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

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As the first two responses indicate, one reason people do pay all this money is that if you’re going to blink, you really need to do it early, like when you’re choosing high schools, to avoid massive social and emotional complications.

Good advice. For most of America, there’s no assumption you’ll be able to afford/attend the best school you can get into. But for certain parts of DCUMlandia, it raises eyebrows to tell your kids they can’t go to Harvard even if you get in due to cost. If that’s you, you gotta tell your kids early and often, because they might be in for a rude awakening.

Harvard and most Top 50 are need blind.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As the first two responses indicate, one reason people do pay all this money is that if you’re going to blink, you really need to do it early, like when you’re choosing high schools, to avoid massive social and emotional complications.

Good advice. For most of America, there’s no assumption you’ll be able to afford/attend the best school you can get into. But for certain parts of DCUMlandia, it raises eyebrows to tell your kids they can’t go to Harvard even if you get in due to cost. If that’s you, you gotta tell your kids early and often, because they might be in for a rude awakening.

Harvard and most Top 50 are need blind.

Need blind is good only for the poor. Harvard will provide little aid to a student whose family makes above $150k.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As the first two responses indicate, one reason people do pay all this money is that if you’re going to blink, you really need to do it early, like when you’re choosing high schools, to avoid massive social and emotional complications.

Good advice. For most of America, there’s no assumption you’ll be able to afford/attend the best school you can get into. But for certain parts of DCUMlandia, it raises eyebrows to tell your kids they can’t go to Harvard even if you get in due to cost. If that’s you, you gotta tell your kids early and often, because they might be in for a rude awakening.

Harvard and most Top 50 are need blind.

Need blind is good only for the poor. Harvard will provide little aid to a student whose family makes above $150k.

Yes, two kids to Princeton. Paid the 70 grand a year. I am in the lower region of upper middle class so not an easy pull. Not a good value but having grown up desperately poor with a sick single mother and only an athletic scholarship to send me to college, making the next generation have opportunity meant biting the bullet and paying. I did plan so no debt anywhere, but paying those stiff prices for two is unnerving.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As the first two responses indicate, one reason people do pay all this money is that if you’re going to blink, you really need to do it early, like when you’re choosing high schools, to avoid massive social and emotional complications.

Good advice. For most of America, there’s no assumption you’ll be able to afford/attend the best school you can get into. But for certain parts of DCUMlandia, it raises eyebrows to tell your kids they can’t go to Harvard even if you get in due to cost. If that’s you, you gotta tell your kids early and often, because they might be in for a rude awakening.

Harvard and most Top 50 are need blind.

Need blind is good only for the poor. Harvard will provide little aid to a student whose family makes above $150k.

Yes, two kids to Princeton. Paid the 70 grand a year. I am in the lower region of upper middle class so not an easy pull. Not a good value but having grown up desperately poor with a sick single mother and only an athletic scholarship to send me to college, making the next generation have opportunity meant biting the bullet and paying. I did plan so no debt anywhere, but paying those stiff prices for two is unnerving.

This is us. My parents limited me to only state schools and my husband grew up poor with a single mom.

We both are letting them go anywhere abd we will have to be full pay—also lower UMC. Won’t be easy.

[Anonymous]

Yes, full pay for both kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As the first two responses indicate, one reason people do pay all this money is that if you’re going to blink, you really need to do it early, like when you’re choosing high schools, to avoid massive social and emotional complications.

Good advice. For most of America, there’s no assumption you’ll be able to afford/attend the best school you can get into. But for certain parts of DCUMlandia, it raises eyebrows to tell your kids they can’t go to Harvard even if you get in due to cost. If that’s you, you gotta tell your kids early and often, because they might be in for a rude awakening.

Harvard and most Top 50 are need blind.

Need blind is good only for the poor. Harvard will provide little aid to a student whose family makes above $150k.

Yes, two kids to Princeton. Paid the 70 grand a year. I am in the lower region of upper middle class so not an easy pull. Not a good value but having grown up desperately poor with a sick single mother and only an athletic scholarship to send me to college, making the next generation have opportunity meant biting the bullet and paying. I did plan so no debt anywhere, but paying those stiff prices for two is unnerving.

This is us. My parents limited me to only state schools and my husband grew up poor with a single mom.

We both are letting them go anywhere abd we will have to be full pay—also lower UMC. Won’t be easy.

NP. Do you feel you were limited by the state schools you attended? And do you think your kids (question is for both PP’s) will truly be set in a different direction by attending Princeton (or whatever exclusive college they attend)? So many people say for an ambitious smart kid they will do well no matter where they attend. So I’m wondering if you can speak to that.

[Anonymous]

we'll be full pay (on 150k a year, but a stock portfolio that does well and not a lot of way to shovel this into retirement bcs we make 150k a year!)

I can see spending down our assets to pay for HYPSM. After that, it's a much tougher call. After top 12ish, it's a much easier call.

We told our kids this before they even started high school.

[Anonymous]

Why do you think more and more kids are applying to schools in Canada and the UK? only 3 years and still a lot cheaper than US schools, plus more interesting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why do you think more and more kids are applying to schools in Canada and the UK? only 3 years and still a lot cheaper than US schools, plus more interesting.

maybe because their parents don't have the $80+k to send them to their school of choice in the US

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why do you think more and more kids are applying to schools in Canada and the UK? only 3 years and still a lot cheaper than US schools, plus more interesting.

maybe because their parents don't have the $80+k to send them to their school of choice in the US

DP. Yes, I think PP said that didn't they? "a lot cheaper". Not everyone has $80k to spend and not everyone wants to spend it. We don't. We've got 2 kids going to college at the same time. We're California in-state and UK origin. These are the places we're focused on because a) great education and b) great sticker price when compared to the alternatives.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:we'll be full pay (on 150k a year, but a stock portfolio that does well and not a lot of way to shovel this into retirement bcs we make 150k a year!)

I can see spending down our assets to pay for HYPSM. After that, it's a much tougher call. After top 12ish, it's a much easier call.

We told our kids this before they even started high school.

us exactly. dh says we should buy a yacht to shelter it. not really, but .. it's all so messed up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why do you think more and more kids are applying to schools in Canada and the UK? only 3 years and still a lot cheaper than US schools, plus more interesting.

maybe because their parents don't have the $80+k to send them to their school of choice in the US

+1

30K in UK v. 50k in US for most schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:we'll be full pay (on 150k a year, but a stock portfolio that does well and not a lot of way to shovel this into retirement bcs we make 150k a year!)

I can see spending down our assets to pay for HYPSM. After that, it's a much tougher call. After top 12ish, it's a much easier call.

We told our kids this before they even started high school.

us exactly. dh says we should buy a yacht to shelter it. not really, but .. it's all so messed up.

Some of the ivy league colleges are stopping looking at house value as collateral. Pay down your mortgage instead (if you have one)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:we'll be full pay (on 150k a year, but a stock portfolio that does well and not a lot of way to shovel this into retirement bcs we make 150k a year!)

I can see spending down our assets to pay for HYPSM. After that, it's a much tougher call. After top 12ish, it's a much easier call.

We told our kids this before they even started high school.

us exactly. dh says we should buy a yacht to shelter it. not really, but .. it's all so messed up.

Some of the ivy league colleges are stopping looking at house value as collateral. Pay down your mortgage instead (if you have one)

Depending on the age of your kid, you can also purchase a cash-value life insurance policy. Life insurance is not considered in assets and after about the first 5-7 years of the policy, the cash value starts growing in excess of what you contributed. I think Whole Life with a AAA company is safer/better (essentially guaranteed return) than Variable Universal (invest in stock market) because if the stock market takes a big hit then it can be like a margin call. Unfortunately, this has happened with the 2008 financial crisis and then when COVID hit in 2020. You can also contribute more than the premium in order to increase the cash value, although there are limitations of how much extra cash you can contribute.

You can also borrow against the policy up to your cash value, which is a way to pull your $$$s out tax-free.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As the first two responses indicate, one reason people do pay all this money is that if you’re going to blink, you really need to do it early, like when you’re choosing high schools, to avoid massive social and emotional complications.

Good advice. For most of America, there’s no assumption you’ll be able to afford/attend the best school you can get into. But for certain parts of DCUMlandia, it raises eyebrows to tell your kids they can’t go to Harvard even if you get in due to cost. If that’s you, you gotta tell your kids early and often, because they might be in for a rude awakening.

Harvard and most Top 50 are need blind.

Need blind is good only for the poor. Harvard will provide little aid to a student whose family makes above $150k.

Need Blind simply means that the admissions office doesn't look into the financial situation of the applicant when making the decision. That is all. MC parents are usually screwed.