, where they are at now on some merit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you make $350K a year then even a $60K COA is like making $290K and not having a kid in college. Ain't gonna starve on that salary.

Do you work? Do you even understand the concept of expenses, saving for retirement, and maybe having more than one kid?

I don't think OP thinks they will starve, but paying $60k for two kids over like 6 years will hurt. Many of us with college aged kids are also trying to help out aging parents and save for our own retirement.

IMO, saving for retirement is more important than saving for college. You can get loans for college. No one will give you a loan so you can retire.

And honestly, a $60k/yr college degree doesn't make any sense for most majors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you make $350K a year then even a $60K COA is like making $290K and not having a kid in college. Ain't gonna starve on that salary.

Are you a U.S. Citizen? If so, you are off by about 40%.

[Anonymous]

Each application, especially if you are applying for merit money or honors colleges, can be a lot of work. So I would start with 5-12 schools (depending on how much you will need to shop around) that either you know you can afford or where he will actually be in the running for merit money.

If after all those applications are done, he might still have energy to apply to places with lower acceptance rates and where there might be possible money. But I would concentrate on first applying to places where you definitely know you can afford.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My junior kid (white male) has strong stats and rigorous schedule. We are crafting our college list and are avoiding the top 25 national schools due to the following assumptions: 1) we really can only afford $40k COA 2) HHI around $350k so assuming no financial aid 3) feel the odds of acceptance for even strong stats are so low and then most likely couldn't afford. We are trying to be very upfront with him about what we can afford but I also want to make sure these assumptions are valid?

Some non-ivy T25 schools offer merit scholarships.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you make $350K a year then even a $60K COA is like making $290K and not having a kid in college. Ain't gonna starve on that salary.

Do you work? Do you even understand the concept of expenses, saving for retirement, and maybe having more than one kid?

I don't think OP thinks they will starve, but paying $60k for two kids over like 6 years will hurt. Many of us with college aged kids are also trying to help out aging parents and save for our own retirement.

IMO, saving for retirement is more important than saving for college. You can get loans for college. No one will give you a loan so you can retire.

And honestly, a $60k/yr college degree doesn't make any sense for most majors.

+1000 Ugh! I am a financial planner and we always recommend funding retirement over your kids' college and you can't just wait until the end because you need the years of compounding growth to accumulate. But other comments on this thread say OP is a bad financial planner! This is so frustrating for those in my profession! I would say anyone funding college before retirement is a bad financial planner. Funding your kids expensive college with the hope that one day they will support you is not a wise investment. It is speculation at best.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How is paying $40k/year "cutting corners" on education? If you can get a solid in-state education for that amount isn't anything above unnecessary?

But the original question didn’t imply they were only looking in state.

[Anonymous]

No but just using $40k/yr as a good proxy for in-state COA. Some are a little lower Paying $40k/yr for college is not "cutting corners". That is BS!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My junior kid (white male) has strong stats and rigorous schedule. We are crafting our college list and are avoiding the top 25 national schools due to the following assumptions: 1) we really can only afford $40k COA 2) HHI around $350k so assuming no financial aid 3) feel the odds of acceptance for even strong stats are so low and then most likely couldn't afford. We are trying to be very upfront with him about what we can afford but I also want to make sure these assumptions are valid?

Some non-ivy T25 schools offer merit scholarships.

Please share which ones?

[Anonymous]

Our numbers aren't the same as yours, but my kids also need merit. There is a chart out there somewhere that shows the average merit aid each college gives and how many students with no need get merit aid. Obviously it isn't exact (and changes each year) but it can at least tell you which colleges are completely unworkable. Then run a couple of NPCs for colleges known to be generous. That will give you an idea of whether you'll qualify for any need based aid. (Sounds unlikely, but if you have kids/parents with high medical costs or something, maybe you can see if a college will adjust based on that?)

Once you have those basics, you then start to look at schools that have a chance of getting there. You'll need a few that are safe both for admission and affordability. Maybe a couple of in-state publics. Or an out of state public with automatic merit based on stats (that list changes each year). I would at least have two of these so your kid has a choice in the end if nothing else works out.

Then you do your targets - again both for admission AND affordability. So you'll be aiming for ones that are pretty sure things for admission (because your kid needs to be at the top of admitted students) but where merit is possible but not guaranteed.

Then you let your kid pick a couple of long shots - as long as they know they can only go if the money works out. Those are the ones that offer a couple of hard to get scholarships. I would have your kid submit these only after he has done several of the two other categories.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our numbers aren't the same as yours, but my kids also need merit. There is a chart out there somewhere that shows the average merit aid each college gives and how many students with no need get merit aid. Obviously it isn't exact (and changes each year) but it can at least tell you which colleges are completely unworkable. Then run a couple of NPCs for colleges known to be generous. That will give you an idea of whether you'll qualify for any need based aid. (Sounds unlikely, but if you have kids/parents with high medical costs or something, maybe you can see if a college will adjust based on that?)

Once you have those basics, you then start to look at schools that have a chance of getting there. You'll need a few that are safe both for admission and affordability. Maybe a couple of in-state publics. Or an out of state public with automatic merit based on stats (that list changes each year). I would at least have two of these so your kid has a choice in the end if nothing else works out.

Then you do your targets - again both for admission AND affordability. So you'll be aiming for ones that are pretty sure things for admission (because your kid needs to be at the top of admitted students) but where merit is possible but not guaranteed.

Then you let your kid pick a couple of long shots - as long as they know they can only go if the money works out. Those are the ones that offer a couple of hard to get scholarships. I would have your kid submit these only after he has done several of the two other categories.

Thank you- this is helpful and like the idea of discussing academic reaches as well as financial reaches. I didn't really have any reaches on my list yet but this makes total sense.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Each application, especially if you are applying for merit money or honors colleges, can be a lot of work. So I would start with 5-12 schools (depending on how much you will need to shop around) that either you know you can afford or where he will actually be in the running for merit money.

If after all those applications are done, he might still have energy to apply to places with lower acceptance rates and where there might be possible money. But I would concentrate on first applying to places where you definitely know you can afford.

+1 prioritization is key and some kids just burn out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You have to use the calculators that are on each of the college's websites to see what, if any, aid you may qualify for.

waster of time for HHI $350k

Have you not heard of merit aid?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:we really can only afford $40k COA
HHI around $350k

Huh? Looks to me like you can afford a lot more than that. You could pay $80k and not even notice it unless there are other huge expenses not mentioned.

That is not your concern. They stated they can only afford $40K. So while you might think they "could save more or cash flow more" they are not planning to do so. It is entirely reasonable to find a school for $40K/year. Many in the 40-100 Range will give enough merit to make it below $40K or close to it.

If you post it in this forum, you made it everyone’s concern, nimrod.

Hard to imagine being so bad at financial planning that you make $350k but have to cut corners on your kids education, but apparently such people exist.

This is ridiculous. Just as you're judging, realize that some people might think you're bad at financial planning if you think you have to pay $85K per year to get a great education.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you make $350K a year then even a $60K COA is like making $290K and not having a kid in college. Ain't gonna starve on that salary.

Do you work? Do you even understand the concept of expenses, saving for retirement, and maybe having more than one kid?

I don't think OP thinks they will starve, but paying $60k for two kids over like 6 years will hurt. Many of us with college aged kids are also trying to help out aging parents and save for our own retirement.

IMO, saving for retirement is more important than saving for college. You can get loans for college. No one will give you a loan so you can retire.

And honestly, a $60k/yr college degree doesn't make any sense for most majors.

+1000 Ugh! I am a financial planner and we always recommend funding retirement over your kids' college and you can't just wait until the end because you need the years of compounding growth to accumulate. But other comments on this thread say OP is a bad financial planner! This is so frustrating for those in my profession! I would say anyone funding college before retirement is a bad financial planner. Funding your kids expensive college with the hope that one day they will support you is not a wise investment. It is speculation at best.

But I make half of what OP makes and saved for both.

I did it by living in a condo and driving a Honda .

Why are you pretending that is unachievable? It all depends on what (who ) you prioritize.