Best strategy to pay college for 3 kids

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:IMO you can't afford private...at all.

can your kids do co-ops? they work for a semester and make good money. also a great way to get a foot in the door for a job after graduation.

I'm not sure if the schools they are attending have co-ops but will look into it.

If you are not getting significant FA, your kids need to step back and be at state schools that give them merit. You cannot afford to take loans really, too close to retirement. Your kids need to work every moment they can (Summer, xmas break, spring break, and PT during the year) and find a college that costs you less than $25K/year per kid.

Unless it's a college close enough to OP's house for the kids to commute, I don't see how that's possible.

-not OP

Towson is 27K/year for instate and that's with R&B. Move off campus and you can bring it down to under $25K. Then the student can work their asses off on all breaks, work PT during the year and bring in $12-15K (with what min wage is that is possible to do). So err on side of caution and say kid earns $12 K. You have $15K left. Take the $5-5.5K in fed loans. Now mom and dad need to help with $10K. That's a much easier task. Mom and dad could choose to do that by getting themselves a part time job.

JMU instate tuition is under $14K. So similar to Towson.

Key is picking one near 25-30K. If your kid is high stats, they should also get some merit at these schools (CNU, Mary Washington, etc.)

It's not impossible to find schools at the $25-28K range.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:IMO you can't afford private...at all.

can your kids do co-ops? they work for a semester and make good money. also a great way to get a foot in the door for a job after graduation.

I'm not sure if the schools they are attending have co-ops but will look into it.

If you are not getting significant FA, your kids need to step back and be at state schools that give them merit. You cannot afford to take loans really, too close to retirement. Your kids need to work every moment they can (Summer, xmas break, spring break, and PT during the year) and find a college that costs you less than $25K/year per kid.

Unless it's a college close enough to OP's house for the kids to commute, I don't see how that's possible.

-not OP

Towson is 27K/year for instate and that's with R&B. Move off campus and you can bring it down to under $25K. Then the student can work their asses off on all breaks, work PT during the year and bring in $12-15K (with what min wage is that is possible to do). So err on side of caution and say kid earns $12 K. You have $15K left. Take the $5-5.5K in fed loans. Now mom and dad need to help with $10K. That's a much easier task. Mom and dad could choose to do that by getting themselves a part time job.

JMU instate tuition is under $14K. So similar to Towson.

Key is picking one near 25-30K. If your kid is high stats, they should also get some merit at these schools (CNU, Mary Washington, etc.)

It's not impossible to find schools at the $25-28K range.

Ok, but the pp (you?) said LESS than $25k, not in the 25-28 range.
Does OP live close enough to Towson or JMU for the kids to commute?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is the 265 from both of you working? And DH is 63? I think the poster who suggested draining the 529 is wise, bc reapplying when all 3 are in college and you have no 529 savings left may up the pot of aid?

When is DH planning to retire?

Are there options to stop financially helping parents to the detriment of your kids’ educational options? (DCUM controversial take) are you helping them in a way where the money comes back to you (I.e paying for a house you’ll inherit?)

Yes and yes. We could take out the money from 529 at least for DC1 and DC2.
DH is not planning to retire soon not at least this college cost is over. We don't have any inheritance and there is no option to stop supporting parents as they don't have any income but we share cost with our siblings.

This is just an idea- those who know more about FA can chime in if it’s terrible. My understanding is they don’t expect you to pull from retirement or home…sell the rental, use that $$ to pay down primary home mortgage, this will make it more likely to get aid (especially w 3 in college and no more 529) and you can cash flow more of the tuition, have cash to help the kids pay down their student loans, as well as not have a mortgage in retirement. Also, your DH may get sidelined before college is done, he’ll be 68 by the time #3 graduates. Maybe giving more details on the elderly parents’ expenses can generate some ideas- ie have they looked for low income sr housing…

The main reason not selling the rental instead of equity loan is it is our first home and the mortgage is low would be better to keep it for retirement location wise as well. The primary even we pay down hard to finish paying it off (we refinanced about 3 years ago) so unless one of the kid is interested to keep it we plan to sell when we retire.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did either kid 1 or 2 get merit aid? If not you are paying 110 annually? With only 150 in the 529? Kid 1 is going to chew through that by graduation. The last child is SOL in comparison, there is no way he can go to private full pay. Is s/he really smart? High schools? An athlete? I only see in state as an option for the third?? How is this fair? Don’t borrow against retirement, take an equity loan or sell the rental

DC1 got huge merit after the unsubsidized loan we are paying 38k and she is trying to get a job for summer to help.
DC2 no merit we pay about 42k after the loan also will work summer and trying to be RA
DC3 is very hardworking very high stat (both gpa and sat above 1550) good EC related to her major and other ECs and interested to major CS and to be fair to her we have to pay similar by far she worked very hard in high school.
So the plan. is the 150k for next year but we need to come up for he rest. I don't want to limit the third one only instate if she secures some merit to match the in-state that would be close to 40-50k. Consensus at least so far not to borrow from retirement.

DC1 is "Trying to get a job for the summer"? Your kids all need jobs during summer, xmas break, spring break and any other breaks. They also need a PT job while at school (10-15 hours/week). You/your spouse should also consider a PT job to bring in extra money. You made the bad choice to let kids attend schools that are $40K+/year when you only had that saved for 1 kid yet you have 3. Another choice is to serious have both kids try to transfer to in-state school.

Agree with all 3 need to get a job to support, dc1 going to private is paying less than the in state but I see the point you're making is even in state to go to cheaper school. I'm discussing with DC3 Marry Washington would be a full ride for her.

And if they have her major (and you are not a troll---I suspect you are), they she should take it. Unfortunately, you have screwed your youngest out of the college experience she might want, simply because you gave it all to the oldest 2 and now have nothing left. So yeah, your youngest would be smart to take a full ride anywhere.

OP here that is why I'm trying to make similar offer to her as well. I looked into our in state option the minimum for the top in state is 35-45k so at least a good thing for her she got a merit to make it equal to at least to VA tech to a couple of ops schools she selected. So the plan is to finance next year from 529, and come up with financing including loan, job an my whole point posting here is for those with experience to get the best way to do it with what we have.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did either kid 1 or 2 get merit aid? If not you are paying 110 annually? With only 150 in the 529? Kid 1 is going to chew through that by graduation. The last child is SOL in comparison, there is no way he can go to private full pay. Is s/he really smart? High schools? An athlete? I only see in state as an option for the third?? How is this fair? Don’t borrow against retirement, take an equity loan or sell the rental

DC1 got huge merit after the unsubsidized loan we are paying 38k and she is trying to get a job for summer to help.
DC2 no merit we pay about 42k after the loan also will work summer and trying to be RA
DC3 is very hardworking very high stat (both gpa and sat above 1550) good EC related to her major and other ECs and interested to major CS and to be fair to her we have to pay similar by far she worked very hard in high school.
So the plan. is the 150k for next year but we need to come up for he rest. I don't want to limit the third one only instate if she secures some merit to match the in-state that would be close to 40-50k. Consensus at least so far not to borrow from retirement.

DC1 is "Trying to get a job for the summer"? Your kids all need jobs during summer, xmas break, spring break and any other breaks. They also need a PT job while at school (10-15 hours/week). You/your spouse should also consider a PT job to bring in extra money. You made the bad choice to let kids attend schools that are $40K+/year when you only had that saved for 1 kid yet you have 3. Another choice is to serious have both kids try to transfer to in-state school.

Agree with all 3 need to get a job to support, dc1 going to private is paying less than the in state but I see the point you're making is even in state to go to cheaper school. I'm discussing with DC3 Marry Washington would be a full ride for her.

And if they have her major (and you are not a troll---I suspect you are), they she should take it. Unfortunately, you have screwed your youngest out of the college experience she might want, simply because you gave it all to the oldest 2 and now have nothing left. So yeah, your youngest would be smart to take a full ride anywhere.

OP here that is why I'm trying to make similar offer to her as well. I looked into our in state option the minimum for the top in state is 35-45k so at least a good thing for her she got a merit to make it equal to at least to VA tech to a couple of ops schools she selected. So the plan is to finance next year from 529, and come up with financing including loan, job an my whole point posting here is for those with experience to get the best way to do it with what we have.

OP, you may want to post this or a version of it on the Money forum. People are pretty savvy over there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did either kid 1 or 2 get merit aid? If not you are paying 110 annually? With only 150 in the 529? Kid 1 is going to chew through that by graduation. The last child is SOL in comparison, there is no way he can go to private full pay. Is s/he really smart? High schools? An athlete? I only see in state as an option for the third?? How is this fair? Don’t borrow against retirement, take an equity loan or sell the rental

DC1 got huge merit after the unsubsidized loan we are paying 38k and she is trying to get a job for summer to help.
DC2 no merit we pay about 42k after the loan also will work summer and trying to be RA
DC3 is very hardworking very high stat (both gpa and sat above 1550) good EC related to her major and other ECs and interested to major CS and to be fair to her we have to pay similar by far she worked very hard in high school.
So the plan. is the 150k for next year but we need to come up for he rest. I don't want to limit the third one only instate if she secures some merit to match the in-state that would be close to 40-50k. Consensus at least so far not to borrow from retirement.

good idea will try
DC1 is "Trying to get a job for the summer"? Your kids all need jobs during summer, xmas break, spring break and any other breaks. They also need a PT job while at school (10-15 hours/week). You/your spouse should also consider a PT job to bring in extra money. You made the bad choice to let kids attend schools that are $40K+/year when you only had that saved for 1 kid yet you have 3. Another choice is to serious have both kids try to transfer to in-state school.

Agree with all 3 need to get a job to support, dc1 going to private is paying less than the in state but I see the point you're making is even in state to go to cheaper school. I'm discussing with DC3 Marry Washington would be a full ride for her.

And if they have her major (and you are not a troll---I suspect you are), they she should take it. Unfortunately, you have screwed your youngest out of the college experience she might want, simply because you gave it all to the oldest 2 and now have nothing left. So yeah, your youngest would be smart to take a full ride anywhere.

OP here that is why I'm trying to make similar offer to her as well. I looked into our in state option the minimum for the top in state is 35-45k so at least a good thing for her she got a merit to make it equal to at least to VA tech to a couple of ops schools she selected. So the plan is to finance next year from 529, and come up with financing including loan, job an my whole point posting here is for those with experience to get the best way to do it with what we have.

OP, you may want to post this or a version of it on the Money forum. People are pretty savvy over there.

[Anonymous]

good idea will try posting on the Money forum

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Brown no longer looks at property values. Maybe you could investigate if any other colleges do the same.

Oh good. Trust fund babies who barely work and live off of their trust and inherited property can get FA while W2s scrimp and save. Great job making things “equitable” Brown!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, I posted about what we did in similar situation, or so I thought, but we know nothing about your assets. You really have to consider those to know if you will be able to pay back loans or make profit on rental, etc.

our assets
300k primary, 250k on rental, 900k retirement, 150k 529
we have normal expenses an we do help parents both side, we have old van and old highlander that is all our asset pretty much.

our rental cannot go up more than this but we can pay monthly (if we take out loan)

That’s not a lot to work with. Can you get someone else to pick up the expenses for the parents and get some extra money that way? Your take home should be like $185k, which is about $15,500 per month. Your current college expenses are about $5,500 per month ($78k less student loans) leaving you with $10k to pay your mortgage and household expenses. Unless your mortgage is huge or you are spending a ton on parents, it seems like you could so some belt tightening and make this work without loans. It won’t be pretty for the next two years while you have three in college, but it is possible and it will get better after that.

Also, no reason your kids can’t work off campus or non work study jobs. It changes the college experience, but your kids really don’t have the luxury of unlimited funds to pay for college

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is the 265 from both of you working? And DH is 63? I think the poster who suggested draining the 529 is wise, bc reapplying when all 3 are in college and you have no 529 savings left may up the pot of aid?

When is DH planning to retire?

Are there options to stop financially helping parents to the detriment of your kids’ educational options? (DCUM controversial take) are you helping them in a way where the money comes back to you (I.e paying for a house you’ll inherit?)

Yes and yes. We could take out the money from 529 at least for DC1 and DC2.
DH is not planning to retire soon not at least this college cost is over. We don't have any inheritance and there is no option to stop supporting parents as they don't have any income but we share cost with our siblings.

How can your parents have NO income. Don’t they get social security at least? Can you cut their expenses as well, maybe by moving them in with you since you will have an empty house for a large part of the year?

Your college costs are really not much more than some families pay for daycare in the DMV and that happens with lower salaries and no loans.

[Anonymous]

You should run the net price calculators for third kid. My family has a higher net income then you, but we got significant aid from private schools for three kids in college at the same time, so that private schools were cheaper for the year than publics.

Also looking into the effect of early retirement for your husband. I found that working cost me money (many colleges is free below a certain income level).

[Anonymous]

How much equity do you have in the rental? Why not sell it?

[Anonymous]

Sell the rental. Pay for college. Wish I had that option.

[Anonymous]

This will probably be controversial but may be an idea if you're stuck. If Kid #1 has graduated by the time Kid # 3 enters, ask Kid #1 to pitch in... the huge benefit they got for you isn't available to their sib... why can't they put in $10K/ year to even things out (if they are employed).

[Anonymous]

I think most schools don't consider retirement funds when calculating FA. So can you put current savings into IRA or similar before applying for FA? With your husband's age, I think you could take it out for current-use expenses, or at least you'll be able to soon. So it's sheltered for the calculation, but actually pretty liquid.