Do most people pay for college out of pocket?

[Anonymous]

No, we save starting at birth, live in a crappy house, don't vacations and pay for a state school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are millions of parents earning in the Top 3% and above. Millions. Executives, lawyers, SWE’s in the tech field, doctors, investment bankers.

or someone who may have been driving a beat up car just to save for ivy education for their kids

Like the rest of us are rolling around in 90k cars. Sticker price on my vehicle is less than one semester at ivy league.

But do you drive that $45K vehicle for 10-12 years? Or do you replace it every 5-6 years? For "donut hole families" that can make the difference in. what you can afford for your kid (that and other similar cost saving choices you make along the way)

Most people who claim donut hole are making $200-500K and its a joke as they could save and choose not to and then want to complain about the cost of college and expect others to pay.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Most people don't pay the sticker price.

Research from College Board shows that the average tuition/fees sticker price at a private non-profit is $41,540 but the average net price (amount paid after grants/scholarships) is only $15,910.

https://www.brookings.edu/articles/college-prices-arent-skyrocketing-but-theyre-still-too-high-for-some/
https://research.collegeboard.org/trends/college-pricing/highlights

We pay sticker price at an affordable in-state school (about $26k this year with living off campus). And one kid is at a private where our actual cost is less than half of the sticker price.

This. The only people paying $80-90k are the 50% or so of the students who aren't on financial aid that are at a very small number (20 or so) of top private colleges that don't offer any merit aid. We could pay full tuition out of pocket, but aren't, because my kid got substantial merit aid everywhere he was admitted.

There are also state flagships that offer substantial merit aid (mostly for in state students, but some for OOS). I have a family member attending GaT for about $15,000 a year (total cost -- they effectively only pay for room and board).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are millions of parents earning in the Top 3% and above. Millions. Executives, lawyers, SWE’s in the tech field, doctors, investment bankers.

or someone who may have been driving a beat up car just to save for ivy education for their kids

Like the rest of us are rolling around in 90k cars. Sticker price on my vehicle is less than one semester at ivy league.

But do you drive that $45K vehicle for 10-12 years? Or do you replace it every 5-6 years? For "donut hole families" that can make the difference in. what you can afford for your kid (that and other similar cost saving choices you make along the way)

Most people who claim donut hole are making $200-500K and its a joke as they could save and choose not to and then want to complain about the cost of college and expect others to pay.

$200K family of 4 living in a hcol hard pressed to spend $80K x 4 yrs x 2 kids = $640K without impacting retirement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I will feel markedly like a chump when I write the first check for $84k and change in the summer. Ugh. Full pay over here.

Well, it will be more like 42k for the semester.

But I hear you. I actually do the payment plan because it is easier to handle mentally. And we can afford it easily but it still makes me feel chumpy. My kid is super happy though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Start a 529 when the kid is born. Make monthly contributions. 18 years later = >$500,000.

We did that and only have 160K. Kid is 17.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are millions of parents earning in the Top 3% and above. Millions. Executives, lawyers, SWE’s in the tech field, doctors, investment bankers.

or someone who may have been driving a beat up car just to save for ivy education for their kids

Like the rest of us are rolling around in 90k cars. Sticker price on my vehicle is less than one semester at ivy league.

But do you drive that $45K vehicle for 10-12 years? Or do you replace it every 5-6 years? For "donut hole families" that can make the difference in. what you can afford for your kid (that and other similar cost saving choices you make along the way)

Most people who claim donut hole are making $200-500K and its a joke as they could save and choose not to and then want to complain about the cost of college and expect others to pay.

$200K family of 4 living in a hcol hard pressed to spend $80K x 4 yrs x 2 kids = $640K without impacting retirement.

This we're around 225 now with two kids who will be in school at the same time. For most of their lives we made less. We'll be able to pay instate easily at most school, two in W&M would be a stretch. We've been saving since but, saving the 800k it will cost two send two kids to a private school by the time they are old enough was never going to happen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are millions of parents earning in the Top 3% and above. Millions. Executives, lawyers, SWE’s in the tech field, doctors, investment bankers.

or someone who may have been driving a beat up car just to save for ivy education for their kids

Like the rest of us are rolling around in 90k cars. Sticker price on my vehicle is less than one semester at ivy league.

But do you drive that $45K vehicle for 10-12 years? Or do you replace it every 5-6 years? For "donut hole families" that can make the difference in. what you can afford for your kid (that and other similar cost saving choices you make along the way)

Most people who claim donut hole are making $200-500K and its a joke as they could save and choose not to and then want to complain about the cost of college and expect others to pay.

+1. We drive our cars for over ten years, and usually do not buy them new (if new, they are $30k cars). I don't understand people that have help, expecting more help - it's like they walk around with their hand out. We have saved since birth - did you not think your kids would go to college??

[Anonymous]

State schools here. Otherwise merit aid is a requirement to make it close to the price of in state options. We did MD prepaid accounts which helped a lot but we pay room & board as we go (which I’m grateful we can afford for 2). I can’t fathom paying full tuition for an out of state public or for a private school. We simply can’t afford that. And now that I have one about to graduate, I am so glad we didn’t get sucked in to doing it. I don’t see where there’s enough return on that investment. Maybe for an Ivy but I’m not even sure there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Start a 529 when the kid is born. Make monthly contributions. 18 years later = >$500,000.

What were the monthly contributions?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I realize many on DCUM are wealthy, but what about vast swaths of the US?
90k for college??! Who is paying this? It is daunting.

Sincerely,
A regular person

We saved from before birth as it was important for us.
Most do a combination of saving, loans (student and sometimes parents) and whatever their child can earn during the time frame, if lucky scholarships are added to the mix.

[Anonymous]

I paid cash.

It’s about $25K for one and $40K for another.

Our HHI is ~$300K - 2govt workers

Daycare > private > college

It never seemed too daunting. We just lived within those means.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are upper middle class, so not insanely wealthy like doctors, investment bankers, and executives. But the price of tuition is baffling to me. I don’t know how anyone can pay for out-of-state or private schools. It’s pocket change for the wealthy, and if you are low-income enough you get aid. Middle class parents have it the worst.

I wish we lived in Florida or Georgia. Those schools are cheap and provide solid education!

Middle class do just fine with financial aid at most private schools. You are likely upper class.

To qualify for financial aid, HHI has to be below $100k, $150k, somewhere in that ballpark. $200k-$300k HHI disqualifies you from any type of finaid. I wouldn’t consider 300k to be upper class.

Why do we have to keep having this conversation? Nationwide, $300k in income puts you in the top 3.8%. Even in Maryland, it puts you in the top 7%. Median income in Maryland is $91k.

Are you really arguing that people who make $300k a year shouldn't be expected to save for college? $300k is $25k per month gross, say $18k net. Any money invested in a DJIA index fund in 2005 would have returned over 10% (average annualized return). If you'd saved $400 a month in a college fund for 22 years, you'd have $360k. Someone starting today could get to $380k with $800 a month going into a money market at 5%.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I cash flow most of my DS's tuition, apartment etc, but he pays for his food and fun expenses. He does have a small loan - 7500 for one year because I had a low cash period. I put $1700 a month into the 529, and make withdrawals when the payment date arrives and then I pay his $800 rent every month. So basically I'm paying $1700+800 = $2500 post tax per month for him to attend his in state school. I cannot wait to be done in a year! HHI of about 300K. We started with about 10K in his 529 and I always expected to cash flow most of it.

That's what you pay for an infant per month at daycare.

Yeah I just did taxes and I’m on year 4 of “cash flowing” $30k+ for childcare. It’s hard but at least college has financial aid and loans as options unlike daycare.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Start a 529 when the kid is born. Make monthly contributions. 18 years later = >$500,000.

What were the monthly contributions?

DP. The DJIA average annual return since 2005 was about 10%. If you had invested $1,000 a month in a Dow Index fund beginning 2005, you'd have $571,838. S&P was about the same.