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

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You can do top 50 and not spend 80k. We have on at WM in state and one at a “top-ish” midwestern LAc on merit. But you need to be honest with your kids early on a lot the financial limitations. Mine knew going in some college choices just weren’t available. Still spending over $150k per kid, which isn’t a small amount. BUT, they graduate with no debt. I consider that to be a huge gift because they can make choices about their future without being limited to immediately taking the job that pays the most.

Going to add, does WM give you an advantage over Vanderbilt worth an extra $150k. I’m a grad of a Vandy peer school with a similar ranking and I doubt it. Especially since the cheaper schools means we can subsidize low paying/unpaid internships, study abroad and school year expenses when kids do unpaid research for credit.

Depends on the area of study. If you’re looking for a very competitive consulting or finance career, yes Vanderbilt definitely gives you the edge up and has the better net work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here.
I get that $90K is a rounding error for some on here and two weeks' salaries for others.

But I bet that for most of us, $360K is not an insignificant amount.
And yet we're fighting each other for the privilege of paying it.

We are truly idiots for playing into this. Excuse my insult as I include myself in that group.

PP here. Yes we are. And what, exactly, are we getting for these dollars I ask myself as we work through another move in?

A nice campus with dorms that are old and need renovations. Food that is mediocre at best according to DC. Staff, staff, staff and more administrators.

As a consumer then - What are the very best options where you get the most bang for your money?
Please someone provide a link to that list

This is the right question to ask.

Which schools are providing the most resources, the best extras, that make the time at the University worth it? However, you measure… Whether that’s in lifetime earnings potential , or in other ways like renovated dorms with amazing student centric or focused substantive resources/ platforms, and fantastic food.

Yale
Rice
Wash U STl
Bowdoin
UCLA

Interesting list

[Anonymous]

The money is in a fully funded 529, we started saving when DC was born. I never count the money as part of NW because we knew it would be spent. It kind of feels like Monopoly money when I click on the withdraw 38K button each semester tbh. DC loves their school it was their first choice. We declined some significant merit at lower ranked schools. I was glad we saved so DC could have the choice. Is it worth it? Idk… Is my SUV worth it? Idc I love it and the cost isn’t a factor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here.
I get that $90K is a rounding error for some on here and two weeks' salaries for others.

But I bet that for most of us, $360K is not an insignificant amount.
And yet we're fighting each other for the privilege of paying it.

We are truly idiots for playing into this. Excuse my insult as I include myself in that group.

PP here. Yes we are. And what, exactly, are we getting for these dollars I ask myself as we work through another move in?

A nice campus with dorms that are old and need renovations. Food that is mediocre at best according to DC. Staff, staff, staff and more administrators.

As a consumer then - What are the very best options where you get the most bang for your money?
Please someone provide a link to that list

Maybe Tulane?

Ha! PP here with kid who just moved into dorm at Tulane. No, from a strictly consumer standpoint, we are not getting our 90k a year out of our Tulane investment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here.
I get that $90K is a rounding error for some on here and two weeks' salaries for others.

But I bet that for most of us, $360K is not an insignificant amount.
And yet we're fighting each other for the privilege of paying it.

We are truly idiots for playing into this. Excuse my insult as I include myself in that group.

So why are you not considering public schools? And doing everything to find merit scholarships? Also it’s not for everyone but ROTC is a great option for some. There are ways to get a great education without paying $80k a year. If people can afford it that’s their decision, like the decision to pay $1 million or more for a house.

In a time when rights are being taken away, let's not be hyperbolic. Nobody is taking away the right to spend this money on college. Just the opposite, society places a lot of value on doing so.

And also, of course, the super vast majority of college kids attend public colleges and community colleges. I assume everyone here is 100% considering that and merit at privates that aren't in the top 30.

Wait, what?? Who is talking about taking away the *right* to spend this money on college?? Very strange.

[Anonymous]

CA certainly, and VA less so, but both have outstanding public university options. As residents, we don’t have much to complain about. Still, my own kids have the luxury of selecting the college they want to attend, once accepted of course.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here.
I get that $90K is a rounding error for some on here and two weeks' salaries for others.

But I bet that for most of us, $360K is not an insignificant amount.
And yet we're fighting each other for the privilege of paying it.

We are truly idiots for playing into this. Excuse my insult as I include myself in that group.

PP here. Yes we are. And what, exactly, are we getting for these dollars I ask myself as we work through another move in?

A nice campus with dorms that are old and need renovations. Food that is mediocre at best according to DC. Staff, staff, staff and more administrators.

As a consumer then - What are the very best options where you get the most bang for your money?
Please someone provide a link to that list

This is the right question to ask.

Which schools are providing the most resources, the best extras, that make the time at the University worth it? However, you measure… Whether that’s in lifetime earnings potential , or in other ways like renovated dorms with amazing student centric or focused substantive resources/ platforms, and fantastic food.

I’m not interested in paying more for amenities like renovated dorms, student gyms and fancy food. I will pay more for a small number of schools with superior education (MIT, Caltech) or significant prestige (Harvard, Princeton, Yale). Other than those it is one of our fabulous in state VA colleges. Full pay to most colleges is just a waste.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The money is in a fully funded 529, we started saving when DC was born. I never count the money as part of NW because we knew it would be spent. It kind of feels like Monopoly money when I click on the withdraw 38K button each semester tbh. DC loves their school it was their first choice. We declined some significant merit at lower ranked schools. I was glad we saved so DC could have the choice. Is it worth it? Idk… Is my SUV worth it? Idc I love it and the cost isn’t a factor.

I can relate to how the money in our 529 does feel like monopoly money. But our 529s for our kids never felt fully like our money as it was already earmarked for college tuition from when we opened the accounts when they were toddlers.
What I believe our kids absorbed from their being aware that we were saving for their college tuitions from such an early age, is that education is a key family value for us. No way to quantify if that made a difference but I have to believe it did.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here.
I get that $90K is a rounding error for some on here and two weeks' salaries for others.

But I bet that for most of us, $360K is not an insignificant amount.
And yet we're fighting each other for the privilege of paying it.

We are truly idiots for playing into this. Excuse my insult as I include myself in that group.

PP here. Yes we are. And what, exactly, are we getting for these dollars I ask myself as we work through another move in?

A nice campus with dorms that are old and need renovations. Food that is mediocre at best according to DC. Staff, staff, staff and more administrators.

As a consumer then - What are the very best options where you get the most bang for your money?
Please someone provide a link to that list

This is the right question to ask.

Which schools are providing the most resources, the best extras, that make the time at the University worth it? However, you measure… Whether that’s in lifetime earnings potential , or in other ways like renovated dorms with amazing student centric or focused substantive resources/ platforms, and fantastic food.

I’m not interested in paying more for amenities like renovated dorms, student gyms and fancy food. I will pay more for a small number of schools with superior education (MIT, Caltech) or significant prestige (Harvard, Princeton, Yale). Other than those it is one of our fabulous in state VA colleges. Full pay to most colleges is just a waste.

This is the right approach IMO. Paying for brand name is one thing. Paying the same amount for most of these schools is foolish. And I say that as one who is doing so.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here.
I get that $90K is a rounding error for some on here and two weeks' salaries for others.

But I bet that for most of us, $360K is not an insignificant amount.
And yet we're fighting each other for the privilege of paying it.

We are truly idiots for playing into this. Excuse my insult as I include myself in that group.

PP here. Yes we are. And what, exactly, are we getting for these dollars I ask myself as we work through another move in?

A nice campus with dorms that are old and need renovations. Food that is mediocre at best according to DC. Staff, staff, staff and more administrators.

As a consumer then - What are the very best options where you get the most bang for your money?
Please someone provide a link to that list

This is the right question to ask.

Which schools are providing the most resources, the best extras, that make the time at the University worth it? However, you measure… Whether that’s in lifetime earnings potential , or in other ways like renovated dorms with amazing student centric or focused substantive resources/ platforms, and fantastic food.

I’m not interested in paying more for amenities like renovated dorms, student gyms and fancy food. I will pay more for a small number of schools with superior education (MIT, Caltech) or significant prestige (Harvard, Princeton, Yale). Other than those it is one of our fabulous in state VA colleges. Full pay to most colleges is just a waste.

I agree with this 100% except only that we can't afford HYY and don't qualify for FA either, so it's moot. State schools here we come!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here.
I get that $90K is a rounding error for some on here and two weeks' salaries for others.

But I bet that for most of us, $360K is not an insignificant amount.
And yet we're fighting each other for the privilege of paying it.

We are truly idiots for playing into this. Excuse my insult as I include myself in that group.

PP here. Yes we are. And what, exactly, are we getting for these dollars I ask myself as we work through another move in?

A nice campus with dorms that are old and need renovations. Food that is mediocre at best according to DC. Staff, staff, staff and more administrators.

As a consumer then - What are the very best options where you get the most bang for your money?
Please someone provide a link to that list

This is the right question to ask.

Which schools are providing the most resources, the best extras, that make the time at the University worth it? However, you measure… Whether that’s in lifetime earnings potential , or in other ways like renovated dorms with amazing student centric or focused substantive resources/ platforms, and fantastic food.

I’m not interested in paying more for amenities like renovated dorms, student gyms and fancy food. I will pay more for a small number of schools with superior education (MIT, Caltech) or significant prestige (Harvard, Princeton, Yale). Other than those it is one of our fabulous in state VA colleges. Full pay to most colleges is just a waste.

Yup, same. There are maybe 10 colleges I would pay for, otherwise state schools are just fine (parents are MIT and UNC-CH alums, so that our life experience matches up).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here.
I get that $90K is a rounding error for some on here and two weeks' salaries for others.

But I bet that for most of us, $360K is not an insignificant amount.
And yet we're fighting each other for the privilege of paying it.

We are truly idiots for playing into this. Excuse my insult as I include myself in that group.

PP here. Yes we are. And what, exactly, are we getting for these dollars I ask myself as we work through another move in?

A nice campus with dorms that are old and need renovations. Food that is mediocre at best according to DC. Staff, staff, staff and more administrators.

As a consumer then - What are the very best options where you get the most bang for your money?
Please someone provide a link to that list

This is the right question to ask.

Which schools are providing the most resources, the best extras, that make the time at the University worth it? However, you measure… Whether that’s in lifetime earnings potential , or in other ways like renovated dorms with amazing student centric or focused substantive resources/ platforms, and fantastic food.

I’m not interested in paying more for amenities like renovated dorms, student gyms and fancy food. I will pay more for a small number of schools with superior education (MIT, Caltech) or significant prestige (Harvard, Princeton, Yale). Other than those it is one of our fabulous in state VA colleges. Full pay to most colleges is just a waste.

Because Virginia has invested in creating great public universities.

If you were in DC or had a kid in high school in West Virginia today, you might have a different perspective.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP I hear you. We have two kids who will be graduating 2025 and going to college at the same time (obviously). We do not have over $500k to spend on their 4 years post HS, not even mentioning grad school.

They will be applying in-state (CA). We have plenty of options here. That's going to be it. They are both completely aware of the situation and have been for some time.

Same. Also in CA. Hoping my kid gets in somewhere!

[Anonymous]

It’s not really worth it in a strict economic sense and if it’s really going to affect the family’s financial security or if it means grad school isn’t possible, cheaper alternatives should be considered. But otherwise YOLO and what’s more important than your kids and their future?

[Anonymous]

Yes. Starting adult life debt free is a huge privilege that has made the decades that follow easier. We aren’t planning to pay for lavish weddings, new cars, or a down payment on a house for our kids - but they can go anywhere they want and graduate debt free from undergrad.