Reply to DCTAG Info-wish I knew then what I know now.

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Being a parent with a high school child, I have begun to examine more closely the "awesome" DC TAG program lauded by many as a savior of DC parents and what has been keeping many parents in the city for years.  Having seen what it really looks like, I think many DCUMs need to be made aware so that you are not totally counting on this to be the great deal that some have suggested.  Here's a little of what I have learned:

1.  DCTAG gives a DC resident attending a public university (or historically black college) in the US $10K per year for up to five years [b]towards the out of state tuition rate.[/b]  It's not $50K outright towards school costs, and it's not to "make up the difference between in state and out of state" or any of the other misinformation I've heard thrown around out here in DC land. (and the five years BS kind of makes me laugh-I will NOT allow my child to do the "five year plan" with the extreme costs associated with an extra year of college, just to be able to knock off another $10K from the out of state tuition)

2.  [b]It cannot be applied to room and board, tuition only.[/b] (So if you somehow luck out and tuition is only $8K you only get the $8k, not an extra $2k to apply to room and board and other fees)

3.  Many public universities have now become as expensive as private colleges for out of state students.  [b]UVA's out of state tuition rate is $38,000 per year.  UMD is around $26,000[/b].  Room, board and fees adds about another $10-12K Other schools like University of Alabama are much more reasonable, in the range of $11k for tuition.  And lots of satellite campuses of more prominent state universities aren't terrible either, but the fact remains that for almost any decent public university DCTAG doesn't cover as much as it should. If you went to a public university, go ahead and check the out of state rates. (And please post them here and give me your impressions of where you went, since I am still trying to help my teen research colleges!)

4.  When the program was first conceived, it was intended to [b]give DC residents the[i] in state tuition rate [/i]at any public university[/b], since we do not have a robust or even barely acceptable "state" university system.

5.  As out of state tuition rates spiraled out of control however, it was turned into a grant program that you have to apply for and sometimes can run out. [b] If you do want to avail yourself of DCTAG, get your application in ASAP-do NOT wait to see which school your child decides on.[/b]  If he/she has applied to a public university, get the DCTAG folks on notice that you are requesting the funds.  I know people who waited too long (like into late May) and the money had already run out for that year.

6.  I am not saying that DCTAG is not still possibly worth it for many families.  However, I do think that for a lot of people, it will come as a minor (or major) shock to learn what that it has eroded to something much less beneficially as a "perk" of staying in DC.  I admit I've been a little naive to have not looked into the details sooner.  But, with little kids and trying to stay in DC, I just wanted to believe what I heard and didn't know many people with older kids. Now I do, and I've decided that [b]I should never have used DCTAG as a reason to stay in DC.[/b]  If I moved to VA or MD my in state tuition rate would be $10,000 for UVA, $7400 for UMD, which is pretty significant. While I may gain $10K per year from DCTAG for my kids, I feel like other states would give my family twice that in tuition savings each year alone.

Anyway, this is just an FYI for parents of young kids who should start socking away the college $$ NOW if you haven't already.  And, FWIW we do have a significant amount squirreled away for our kids college, but with three kids, it still won't be enough, but will last a *little* longer if they go to a public university.  [/quote]

Thanks for the info  - interesting and eye opening.  I never knew it was a finite amount of funding per year.  Just assumed all eligible could receive it.  You raise good points about how it has not kept pace with the real costs of public universities. I wonder how much the out of state price tag is impacted by increasingly international recruitment by public universities.[/quote]

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