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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]OP again,

I went to a Harvard-type school and I can't imagine saving 150K for college. At 160K per year I had 10-20K in financial aid which would be much more today (after a congressional investigation). Anyway, I earned & applied for scholarships to help pay for college and all it did was replace the "need" award.

I know that 529 says it doesn't impact FAFSA (up to 5%) but the fine print is that each university gets to decide how to facto it in and the elite universities are tough to predict. I don't want to invest in the state tuition plan because no one in our family has attended state universities so it's likely my child will end up at a private school as well.[/quote]

It seems like the logical solution in this case is for you to save as much money as possible for your kids' education(s), with the understanding that you will be unlikely to save up enough money to foot the entire bill.  You can then share with them your experience--I went to XYZ school and had a 6-figure loan debt at age 30.  It was/was not worth it to me because...etc, etc.  You can also encourage them to try for need-based aid, knowing it is unlikely they'll get it, and also for merit-based aid.  But to not open a 529 because you think that they will/should be entitled to need-based aid at some incredibly expensive school seems very short-sighted.

I will just say that I went to state schools all the way through (including graduate) and while you may feel like it's not the route your kid(s) will/should take, it is a very valid way to go.  [/quote]

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