Reply to Sister's husband has $0 in college fund for my nephews

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]

I think we are beginning to see who the real snob here is.

OP, "social mobility" is not a goal. A happy, productive life, OTOH, is certainly something to strive for. Do you really see no way for your nephews to achieve that unless they are fully prepared for a top college at age 18?[/quote]

I have no fixation with top colleges. SAT prep and a math tutor is merely to help them become prepared, in general, and tap scholarships.

To teens with two biological parents who are not employed, merely a half-decent white collar job is "social mobility".
[b]I don't think you appreciate how tall the odds are for that to happen.[/b][/quote]

I do not think you appreciate how very common your nephews' circumstances are. Of course there are many of us who have family members in similar straits. And many of us know plenty of people who have "merely" "half-decent white collar" jobs. Some of us even have those jobs ourselves.

As someone who has successfully helped her kids play the merit scholarship game, I will share some hard-won knowledge with you: Unless those boys are *already* superstars, there won't be any merit scholarships out there for them that will reduce the cost of college below the $22k they'd pay at VT. Merit scholarships are given predominantly by private schools (which cost $50-$60k), most colleges that offer merit scholarships don't "stack" financial and merit aid--that is, merit aid will replace financial aid, not be added to it--and merit scholarships are rarely more than $20k or so. For most kids from families with incomes like this, the cheapest 4-year options will be (a) elite colleges that meet full financial need and (b) in-state universities. If you don't think they are possible candidates for elite colleges, then put merit scholarships out of your head completely and start focusing your thoughts on VA state schools.[/quote]

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