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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Oh gosh, I am so sick of people making hundreds of thousands of dollars and trying to call themselves "middle class."  We earn about $150K a year (here in the DC area as well) and I hesitate to call us middle class-- I think we're upper middle class, not quite rich yet but getting there.  At $300,000 you are absolutely not middle class anymore- you're in like the top 5% richest households in the area.

Look, I get that paying for college is not easy even at $300K, but haven't you been saving?  Even if you only saved like $10K per child per year (which shouldn't be too hard at your income-- we manage it pretty easily at half your income) that should cover most or all of the costs, depending on investment returns.  [/quote].

Oh gosh, I am so sick of people making assumptions about what others can afford. We make $350+. We’ve never had any family help. We lived on one GS-11 to gradually 14 in the DMV when our kids were little and could hardly pay the mortgage, much less save for college. One of our kids has a disability that requires expenses beyond medical that you’d never begin to understand.

We have high incomes in the last few years and our expenses are high. We still have our own student loans. College for a kid with our kids disability (if that happens) is DOUBLE private college and they will need help their entire life.

So I’m so sick of people jumping in on DCUM and saying off of one sentence about income “of course you can afford it, you made lifestyle choices or didn’t save enough.”

You just don’t know the complexities of someone else’s situation.

We will not get aid and our DC will go to a great state school with merit. We are okay with that. But don’t tell me what I can afford based on my income when I’m in my 50’s and my kid is 18.[/quote]

Believe it or not, you aren't the only family with a special needs child, a parent with health issues, or elderly care - we had all three.  Zero parent help, even though one could help.    We know the expenses well.  I had to quit my job between all three, as I'm a parent with health issues.  And, yet, we still manage.  You having student loans was 100% your choice.   If you could hardly pay the mortgage, your lifestyle/housing choice was the issue.  You overspent on a house.  You overspent on your college.  You make considerable income so you could comfortably pay things off but instead complain about it.   If you cannot afford your house, sell it and pay cash for something more affordable.  [/quote]

You “manage” not the question is whether you can pay private college tuition full pay. That is the question, isn’t it? [/quote]

Yes, we could pay for it.  I'm hoping for our state school but we'll see where ours gets in and has what they want.  I'd prefer a state school and fully paying for both college and graduate school.[/quote]

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