Reply to What money is fair game for financial aid?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Op here.

"We all choose how we spend $$. If you want to put it towards a house (car/trip/whatever) then college choices are limited to what the family can manage. There is nothing special about housing choices. If contributing to college is not a priority, it is totally fine, but don't expect the college to handle it for you."

I have saved for college on my one income, albeit not enough to pay full freight at a private school for all 4 years. I live in a neighborhood you would probably sneer at, so it's not as though I have lots of choices for cheaper housing here. I paid on my own student loans until was in my thirties. You make it sound as if we all have the ability to save $400K per child in 18 years, but that some of us choose to blow the money on trips to Hawaii instead of setting it aside for college. [/quote]

I don't think anybody meant that you hadn't tried hard or done well.  You should be proud of what you can pay for. [b]But private college is not an entitlement[/b].
We are in a similar situation, FYI.  We have told our kids that we can pay for in state, if they want something else it will have to be someplace they can get merit aid. [/quote]

While I agree with this statement (and FWIW my kid is at a second-tier LAC with a big merit scholarship), it is a difficult pill to swallow for those of us who grew up in an era when yes, attending private college was a privilege, but not a wholly unattainable one.  With some summer savings, a modest student loan, and parents' contributions, a middle-class student could attend an elite school.  For example, the NESCAC that I graduated from in 1983 and which at the time cost about $9K/year total now costs $75+K.  (It doesn't award any merit aid.)  Had tuition increases kept pace with inflation, it would cost about $30K/year.  That would be expensive, yes, but doable for many more people today than $75K+ is.

The narrative of "it's all about choices" does not reflect the reality that private college has become much more than an entitlement - it is a luxury good for a tiny fraction of wealthy people, and for those who qualify for need-based aid.  That's it.[/quote]

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