How much do you put into your kids' 529 (college fund) annually?

[Anonymous]

Just wondering for all these people that went to college "for free" - scholarships, etc. - how much were your parents making? I know for me, living in the DC area with 2 gov't employee parents, we didn't qualify for ANY need-based aid. Most of the very best schools weren't offering merit-only aid. So it was either pay full-tuition at a good school or go to a mediocre school with some merit aid. I would imagine that if the financial aid landscape has not changed too much, many DC area dual income families make too much to qualify for need-based aid. So I guess you are counting on your kids getting merit aid?

[Anonymous]

We do the MD prepaid tuition plan. For 4 years tuition at a MD public college, we pay $337/month until our DS is 18 (he's 19 months now). We are going to pay off our mortgage by the time he starts college, which will also help. AND he will work part time while going to school for two reasons: 1) we will not cover everything and 2) real world work experience is crucial to obtaining a job after he graduates.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

it works in both directions. smart people bring intellectual status to great schools in which more affluent but mediocre people share, so yes, they get something in return.

Harvard, Yale and other Ivies are providing enormous financial aid to middle class and lower HHI students because they want to maintain their status as elite institutions. They're buying the best students they can find with financial aid. There's nothing "free loading" about it. They attract the best students and maintain their elite status. The students get a good education.

Admissions at schools like this are need blind. It takes a tremendous endowment and commitment to do this. And they have a policy across the board about how much debt a student can graduate with.

You are either qualified to attend or not qualified to attend. Once you are offered admission, they meet 100% of your demonstrated need. The amount of aid that can be supplied as loans is capped, so the rest is all grants.

The idea that dumb rich kids get in and schools have to then go out and pay whatever it takes to buy smart ones is more than a little off. The schools that have this sort of commitment take a tremendous amount of flack for it from some alums, some of whom say, "Well, I graduated with $100K in loans, so why can't these kids? Can't you use the money for something else?" I think the larger share of the alumni populations tend to agree with these programs, though.

My alma mater has such a policy and I do class fundraising, so I have heard both sides of this from fellow alums. Yet I always feel a bit of pride when the school releases its statistics for the next incoming class. That's because the percentage of those who are the first in their families to go to college at all is usually higher or equal to the legacies. It's about the smartest and most interesting kids all around - rich, poor, middle-class, connected, not connected. I wouldn't want to give money to an institution that did it any other way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just wondering for all these people that went to college "for free" - scholarships, etc. - how much were your parents making? I know for me, living in the DC area with 2 gov't employee parents, we didn't qualify for ANY need-based aid. Most of the very best schools weren't offering merit-only aid. So it was either pay full-tuition at a good school or go to a mediocre school with some merit aid. I would imagine that if the financial aid landscape has not changed too much, many DC area dual income families make too much to qualify for need-based aid. So I guess you are counting on your kids getting merit aid?

All 3 of the kids in my family went to college for free. Both of my elder siblings went to West Point. I went to a state university on a full academic scholarship (merit not need based). The only scholarships I was offered for college were merit--my parents made too much money for me to qualify for anything need based. But I was part of the one of the smallest graduating class of the 90s nationally, so things were very different than they are now and there was a lot less competition.

(I wasn't one of the "my kids will go for free" people, but I thought I'd chime in anyway.)

[Anonymous]

We have a 2 year old and put in $100 a month. Grandparents, aunts, and uncles put in for holidays/birthday. Right now we have about $6000 in there. We're just doing the best we can. I wouldn't encourage my child to enroll at a college where he had to pay $50,000 a year to go as I believe many state schools are just as good. There are also lots of successful people now doing a couple years of community college before transferring to a 4-year school. There are lots of options besides a $200,000 college education.

An additional benefit for us is that my husband is military and can transfer the new GI bill to our son. That's huge for us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We put 450$ a month for two year old for over a year now into a 529. My mom saved for my college since I was a baby and payed my entire Ivy college ed. I did mostly loans, and grandparents help for law school at an Ivy and ended up with $100k or so in loans. But, I worked at a big lawfirm and paid it off quickly. DH went to a state school, worked 40 hour weeks to graduate in 3 years with no loans. But, he had no time to study and did lousy. DD will hopefully have all the money she needs to focus on educating her mind and even some left for grad school. Hopefully we can "train" her to want all that education!

are you in shock because someone who graduated from ivy undergrad and lawschool can't spell paid? or at the actual substance (that someone's parents managed to save for an entire undergrad ivy education)?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We put 450$ a month for two year old for over a year now into a 529. My mom saved for my college since I was a baby and payed my entire Ivy college ed. I did mostly loans, and grandparents help for law school at an Ivy and ended up with $100k or so in loans. But, I worked at a big lawfirm and paid it off quickly. DH went to a state school, worked 40 hour weeks to graduate in 3 years with no loans. But, he had no time to study and did lousy. DD will hopefully have all the money she needs to focus on educating her mind and even some left for grad school. Hopefully we can "train" her to want all that education!

are you in shock because someone who graduated from ivy undergrad and lawschool can't spell paid? or at the actual substance (that someone's parents managed to save for an entire undergrad ivy education)?

Not the PP, but I would have to go with the spelling. When I went to college, four years of tuition/room/etc at an Ivy was only about $110k. The good, old days!

[Anonymous]

We put in $8K/yr into the DC college savings plan for the tax benefits and contribute the max for his coverdell. But we may stop after this yr. He's 4. I'm not sure how it's doing but it's not managed very well compared to some others but we do automatic deductions so we don't miss the money. His grandparents have put in over $100K into another 529 plan and will continue putting in 26K or whatever the gift tax max is until they can't. They are quite elderly and in poor health so we don't anticipate their contributions for too much longer.

[Anonymous]

I went to college for free tuition, though I had to pay room/board/fees/books. I got into other schools that would have been a free ride but I preferred this school for a variety of reasons. I didn't qualify for any need-based aid - my parents were middle-class. I kicked ass on my PSAT and had great grades (over a 4.0) and activities so I got lots of scholarship offers. The one I accepted was a National Merit scholarship. I still had to take on a little debt for living expenses, and I had to work for my rent and food, but it worked out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We put 450$ a month for two year old for over a year now into a 529. My mom saved for my college since I was a baby and payed my entire Ivy college ed. I did mostly loans, and grandparents help for law school at an Ivy and ended up with $100k or so in loans. But, I worked at a big lawfirm and paid it off quickly. DH went to a state school, worked 40 hour weeks to graduate in 3 years with no loans. But, he had no time to study and did lousy. DD will hopefully have all the money she needs to focus on educating her mind and even some left for grad school. Hopefully we can "train" her to want all that education!

are you in shock because someone who graduated from ivy undergrad and lawschool can't spell paid? or at the actual substance (that someone's parents managed to save for an entire undergrad ivy education)?

It was the spelling, not to mention the other grammatical errors and the general tone.

[Anonymous]

I got my graduate degree for free on a teaching assistantship, and so did 80% of people I know. As long as it's not law, med or business, you should be able to get aid. For as long as faculty at large universities are promoted based on how much the publish, not how much they teach, large universities will continue to rely on TAs to cover their teaching needs.

[Anonymous]

I am pretty ignorant about this subject: when colleges take into account students' need for financial aid, do they consider how much parents have stocked away into 529 funds? I assume they do (as they should), but I remember my (lower middle class) parents feeling very resentful because financial aid actually tended to favor people who made some profligate choices-- e.g., not investing in a 529 plan. Are people penalized aid-wise for planning and saving for college, even if their income is not great?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just wondering for all these people that went to college "for free" - scholarships, etc. - how much were your parents making? I know for me, living in the DC area with 2 gov't employee parents, we didn't qualify for ANY need-based aid. Most of the very best schools weren't offering merit-only aid. So it was either pay full-tuition at a good school or go to a mediocre school with some merit aid. I would imagine that if the financial aid landscape has not changed too much, many DC area dual income families make too much to qualify for need-based aid. So I guess you are counting on your kids getting merit aid?

I was wondering the same thing. I grew up in a different region, a rural area, and my parents had a HHI of about $60,000. I received full merit scholarships to several schools, but the financial aid packages were totally insufficient on their own. I'd imagine it's even harder for a student in this intellectually competitive area of the country to receive a merit-based award.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just wondering for all these people that went to college "for free" - scholarships, etc. - how much were your parents making? I know for me, living in the DC area with 2 gov't employee parents, we didn't qualify for ANY need-based aid. Most of the very best schools weren't offering merit-only aid. So it was either pay full-tuition at a good school or go to a mediocre school with some merit aid. I would imagine that if the financial aid landscape has not changed too much, many DC area dual income families make too much to qualify for need-based aid. So I guess you are counting on your kids getting merit aid?

I had the same thought. My dad was a naval officer and my mom worked PT for about $45K a year. I didn't qualify for anything close to a free ride based on financial need. This was in the mid 90s.

We are putting away about $5K a year for each kid in the Virginia pre-paid tuition program. Our assumption is that our HHI is going to be too high for our kids to qualify for need-based aid, so we should save so it is not such a strain on us down the road. But *if* we thought our HHI was going to be low enough to qualify for need-based aid, then we wouldn't really have any incentive to save, because anything we saved would only take away from what we would otherwise get in need-based aid. If your HHI is low enough to qualify for need-based aid, then you are better off blowing your savings on a new car or a bigger house.

[Anonymous]

whats the point of saving for college, shouldn't we just spend it all and burn through it so we can get aid later?