Does everyone on here with kids applying to top 50 schools really have the $80K per year to spend?

[Anonymous]

Yes. And all of our kids are above average.

[Anonymous]

or do not attend any college to save even more money

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you want to compare like for like student, Dunn and Kruger is no longer the most recent large scale study (much to the dismay of mediocre schools everywhere).

"Using a new research design that isolates idiosyncratic variation in admissions decisions for waitlisted applicants, we show that attending an Ivy-Plus college instead of the average highly selective public flagship institution increases students’ chances of reaching the top 1% of the earnings distribution by 60%, nearly doubles their chances of attending an elite graduate school, and triples their chances of working at a prestigious firm."

...

"Using this design, we find that being admitted to an Ivy-Plus college increases students’ chances of
achieving upper-tail success on both monetary and non-monetary dimensions. Relative to those rejected
from the waitlist, applicants admitted from the waitlist are significantly more likely to reach the top 1% of the income distribution, attend an elite graduate school, and work at a prestigious firm. In contrast, we find a small and statistically insignificant impact of admission from the waitlist on mean earning ranks and the
probability of reaching the top quartile of the income distribution; the causal impacts of Ivy-Plus colleges are concentrated entirely in reaching the upper tail of the distribution, consistent with the predominance of students from such colleges in positions of leadership that motivated this study"


https://opportunityinsights.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/CollegeAdmissions_Paper.pdf

You can do ok with a degree from a state flagship, but if you want to be really successful, the school matters

The real world is laughing at this.

Work at a F200. 90+% of senior leadership from C-suite down to the MDs and SVPs and VPS did not go to Ivy schools. Many went to utter no name schools. You'd be shocked.

--Double Ivy grad.

THIS^^^^

Partner is a CEO, has been at 3 companies. At all 3 companies, only 1 person at each had an Ivy degree or a T25 degree. Majority went to no name or their state schools, so not even 25-50 ranked. So how did they get to their positions? By hard work, drive and determination. It's what you do with your knowledge and degree and the relationships you build over time in the workforce that enable you to be successful---it's not attending Harvard or Yale.

The example of CEOs and even VPs is pretty pointless. Most people, even most Ivy grads, are not CEOs. More useful is comparing salaries for the same major at various schools.

For example, salary at age 45 for economics major:
Harvard: $181k
Yale: $210k
Amherst: $180k
Ohio State: $79k
Penn State: $99k
UVA: $127k
W&M: $98k

Significant difference between (Ivy or elite SLAC) and (state flagship or good in-state school).

But this thread is about people who have the money but don’t see the value.

A William & Mary grad who paid 180 vs 400k for Harvard at 20. And invested that 220k or used it for a down payment or paid for a grad school degree is likely far better off 25 years later.

You’re not really wealthy if you have to care about the “value” of Harvard. None of those people are going to make their kid live at home and commute to GMU, which would be the Best Value Ever for them. They’re just pretending Ivy somehow isn’t worth it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:But the English major at Harvard earnings are 45k. In no universe does that make financial sense

Except you have to remember a lot of these kids are the same as those majoring in ceramics or stilt walking at Bennington. They're loaded, they don't care and they are more likely to take a job as a volunteer than a paid member of society.

[Anonymous]

Yes, we expect and can pay the 80k per year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No company pays their hires different salaries for the exact same job.

Not even close to true. Should be, but is not.

Most companies pay new hires/straight out of college hires the same thing when they start out....Facebook does not pay Harvard grads more than GMU grads for the same job, it just doesn't happen. Now 1-2 years in, yes, there will be pay differences, and those are based on your on the job performance reviews, not where you attended college.

Please, GMU is not the same as Harvard. It's just not. It's not even in the same league as UVA in CS. GMU attracts third-rate students and third-rate faculties statistically. There will always be outliers. On average UVA CS grads will make more than GMU's.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/college-major-top-and-lowest-earning-majors-impact-on-income-pay/

Harvard CS actually pays the most.

What the PP wrote could be true. Facebook may pay the same to Harvard and GMU (and other) CS grads, but a higher percentage of Harvard grads are getting the high paying positions.

[Anonymous]

Honestly unless we were bringing in at least 500k/year, 80k/year per kid does not make sense. But plenty of people in DCUM bringing in tons of money so I guess it's not a big deal to them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Honestly unless we were bringing in at least 500k/year, 80k/year per kid does not make sense. But plenty of people in DCUM bringing in tons of money so I guess it's not a big deal to them.

Good thing it is not for you to say how others spend their money, then. Maybe worry more about yourself, and your money, PP.

[Anonymous]

Agreed. We have a decent HHI, and have been saving for 22 years (3 kids) so that all of them have a solid 529, and can afford to go to a good private college if they get in. We have 2 in college now, and are pretty sure that being full pay has helped with admission (they are also smart, hard-working, and did very well in public HS).
We don't spend a lot of money compared to our neighbors and friends, and live well below our means in order to save. But so far it has been worth it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes. And all of our kids are above average.

? ok.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Agreed. We have a decent HHI, and have been saving for 22 years (3 kids) so that all of them have a solid 529, and can afford to go to a good private college if they get in. We have 2 in college now, and are pretty sure that being full pay has helped with admission (they are also smart, hard-working, and did very well in public HS).
We don't spend a lot of money compared to our neighbors and friends, and live well below our means in order to save. But so far it has been worth it.

Curious - why/how do u think full pay helped with admission?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm realizing that the top 50 or so schools are all about $80K+ and none of them offer merit aid, outside of maybe CWRU.
The rest have 20-50 full-ride scholarships for their most elite students but that's pretty much it for merit aid.
Then of course there is UVA and W&M which are instate. And UMD which is ranked just above 50.
We've in DC so none of these in-states are particularly relevant.


So all this constant chatter about this or that top50 school----are you all paying the $80K/+year sticker price(s)?

College is around the corner for us and I'm realizing that yes indeed, they're all about that much. Guess I knew that in theory but it's another thing
entirely to think "huh, they're asking $360K for undergrad. Are we really going to pay it?"
Sobering.
Are people really paying it?

OP, what is the question? Is the question what other people have in their bank accounts? Because this question is asked, in one form or another, about each week.

If the question is how to pay for your kid's college, then you look at your bank account, and you decide from there. If you did not save, your kid gets to choose from where you can afford.

Not that difficult to understand.

+1

Pick what you can afford. That number is very different for many people.

Some who make $150K have managed to save $300K+ per kid, others have not. It is all about priorities and what you chose to do with your money. If you started at $100K when you had kids and now make $200K, you could have chosen to funnel the majority of those pay increases and/or daycare payments that stopped as your kid grew up, into college savings. Some do, some don't.
If you chose not to, then you should have your kid search for merit and pick a school you can afford.

The problem is that if you apply for aid, you may not get aid but the person who didn't save but chose to spend their money will get aid. That is the problem that I have with the system, it is designed for those who don't save vs. income. If I accumulate assets they count against me, if I don't accumulate assets then I'm rewarded. Plus, some jobs, professions and entrepreneurs can hide money better than others. I know wealthy people who get aid for private HS.

[Anonymous]

Full pay does help with admissions. First, full pay kids can more often apply ED because they're not comparing FA packages. Second, most schools are NOT need blind, so $$ factors in at some point. It might be just for the last 10% of the class, but that can make a difference. If you need aid, best to apply ED to a need-blind school.

[Anonymous]

I'm thankful to have all my kids through college. Even though we have a good income, it was a STRETCH, and we lived below our means for many years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes. And all of our kids are above average.

? ok.

Lake Woebegon

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:or do not attend any college to save even more money

A while ago there was a NYT story about some hedge fund billionaire who dropped $35m in donations to make sure his kids got into an Ivy, and I was thinking what the heck are these kids even going to college for at all? Has he already cut them out of his will or something?