How are normal people paying for college?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:by realizing that we had 18 years to save and starting early

+100000 unless someone just decided to recently adopt a 16-year-old...

If you are adopting a 16 year old via foster care, there are funds to help with hat.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I find that somewhat flippant, op. "And in state is off the table?"
In-state is expensive for most people, my family included. Quite frankly, your condescending attitude is off-putting.
-I have two kids in-state and it is a struggle to pay for it. Quite frankly, you can figure it out on your own when so clueless about the realities of life for most "normal!!!!" people.

Its just people being snobs and think the privates are that much better when they aren't. I went to both public and private and there were no differences but preferred the public for many reasons. I'd rather mine go where we can afford to pay for college and graduate school with no debt. Mine understand how important that is and are fine with a state school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I find that somewhat flippant, op. "And in state is off the table?"
In-state is expensive for most people, my family included. Quite frankly, your condescending attitude is off-putting.
-I have two kids in-state and it is a struggle to pay for it. Quite frankly, you can figure it out on your own when so clueless about the realities of life for most "normal!!!!" people.

Its just people being snobs and think the privates are that much better when they aren't. I went to both public and private and there were no differences but preferred the public for many reasons. I'd rather mine go where we can afford to pay for college and graduate school with no debt. Mine understand how important that is and are fine with a state school.

Your preferences are smart but you're objectively wrong to say that public and private universities are comparable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I find that somewhat flippant, op. "And in state is off the table?"
In-state is expensive for most people, my family included. Quite frankly, your condescending attitude is off-putting.
-I have two kids in-state and it is a struggle to pay for it. Quite frankly, you can figure it out on your own when so clueless about the realities of life for most "normal!!!!" people.

Its just people being snobs and think the privates are that much better when they aren't. I went to both public and private and there were no differences but preferred the public for many reasons. I'd rather mine go where we can afford to pay for college and graduate school with no debt. Mine understand how important that is and are fine with a state school.

Your preferences are smart but you're objectively wrong to say that public and private universities are comparable.

She is not objectively wrong. There are thousands of private colleges, few are better than flagship state ones. The rest are terrible, money grab that offers no education.

[Anonymous]

DCUM and parents (like me!) reading and posting on a forum about college applications are not "normal" - the vast majority of the population has almost no savings, let alone for college.

while there is no normal, there is good advice here - start saving small amounts early, take advantage of specific programs in your state like pre-paid tuition, set realistic expectations with your child early, work with school counselors for scholarships, consider community college followed by transfer, take AP courses that can give college credits.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I find that somewhat flippant, op. "And in state is off the table?"
In-state is expensive for most people, my family included. Quite frankly, your condescending attitude is off-putting.
-I have two kids in-state and it is a struggle to pay for it. Quite frankly, you can figure it out on your own when so clueless about the realities of life for most "normal!!!!" people.

Its just people being snobs and think the privates are that much better when they aren't. I went to both public and private and there were no differences but preferred the public for many reasons. I'd rather mine go where we can afford to pay for college and graduate school with no debt. Mine understand how important that is and are fine with a state school.

Your preferences are smart but you're objectively wrong to say that public and private universities are comparable.

She is not objectively wrong. There are thousands of private colleges, few are better than flagship state ones. The rest are terrible, money grab that offers no education.

Few? The top 20 privates are far better than the top 20 publics. Publics, apart from the fact that the vast majority of students come from one state, are notoriously difficult to navigate. Many students can't graduate in four years because they simply can't enroll in the required classes.

[Anonymous]

I started undergrad as a junior because I had 60+ credit hours from APs. (This was at a flagship state school, in-state, so YMMV, but lots of schools do give credits for scores of 4 or 5.) I'm going to encourage my DDs to take AP, IB and/or dual enrollment courses while in high school to give them the flexibility to take a gap year, finish undergrad early, or go to undergrad part time while working and/or interning.

We're saving a negligible amount in a 529 in order to front-load our retirement saving as much as possible. Once our DDs get to college, we will use a combination of cash flow, 529, Roth IRA if needed, lowering retirement contributions for a few years if needed, and as few loans as possible.

I'm also going to encourage my DDs to consider college in Germany or elsewhere abroad where it is more affordable, but not banking on either of them going for that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I find that somewhat flippant, op. "And in state is off the table?"
In-state is expensive for most people, my family included. Quite frankly, your condescending attitude is off-putting.
-I have two kids in-state and it is a struggle to pay for it. Quite frankly, you can figure it out on your own when so clueless about the realities of life for most "normal!!!!" people.

Its just people being snobs and think the privates are that much better when they aren't. I went to both public and private and there were no differences but preferred the public for many reasons. I'd rather mine go where we can afford to pay for college and graduate school with no debt. Mine understand how important that is and are fine with a state school.

Your preferences are smart but you're objectively wrong to say that public and private universities are comparable.

She is not objectively wrong. There are thousands of private colleges, few are better than flagship state ones. The rest are terrible, money grab that offers no education.

Few? The top 20 privates are far better than the top 20 publics. Publics, apart from the fact that the vast majority of students come from one state, are notoriously difficult to navigate. Many students can't graduate in four years because they simply can't enroll in the required classes.

Yes, a few. Most people do not go to 20 best colleges in the country. Get off your entitled horse, you snob.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I started undergrad as a junior because I had 60+ credit hours from APs. (This was at a flagship state school, in-state, so YMMV, but lots of schools do give credits for scores of 4 or 5.) I'm going to encourage my DDs to take AP, IB and/or dual enrollment courses while in high school to give them the flexibility to take a gap year, finish undergrad early, or go to undergrad part time while working and/or interning.

We're saving a negligible amount in a 529 in order to front-load our retirement saving as much as possible. Once our DDs get to college, we will use a combination of cash flow, 529, Roth IRA if needed, lowering retirement contributions for a few years if needed, and as few loans as possible.

I'm also going to encourage my DDs to consider college in Germany or elsewhere abroad where it is more affordable, but not banking on either of them going for that.

So your dd is not even in high school yet? And you see fit to post about how people should pay for college? You are sure your dd will get all these AP classes and pass? And then you can afford an international college? Sounds so, so normal. I am sure your DD will be pumped full of Concerta and Prozac and hate her life, read...she will hate you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD is going to have to work her way through college. I am not going to be able to pay for it for her.

If she can get a job for $70K a year (the cost of tuition alone) without a degree, then why would she go to college?

that's why OP's set up is ridiculous. If instate is off the table and you don't have savings, your kid is SOL

for those of us in the district(lemme check, this is DC urban moms & dads right) there is no in state option. you get $10,000 tarp and the rest you come up with yourselves and not all dc residents skew super wealthy/ URM/first to go to college. lots of "normal" ppl live here, even asian ppl who have to jump through higher hoops, get less merit aid and often come from immigrant families who take money from us instead of leaving us some. So yes sometime sin state tuition is off the table.

[Anonymous]

Yeah, that's really great about your APs way back when but many colleges and universities are no longer accepting 4s and 5s for prereq credit, some not at all. They want you to take their courses and pay for them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD is going to have to work her way through college. I am not going to be able to pay for it for her.

If she can get a job for $70K a year (the cost of tuition alone) without a degree, then why would she go to college?

that's why OP's set up is ridiculous. If instate is off the table and you don't have savings, your kid is SOL

for those of us in the district(lemme check, this is DC urban moms & dads right) there is no in state option. you get $10,000 tarp and the rest you come up with yourselves and not all dc residents skew super wealthy/ URM/first to go to college. lots of "normal" ppl live here, even asian ppl who have to jump through higher hoops, get less merit aid and often come from immigrant families who take money from us instead of leaving us some. So yes sometime sin state tuition is off the table.

You have UDC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I started undergrad as a junior because I had 60+ credit hours from APs. (This was at a flagship state school, in-state, so YMMV, but lots of schools do give credits for scores of 4 or 5.) I'm going to encourage my DDs to take AP, IB and/or dual enrollment courses while in high school to give them the flexibility to take a gap year, finish undergrad early, or go to undergrad part time while working and/or interning.

We're saving a negligible amount in a 529 in order to front-load our retirement saving as much as possible. Once our DDs get to college, we will use a combination of cash flow, 529, Roth IRA if needed, lowering retirement contributions for a few years if needed, and as few loans as possible.

I'm also going to encourage my DDs to consider college in Germany or elsewhere abroad where it is more affordable, but not banking on either of them going for that.

So your dd is not even in high school yet? And you see fit to post about how people should pay for college? You are sure your dd will get all these AP classes and pass? And then you can afford an international college? Sounds so, so normal. I am sure your DD will be pumped full of Concerta and Prozac and hate her life, read...she will hate you.

My point was just that college in other countries is much less expensive. So yes, I'll encourage my DDs to consider it. If not, I'll encourage them to get as many credits as possible in more affordable ways. If they don't test well, dual enrollment/ community college is always an option.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yeah, that's really great about your APs way back when but many colleges and universities are no longer accepting 4s and 5s for prereq credit, some not at all. They want you to take their courses and pay for them.

I just checked UMD and UVA. They both accept lots of credits from various exams. Maybe MIT doesn't, but lots of places do.

[Anonymous]

Traditionally, a lot of students who could not pay for college enlist in the military for the tuition benefits. I'm not advocating it, but that is one path. ROTC is also an option for some students.

Another path is to have high grades and GPA and go to a college that offers generous aid for high stats students. Obviously this will not work for everyone.

Some parents take out Parent Plus loans and their kids max out student loans. That's not a great idea from a financial perspective but it happens.

A lot of people make the decision when they have kids to move to Virginia or Maryland over DC in part because of the better in-state college options.