Avoiding top 25?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Easy to judge when you dont know the specifics and haven't walked in someone else's shoes. Some people are responsible for aging parents, kids with disabilities, extended family members, had job losses in the past or spouses with job losses or homes with a structural issue or a home ruined by a storm and deemed uninsurable or had to pay high childcare costs for a large part of their career or simply didnt make a lot of money earlier in their careers or got the real raw end of a divorce of no fault of their own. I have seen it all. OP came here looking for some feedback on aid and you provided your judgement instead. Enjoy your smug little condo and Honda.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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?

They all do. But they're ridiculously hard to get. These are T25 schools. Everyone is outstanding. And they all offer great financial aid.

Look up the school you're interested in. There will be a few scholarships. Shoot your shot

[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.

But only to a few students. I think op probably needs to look outside T50 if she needs significant merit, which she will to get a private down to $40,000.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. There ARE other huge expenses not mentioned and not luxury items but that is not what this thread is about. Please stay on topic.

I getcha but also know that I was never happy filing papers when I worked in school's bursar's office to see kids receiving merit w/10X+ HHI than my family. So I can see why someone here might get salty.

Merit is for performance. Simmer down.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. There ARE other huge expenses not mentioned and not luxury items but that is not what this thread is about. Please stay on topic.

You asked if your assumptions were valid, and therefore questioning the assumption that you can only afford $40k with $350k HHI is on topic.

OK let me clarify : I was NOT asking if my assumptions about not being able to afford a schools over $40k COA were valid. I personally know what my family can afford. I was asking if my assumptions around financial/merit aid make sense.

OP, similar situation here with HHI, other obligatory, and a high stats kid. Your assumptions are correct.

[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.

No, it does not make it everyone's concern. They didn't post and complain "it's not fair, we cannot afford $80K/year schools" They are being financially smart and asking questions to find good schools that will be affordable TO THEM.

You don't know why they can't cash flow it. Maybe they have a kid who requires specialized private school or extensive medical treatments/therapies. I know people who spend $30-40K/year on that for one kid alone. Maybe they have a parent who they have to help support or a disabled adult sibling.

However, they are being a smart, responsible parent by searching for affordable ways to send their kid to college. $40K is very doable. Smart kid will get enough merit for many in the 40-100 range to be affordable.

[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.

They may offer "a few merit scholarship" but not many. If it's 4% of students who get accepted, it's then less than 1% of those who get merit. So not very likely to happen

[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.

+1

We don't know why the OP can only afford $40K. Perhaps they were not making $350K 10 years ago so couldn't save as much (very likelY). Perhaps they have other necessary expenses (sick kid, kid who needs extensive therapies or specialized private school, sick parents, disabled sibling who they are responsible for, etc). Kudos to them for recognizing what they can pay and searching for a place they can afford. $40K will work at most schools over 60, because a kid with the stats for T25 schools will get great merit at most of those. They can easily find 10-15 schools that come under $40K for their kid.
Heckthe kid can go to UAlabama for much less. Sure it's Alabama and you have to live with that but it's a damn good education and they would come out debt free costing far less than $40K/year

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

They don't have to limit to in-state. The best merit is typically from private schools or OOS like U Alabama who have a formula for how much your kid will get. A top student can attend for only $4K more than in-state per year. But most private schools offer good merit, especially to really top students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Because you do not know the OP circumstances. We don't know if they wasted money, or if their $350K is relatively new--maybe they were making $125K 10 years ago.

Yes, if I were making $350K since my kid was born, I would have chosen to save for college in full. But there is nothing wrong with the parents saying, we will save for $40K/instate costs and that is it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:UVA is T24. IN-state it is $37K all in for the college of Arts & Sciences. Engineering is higher.

OP is not in VA

I'm missing that. WHat state is OP in?

[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.

Perhaps they went to a private high school.