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

[Anonymous]

I paid 72k plus incidentals for DD for 1st year @ out of state private. She came home that summer and decided to transfer to local state school but before the fall season enrolled t in the local community college. There she ran into old friends from her HS private, kids from MS and elementary school. She was having so much fun that she decided to stay and finish at the CC, then transfer to local state. She didn't want to live on campus so tuition was a meager 10k per year , less than one year of HS. Upon graduation she landed a job with a large IT company, and one year later she's making just over 90K.

After that experience her younger brother decided to follow her path and is currently attending community college. I'm happy and so is my wallet....lol

[Anonymous]

In California, a lot of people attend 2-year colleges and then transfer into great publics. It is a common path that isn't as prevalent here for some reason.

[Anonymous]

Yes, people are paying. Private schools are 50k a year already so paying for college is similar. Many families have education trust funds from grandparents.

[Anonymous]

I’m full pay at an in-state school that is 38k all in, and we don’t have the money to spend.
We are taking out loans.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People are so, soooo dumb.

Draining their entire life savings to pay for college.

Morons.

Send your damn kid to the community college for 2 years then transfer to a state school with living from home arrangements for the last 2 years.

You idiots wipe out your entire savings so your stupid kids can have the 'college experience' and get the same damn basic education your state and community colleges offer. A BS degree matters so sooooooooo little over the longrun. Just get the cheapest one possible. I can't believe there are still millions of really stupid people out there willing to pay over $100k for a useless BS degree.

Community college is for academic failures to gain a 2nd chance. Kids will good grades are already getting into the state colleges first time round.

NP— absolutely wrong. I graduated in top 5% of my class and scored in top 5% of SAT, but would have needed to take out loans to attend college so instead I attended community college as I could easily work part time to pay for school while living at home.

After getting AA degree I started 3rd year of college at UC Berkeley. This was common in California in the 80s and seems common still.

It is an option for academic failures in today's world PP. I know you did this in the 80s and I applaud you, but its not the same. CC kids are flunking out of CC all over California. A very tiny minority are getting into the UC

Do you have the data to back that up?

Info published by University of California supports a continuing history of CC students successfully transfering to UC schools. I'm not suggesting that the majority of CC students go on to UC, but if you are a high school senior that is otherwise a good candidate for UC, but you'd like to save $, I don't see anything suggesting that you shouldn't do it. Not in the 80s and not now.

https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/about-us/information-center/admissions-source-school

DP. The real students probably are still transferring at a respectable rate, but especially since online, CCs are overrun with identity fraud for aid theft. When they aren't close to catching all the thieves, presumably the enrollment numbers and transfer rates aren't accurate. https://www.sfchronicle.com/california/article/college-aid-scam-18119117.php

This. My nephews in California are both doing the CC --> UC/Cal State path. One has already transferred successfully and the other is doing well in CC. Here in VA, some of my son's good friends from HS are doing NVCC. One is set to transfer to JMU for Spring 2024, another just started at VT. Another had some mental health issues and is taking a slower path. There is such a wide variety of types of students at CC that average outcomes are pretty meaningless.

[Anonymous]

When I went to CC back in the day (went on to BS and Master’s, just couldn’t afford to go away at 18). I actually really enjoyed it for a variety of reasons, but one being that I thought it was pretty great there were “older “ students in the classes who would contribute a lot to the classes. Here in NY, the CCs tuition is about 7000 a year plus fees. I’m sure that’s still pricey for some students. I wonder if CCs will continue to exist in the future; I hope they do.

[Anonymous]

Some people just love a bargain. Even if they can afford a 4-year college, they go to community colleges because they aren’t getting any financial aid at a 4-year school & it bothers them to pay tens of thousands of dollars for intro-level courses in which there are sometimes 100+ students in the class. So, they get the same credits in small community college classes for a fraction of the price.

[Anonymous]

This. My nephews in California are both doing the CC --> UC/Cal State path. One has already transferred successfully and the other is doing well in CC. Here in VA, some of my son's good friends from HS are doing NVCC. One is set to transfer to JMU for Spring 2024, another just started at VT. Another had some mental health issues and is taking a slower path. There is such a wide variety of types of students at CC that average outcomes are pretty meaningless.

I absolutely agree with you regarding the wide variety of students at CC. I took classes at CC when I high school so that I could graduate early from high school. My mom's best friend at the time was taking classes at the same time in flower arranging, just for fun. And a cousin took CC classes to get a certificate in HV/AC and now makes bank. A statement like "be careful! don't ket your child go to CC-- only a tiny percent of those enrolled in CC end up at a four year school" doesn't tell the whole story-- it may be ture, but it's missing the point.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I paid 72k plus incidentals for DD for 1st year @ out of state private. She came home that summer and decided to transfer to local state school but before the fall season enrolled t in the local community college. There she ran into old friends from her HS private, kids from MS and elementary school. She was having so much fun that she decided to stay and finish at the CC, then transfer to local state. She didn't want to live on campus so tuition was a meager 10k per year , less than one year of HS. Upon graduation she landed a job with a large IT company, and one year later she's making just over 90K.

After that experience her younger brother decided to follow her path and is currently attending community college. I'm happy and so is my wallet....lol

I know someone who had similar path…2 years at CC then to UCLA… to a very high-paying job in computer science, with start date right after graduating.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

This. My nephews in California are both doing the CC --> UC/Cal State path. One has already transferred successfully and the other is doing well in CC. Here in VA, some of my son's good friends from HS are doing NVCC. One is set to transfer to JMU for Spring 2024, another just started at VT. Another had some mental health issues and is taking a slower path. There is such a wide variety of types of students at CC that average outcomes are pretty meaningless.

I absolutely agree with you regarding the wide variety of students at CC. I took classes at CC when I high school so that I could graduate early from high school. My mom's best friend at the time was taking classes at the same time in flower arranging, just for fun. And a cousin took CC classes to get a certificate in HV/AC and now makes bank. A statement like "be careful! don't ket your child go to CC-- only a tiny percent of those enrolled in CC end up at a four year school" doesn't tell the whole story-- it may be ture, but it's missing the point. .

A LARGE percent of high schoolers go straight to community college in California. This is true at urban schools and affluent suburban schools as well.

[Anonymous]

Yep, we're ready for full pay even if she ends up getting merit scholarships or grants We have 4 rental properties and are liquidating 2 of them next year to prepare to hav the money ready to go to fund her dreams. We also have a 529 because we did that when she was born and acquired the rentals later.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I grew up in the Midwest in an area where going to college was the expectation, but very little prestige given to this school over that. People mostly went public.

But .. there was also an expectation that kids got cars over their own in their teen years (new, nice cars). People cared indeed about brand names. People got married pretty young, bought an home at 30, and had their 3 or 4 kids by the time they were in their mid 30.

My parents were east coast transplants and we had to use the family car when it was free and applied to colleges further afield. We all went to Ivy League schools (in the day when it wasn’t that hard for full pay kids).

And now I live in Brooklyn and see this mania up close.

But as I watch my Midwest friends repeating this cycle I think, that’s a better way. It’s weird how this college thing overtakes a childhood. My old friends had more kids, roomy houses, less financial stress, got a lake house in MI or WI, are on track for retirement, and their kids had carefree childhoods. They all have fulfilling jobs. Their kids will too.

Why do we do this?

This is so interesting. What do you think is going on?

Same. I actually think my senior DD would love the midwestern university in the town I grew up in. She has toured and does like it but is influenced by the culture here and thinks that because it has a high acceptance rate it isn’t as good as schools with a lower acceptance rate. She could just pick this school and enjoy her senior year and also enjoy her college experience.

She is correct in that her academic cohort at a lower ranked / acceptance rate college is definitely for the most part, going to be inferior, regardless of the standard of teaching / research at the college.

40% of kids at Williams, Amherst etc all recruited athletes. Why do people still buy this?

To me, recruited athletes deserve an advantage in admission. They have the motivation and self-discipline to be an athlete, all while meeting academic qualifications. (My 3 kids are involved in sports, but at primarily a rec level, and so won't be recruited athletes. And so I do not have a dog in this fight. ) So I definitely do not think that the 40% of kids who are recruited athletes there mean that they are lower quality -- I'd love for my kids to be around such a high-achieving cohort.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I grew up in the Midwest in an area where going to college was the expectation, but very little prestige given to this school over that. People mostly went public.

But .. there was also an expectation that kids got cars over their own in their teen years (new, nice cars). People cared indeed about brand names. People got married pretty young, bought an home at 30, and had their 3 or 4 kids by the time they were in their mid 30.

My parents were east coast transplants and we had to use the family car when it was free and applied to colleges further afield. We all went to Ivy League schools (in the day when it wasn’t that hard for full pay kids).

And now I live in Brooklyn and see this mania up close.

But as I watch my Midwest friends repeating this cycle I think, that’s a better way. It’s weird how this college thing overtakes a childhood. My old friends had more kids, roomy houses, less financial stress, got a lake house in MI or WI, are on track for retirement, and their kids had carefree childhoods. They all have fulfilling jobs. Their kids will too.

Why do we do this?

This is so interesting. What do you think is going on?

Same. I actually think my senior DD would love the midwestern university in the town I grew up in. She has toured and does like it but is influenced by the culture here and thinks that because it has a high acceptance rate it isn’t as good as schools with a lower acceptance rate. She could just pick this school and enjoy her senior year and also enjoy her college experience.

She is correct in that her academic cohort at a lower ranked / acceptance rate college is definitely for the most part, going to be inferior, regardless of the standard of teaching / research at the college.

40% of kids at Williams, Amherst etc all recruited athletes. Why do people still buy this?

To me, recruited athletes deserve an advantage in admission. They have the motivation and self-discipline to be an athlete, all while meeting academic qualifications.

Haters are never going to stop crying about it though, lmao.

[Anonymous]

Yes. We stopped at 2 kids for this and other financial reason. I would have loved more kiddos, but I value having financial freedom.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I grew up in the Midwest in an area where going to college was the expectation, but very little prestige given to this school over that. People mostly went public.

But .. there was also an expectation that kids got cars over their own in their teen years (new, nice cars). People cared indeed about brand names. People got married pretty young, bought an home at 30, and had their 3 or 4 kids by the time they were in their mid 30.

My parents were east coast transplants and we had to use the family car when it was free and applied to colleges further afield. We all went to Ivy League schools (in the day when it wasn’t that hard for full pay kids).

And now I live in Brooklyn and see this mania up close.

But as I watch my Midwest friends repeating this cycle I think, that’s a better way. It’s weird how this college thing overtakes a childhood. My old friends had more kids, roomy houses, less financial stress, got a lake house in MI or WI, are on track for retirement, and their kids had carefree childhoods. They all have fulfilling jobs. Their kids will too.

Why do we do this?

This is so interesting. What do you think is going on?

Same. I actually think my senior DD would love the midwestern university in the town I grew up in. She has toured and does like it but is influenced by the culture here and thinks that because it has a high acceptance rate it isn’t as good as schools with a lower acceptance rate. She could just pick this school and enjoy her senior year and also enjoy her college experience.

She is correct in that her academic cohort at a lower ranked / acceptance rate college is definitely for the most part, going to be inferior, regardless of the standard of teaching / research at the college.

40% of kids at Williams, Amherst etc all recruited athletes. Why do people still buy this?

To me, recruited athletes deserve an advantage in admission. They have the motivation and self-discipline to be an athlete, all while meeting academic qualifications. (My 3 kids are involved in sports, but at primarily a rec level, and so won't be recruited athletes. And so I do not have a dog in this fight. ) So I definitely do not think that the 40% of kids who are recruited athletes there mean that they are lower quality -- I'd love for my kids to be around such a high-achieving cohort.

I agree. This is one of few hooks that is actually merit and hard work based. My DCs are very young, and neither DH not I were athletic recruits, so no skin in this game, but any HS athlete who can also maintain top grades at a good school has my utmost respect. It is so much hard work, dedication and good organizational skills.