Reply to The New America: Elite Privates forever out of reach for UMC?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I’m almost 60 and I totally agree with the OP.  The sticker price hike over the last 40 years is a shame. My parents struggled but they were able to pay for a SLAC for me without forfeiting their home or retirement funds or inheritances.

What bothers me is the expectation that my family should be one of the very very few that pays full price even though we are not wealthy-wealthy like those families around us who drive new cars and vacation all over the world and dress well and renovate their homes and have vacation homes and eat out whenever they want and etc.

We’re living on one federal salary and we will have two kids in college next year.  We’re applying but in spite of those quotes from top colleges’ websites I don’t expect any aid because (1) my in-laws left a little money to my spouse (2j we’ve been contributing to our retirement funds over the four decades we’ve worked, which makes us look rich and c) inside the beltway a normal house in a good school district is very pricy.

A lot of it has to do with being older parents in an expensive town.  If we were doing this at age 40 in flyover country we could look poor, get college aid for our kids, work 25 more years, and then really enjoy our golden years once the kids were gone.

Okay, I’m ready to get roasted.

[/quote]

Well I, for one, will give you credit for being honest and at least understanding the other side.

I'll not roast you but simply ask you how you think it should work? (and we all agree costs for privates are too high)[/quote]

I think you're underestimating the sophistication of private colleges' financial aid offices. 1, they don't consider retirement assets (though they are reported), 2, they consider your age and years of income-production afterwards, 3, they consider the cost of living of your location and tend not to consider the value of your primary residence (though this varies).

The inherited money is an unusual thing, but it would only be considered at about 8% of its value if you haven't rolled it into retirement accounts.  And considering that the median inheritance is 69k (divided up among kids so even less per person) 8% of  that really isn't a lot. And if you inherited more than that, it is a windfall.[/quote]

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