What did you pay last year (tuition+living) for DC college?

[Anonymous]

We told DD that we would fund 75% of the cost of an in-state tuition and she could fund 25% through student loans that do not exceed federal maximum. We felt that amount kept her student loan burden at a manageable level.

If she wanted to have out of state public or private colleges as options she needed to bring grades / scholarships to the table that augmented the above sources. She is not the most studious, so she stayed with the in-state option, and I think its been a good fit. Do what you can afford. If you can afford 62k, more power to you. We felt we could not and given her academics we didn't think it would measurably change her college experience either.

[Anonymous]

With DCTAG and two merit scholarships we have not paid tuition and room/board for the past five semesters.

Our costs are spending money, books and airline tickets. DD uses her summer earnings for clothes, spring break travel and a lot of expensive concert tickets.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Total cost at her OOS Catholic college- $48,000
minus merit aid - $14000
Paying $34K out of pocket.

She probably could have gotten into some "higher ranked" schools but we knew we absolutely could not do 50/60K or more a year so we focused our efforts on schools that gave merit aid. And state schools, but she didn't really like any of VA's options except William and Mary which she was rejected from.

As a Maryland parent, it kills me when I hear Virginia students say they just don't like the Virginia colleges. I wish we had in-state choices like yours. That said, I know it must kill you, too!

Let's switch. My DC wants to major in physics. MD beats Va hands down for this major.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ugh. This is a very depressing post. It's ridiculous the cost of higher education!

It is depressing! If full pay parents all started looking for the cheapest options then the colleges may stop charging absurd amounts. They charge $65000 a year because they can. If half their students keep paying the price tag then why stop?

[Anonymous]

$62K here as well. Thank God for the 529 plan.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ugh. This is a very depressing post. It's ridiculous the cost of higher education!

It is depressing! If full pay parents all started looking for the cheapest options then the colleges may stop charging absurd amounts. They charge $65000 a year because they can. If half their students keep paying the price tag then why stop?

I think you have it backwards. 25% of us pay the $65k so that 75% of the rest get aid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We told DD that we would fund 75% of the cost of an in-state tuition and she could fund 25% through student loans that do not exceed federal maximum. We felt that amount kept her student loan burden at a manageable level.

If she wanted to have out of state public or private colleges as options she needed to bring grades / scholarships to the table that augmented the above sources. She is not the most studious, so she stayed with the in-state option, and I think its been a good fit. Do what you can afford. If you can afford 62k, more power to you. We felt we could not and given her academics we didn't think it would measurably change her college experience either.

+1 We're a few years from college but we've told our kids (who are, so far, good but not top-of-the-class students) the same (although we should be able to cover 100% in-state tuition + room & board. DC will need to work summers for other expenses). If they don't like the VA in-state options they can get into, then they need to adjust their expectations or go to NOVA for a couple years and get the grades needed to transfer to the in-state they want. I hire students from VA public colleges all the time and am confident my DCs can get a good education without paying $60K+ per year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ugh. This is a very depressing post. It's ridiculous the cost of higher education!

It is depressing! If full pay parents all started looking for the cheapest options then the colleges may stop charging absurd amounts. They charge $65000 a year because they can. If half their students keep paying the price tag then why stop?

I think you have it backwards. 25% of us pay the $65k so that 75% of the rest get aid.

Isn't that the truth...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Freshman in-state at William and Mary - no financial aid - first semester payment (tuition + housing + meal plan) was just over $15,000.

That tuition is supposed to be locked in now, right?

[Anonymous]

Is our children learning?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ugh. This is a very depressing post. It's ridiculous the cost of higher education!

It is depressing! If full pay parents all started looking for the cheapest options then the colleges may stop charging absurd amounts. They charge $65000 a year because they can. If half their students keep paying the price tag then why stop?

Add in the fact that well over 50% of american students do not finish college anymore in four years and you find yourself paying $72K (NYU) x 5 or 6 years,.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Total cost at her OOS Catholic college- $48,000
minus merit aid - $14000
Paying $34K out of pocket.

She probably could have gotten into some "higher ranked" schools but we knew we absolutely could not do 50/60K or more a year so we focused our efforts on schools that gave merit aid. And state schools, but she didn't really like any of VA's options except William and Mary which she was rejected from.

As a Maryland parent, it kills me when I hear Virginia students say they just don't like the Virginia colleges. I wish we had in-state choices like yours. That said, I know it must kill you, too!

Not really. We knew from the time she was born that college expenses were only going to rise, so we made it a point to save enough that she'd have options if she wanted something beyond what's offered in-state.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ugh. This is a very depressing post. It's ridiculous the cost of higher education!

It is depressing! If full pay parents all started looking for the cheapest options then the colleges may stop charging absurd amounts. They charge $65000 a year because they can. If half their students keep paying the price tag then why stop?

I think you have it backwards. 25% of us pay the $65k so that 75% of the rest get aid.

New poster here. That was my understanding. All my friends who sent their kids off to college this year said the private schools offered aid down to about the cost of instate public schools. Most of my friends are paying about $25,000-ish for small private schools out of state. They have HHI under $200,000, if that's the deciding factor. So I'm curious about the HHIs of those posters who are paying full freight.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ugh. This is a very depressing post. It's ridiculous the cost of higher education!

It is depressing! If full pay parents all started looking for the cheapest options then the colleges may stop charging absurd amounts. They charge $65000 a year because they can. If half their students keep paying the price tag then why stop?

I think you have it backwards. 25% of us pay the $65k so that 75% of the rest get aid.

New poster here. That was my understanding. All my friends who sent their kids off to college this year said the private schools offered aid down to about the cost of instate public schools. Most of my friends are paying about $25,000-ish for small private schools out of state. They have HHI under $200,000, if that's the deciding factor. So I'm curious about the HHIs of those posters who are paying full freight.

Most likely your friends' students received very generous merit aid packages, espeically if they're attending lower-ranked/regional private schools.

We've found that the cutoff for actual financial aid (not merit aid) is about $180,000 at the top schools. (Our HHI is $180K and we pay $18K/year at Princeton. Duke and Northwestern both came in at about $50K, so Princeton is a great deal.)

[Anonymous]

2 years community college 10000. 2 years in state commuter 15000 per year. Total 40000