Top Colleges Are Cheaper Than You Think (Unless You’re Rich)

[Anonymous]

This is an interesting article about how much aid is available for low and middle income families. It’s interesting that they include UVA AND break it’s info down for IS and OS. You can use a drop down to select a school and see how their aid varies by income.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/06/05/opinion/columnists/what-college-really-costs.html

[Anonymous]

Sorry. Forgot to add their basic premise:

Middle-class families pay a higher price, but nothing like the list price. Only affluent families pay something close to the list price. It’s true that many of these families don’t think of themselves as affluent. But they are – part of roughly the country’s richest 10 percent, with an annual income of at least $175,000 and a net worth of a half-million dollars or more. For them, a college bill approaching $70,000 can be decidedly unpleasant, yet it doesn’t reorder their lives.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sorry. Forgot to add their basic premise:

Middle-class families pay a higher price, but nothing like the list price. Only affluent families pay something close to the list price. It’s true that many of these families don’t think of themselves as affluent. But they are – part of roughly the country’s richest 10 percent, with an annual income of at least $175,000 and a net worth of a half-million dollars or more. For them, a college bill approaching $70,000 can be decidedly unpleasant, yet it doesn’t reorder their lives.

I have zero complaints about our $200K HHI (although will note that it doesn't buy what it would e.g. in Omaha, notwithstanding FAFSA's indifference to such distinction), but it is not sufficient to pay full price at a school that costs $70K or more per year.

It is not a matter of "decidedly unpleasant"; it is a matter of "inaccessible."

To attend such a school, one needs to be low-income, middle-income, or in the top 1-2%.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sorry. Forgot to add their basic premise:

Middle-class families pay a higher price, but nothing like the list price. Only affluent families pay something close to the list price. It’s true that many of these families don’t think of themselves as affluent. But they are – part of roughly the country’s richest 10 percent, with an annual income of at least $175,000 and a net worth of a half-million dollars or more. For them, a college bill approaching $70,000 can be decidedly unpleasant, yet it doesn’t reorder their lives.

I have zero complaints about our $200K HHI (although will note that it doesn't buy what it would e.g. in Omaha, notwithstanding FAFSA's indifference to such distinction), but it is not sufficient to pay full price at a school that costs $70K or more per year.

It is not a matter of "decidedly unpleasant"; it is a matter of "inaccessible."

To attend such a school, one needs to be low-income, middle-income, or in the top 1-2%.

Out of current year's income, yes, probably... but saving for 15 years from similar income? Should not be.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sorry. Forgot to add their basic premise:

Middle-class families pay a higher price, but nothing like the list price. Only affluent families pay something close to the list price. It’s true that many of these families don’t think of themselves as affluent. But they are – part of roughly the country’s richest 10 percent, with an annual income of at least $175,000 and a net worth of a half-million dollars or more. For them, a college bill approaching $70,000 can be decidedly unpleasant, yet it doesn’t reorder their lives.

I have zero complaints about our $200K HHI (although will note that it doesn't buy what it would e.g. in Omaha, notwithstanding FAFSA's indifference to such distinction), but it is not sufficient to pay full price at a school that costs $70K or more per year.

It is not a matter of "decidedly unpleasant"; it is a matter of "inaccessible."

To attend such a school, one needs to be low-income, middle-income, or in the top 1-2%.

Out of current year's income, yes, probably... but saving for 15 years from similar income? Should not be.

+1. If you save even half the cost of a private college you may be able to afford it paying the remainder out of pocket. Our experience was that the top schools are pretty generous with financial aid even for folks with 200k HHI. This was our experience anyway.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sorry. Forgot to add their basic premise:

Middle-class families pay a higher price, but nothing like the list price. Only affluent families pay something close to the list price. It’s true that many of these families don’t think of themselves as affluent. But they are – part of roughly the country’s richest 10 percent, with an annual income of at least $175,000 and a net worth of a half-million dollars or more. For them, a college bill approaching $70,000 can be decidedly unpleasant, yet it doesn’t reorder their lives.

I have zero complaints about our $200K HHI (although will note that it doesn't buy what it would e.g. in Omaha, notwithstanding FAFSA's indifference to such distinction), but it is not sufficient to pay full price at a school that costs $70K or more per year.

It is not a matter of "decidedly unpleasant"; it is a matter of "inaccessible."

To attend such a school, one needs to be low-income, middle-income, or in the top 1-2%.

Out of current year's income, yes, probably... but saving for 15 years from similar income? Should not be.

That supposes that you are making that same income for all those 15+ years. We make that now, with two in HS and are shoveling as much as we can into college savings, but it's a very recent development.

And, many families who are making that income via two salaries by the time their kids are approaching college would have been spending what they might otherwise save for college to pay for childcare.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sorry. Forgot to add their basic premise:

Middle-class families pay a higher price, but nothing like the list price. Only affluent families pay something close to the list price. It’s true that many of these families don’t think of themselves as affluent. But they are – part of roughly the country’s richest 10 percent, with an annual income of at least $175,000 and a net worth of a half-million dollars or more. For them, a college bill approaching $70,000 can be decidedly unpleasant, yet it doesn’t reorder their lives.

I have zero complaints about our $200K HHI (although will note that it doesn't buy what it would e.g. in Omaha, notwithstanding FAFSA's indifference to such distinction), but it is not sufficient to pay full price at a school that costs $70K or more per year.

It is not a matter of "decidedly unpleasant"; it is a matter of "inaccessible."

To attend such a school, one needs to be low-income, middle-income, or in the top 1-2%.

Out of current year's income, yes, probably... but saving for 15 years from similar income? Should not be.

But it is. Generally a family with teens and a HHI of say $200K has not had that HHI since the kids were babies - it has risen over time. And for the first ~7-8 years, that family had enormous childcare expenses.

If the parents in question are older and approaching retirement, all the harder.

We have saved very aggressively in this exact scenario and can pay up to, and no more than about $50K/year. We will not jeopardize our retirement to send our kids to elite schools, and do not qualify for need-based FA.

"Decidedly unpleasant" my ass.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sorry. Forgot to add their basic premise:

Middle-class families pay a higher price, but nothing like the list price. Only affluent families pay something close to the list price. It’s true that many of these families don’t think of themselves as affluent. But they are – part of roughly the country’s richest 10 percent, with an annual income of at least $175,000 and a net worth of a half-million dollars or more. For them, a college bill approaching $70,000 can be decidedly unpleasant, yet it doesn’t reorder their lives.

I have zero complaints about our $200K HHI (although will note that it doesn't buy what it would e.g. in Omaha, notwithstanding FAFSA's indifference to such distinction), but it is not sufficient to pay full price at a school that costs $70K or more per year.

It is not a matter of "decidedly unpleasant"; it is a matter of "inaccessible."

To attend such a school, one needs to be low-income, middle-income, or in the top 1-2%.

Out of current year's income, yes, probably... but saving for 15 years from similar income? Should not be.

+1. If you save even half the cost of a private college you may be able to afford it paying the remainder out of pocket. Our experience was that the top schools are pretty generous with financial aid even for folks with 200k HHI. This was our experience anyway.

That is the opposite of our experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sorry. Forgot to add their basic premise:

Middle-class families pay a higher price, but nothing like the list price. Only affluent families pay something close to the list price. It’s true that many of these families don’t think of themselves as affluent. But they are – part of roughly the country’s richest 10 percent, with an annual income of at least $175,000 and a net worth of a half-million dollars or more. For them, a college bill approaching $70,000 can be decidedly unpleasant, yet it doesn’t reorder their lives.

I have zero complaints about our $200K HHI (although will note that it doesn't buy what it would e.g. in Omaha, notwithstanding FAFSA's indifference to such distinction), but it is not sufficient to pay full price at a school that costs $70K or more per year.

It is not a matter of "decidedly unpleasant"; it is a matter of "inaccessible."

To attend such a school, one needs to be low-income, middle-income, or in the top 1-2%.

Out of current year's income, yes, probably... but saving for 15 years from similar income? Should not be.

That supposes that you are making that same income for all those 15+ years. We make that now, with two in HS and are shoveling as much as we can into college savings, but it's a very recent development.

And, many families who are making that income via two salaries by the time their kids are approaching college would have been spending what they might otherwise save for college to pay for childcare.

The calculator that this is based on includes other questions besides income -- equity in the home, cash savings, and non-retirement savings. That is where difference in cost of living is apparent. We're in the situation where we expect to have a HHI ~$250k when our oldest goes to college but our college savings will be lower than we'd like because we have 3 kids, 2 will be in college at the same time, and we've spent a considerable amount of money on the eldest's special needs. Putting our general values in the calculator shows that we'd be expected to pay about what I've been expecting. I pegged our desired 529 savings to Virgnia Tech in-state including room & board with 4% inflation per year, so good to know that got me into the ballpark (which is quite a bit less than $70,000/yr). I didn't put in the amount for having only 1 kid in college but I would expect that to change things.

The calculator is myintuition.org.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sorry. Forgot to add their basic premise:

Middle-class families pay a higher price, but nothing like the list price. Only affluent families pay something close to the list price. It’s true that many of these families don’t think of themselves as affluent. But they are – part of roughly the country’s richest 10 percent, with an annual income of at least $175,000 and a net worth of a half-million dollars or more. For them, a college bill approaching $70,000 can be decidedly unpleasant, yet it doesn’t reorder their lives.

I have zero complaints about our $200K HHI (although will note that it doesn't buy what it would e.g. in Omaha, notwithstanding FAFSA's indifference to such distinction), but it is not sufficient to pay full price at a school that costs $70K or more per year.

It is not a matter of "decidedly unpleasant"; it is a matter of "inaccessible."

To attend such a school, one needs to be low-income, middle-income, or in the top 1-2%.

Out of current year's income, yes, probably... but saving for 15 years from similar income? Should not be.

That supposes that you are making that same income for all those 15+ years. We make that now, with two in HS and are shoveling as much as we can into college savings, but it's a very recent development.

And, many families who are making that income via two salaries by the time their kids are approaching college would have been spending what they might otherwise save for college to pay for childcare.

I suppose it is possible for income to suddenly jump dramatically, but it seems unlikely in most cases.

I do agree $200K in San Francisco is different from $200K in Omaha, and that can seem unfair WRT housing costs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sorry. Forgot to add their basic premise:

Middle-class families pay a higher price, but nothing like the list price. Only affluent families pay something close to the list price. It’s true that many of these families don’t think of themselves as affluent. But they are – part of roughly the country’s richest 10 percent, with an annual income of at least $175,000 and a net worth of a half-million dollars or more. For them, a college bill approaching $70,000 can be decidedly unpleasant, yet it doesn’t reorder their lives.

I have zero complaints about our $200K HHI (although will note that it doesn't buy what it would e.g. in Omaha, notwithstanding FAFSA's indifference to such distinction), but it is not sufficient to pay full price at a school that costs $70K or more per year.

It is not a matter of "decidedly unpleasant"; it is a matter of "inaccessible."

To attend such a school, one needs to be low-income, middle-income, or in the top 1-2%.

Out of current year's income, yes, probably... but saving for 15 years from similar income? Should not be.

+1. If you save even half the cost of a private college you may be able to afford it paying the remainder out of pocket. Our experience was that the top schools are pretty generous with financial aid even for folks with 200k HHI. This was our experience anyway.

But they take what you saved into consideration. Wish I would have stashed the savings with my sister or parents.

[Anonymous]

The sliding scale is terrible. Tons of money given to the extremely poor, which I get completely. But middle and upper middle class expected to get loans. It is total BS

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The sliding scale is terrible. Tons of money given to the extremely poor, which I get completely. But middle and upper middle class expected to get loans. It is total BS

So what should happen? Colleges give you all the money, too? Wouldn't that mean raising tuition even more so the top 10% of whatever that can pay full freight are covering everyone's expenses?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sorry. Forgot to add their basic premise:

Middle-class families pay a higher price, but nothing like the list price. Only affluent families pay something close to the list price. It’s true that many of these families don’t think of themselves as affluent. But they are – part of roughly the country’s richest 10 percent, with an annual income of at least $175,000 and a net worth of a half-million dollars or more. For them, a college bill approaching $70,000 can be decidedly unpleasant, yet it doesn’t reorder their lives.

I have zero complaints about our $200K HHI (although will note that it doesn't buy what it would e.g. in Omaha, notwithstanding FAFSA's indifference to such distinction), but it is not sufficient to pay full price at a school that costs $70K or more per year.

It is not a matter of "decidedly unpleasant"; it is a matter of "inaccessible."

To attend such a school, one needs to be low-income, middle-income, or in the top 1-2%.

We have that income too and have been saving since birth. But even so, not a chance we could pay $70K. Maybe two years, but not four. We live really modestly in a small house to be able to save. These schools are for the very rich and very poor now.

Out of current year's income, yes, probably... but saving for 15 years from similar income? Should not be.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The sliding scale is terrible. Tons of money given to the extremely poor, which I get completely. But middle and upper middle class expected to get loans. It is total BS

So what should happen? Colleges give you all the money, too? Wouldn't that mean raising tuition even more so the top 10% of whatever that can pay full freight are covering everyone's expenses?

How about not raising tuition at a rate that far exceeds the rate of inflation?

How about cost of living increases, and no more?

https://college-education.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=005532