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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]the hard pill to swallow here is the awful reality that college is a luxury item that has dramatically outpaced income increases over time, which mostly screws all the families who are anywhere above $150k but not rich rich. The families at the very top were always fine, as their earnings have dramatically increased over time (we're back to the Gilded Age in terms of income inequality) so they can stomach the increases without a dip in quality of life and those at the very bottom have seen declining wages over time, so they got aid then and are eligible for aid now. Those children might claw themselves into the lower end of the UMC with an elite education and their children will be like your children. Raised in relative comfort, and parents unable to afford full pay private tuition.

Reframe your thinking and consider college like a car purchase. You might want the Lucid or the Rivian, but you know that you cannot afford it, so you end up with the Kia. It is what it is. You wistfully watch folks roll by in the Rivian and wish you had it like that, but alas, you don't. College is the same way. Some have the cash for Yale, and while your child may have the same stats, you have the money for JMU or Towson. It feels so unfair, because we've set up this entire system to trick you into thinking that it is a meritocracy and that your children should be rewarded if they have the merit, but that is not our system. Go to Europe if you want that system. Buy the Kia and tell your kids to take care of it and drive it well, and they are on track to be able to buy the Rivian down the road. [/quote]

You are not screwed.  You save and if you don’t get aid your kid goes to the school you can afford. We’ve told our kids that.  They are fine with the state school.  We may be able to pull off a private at $150k but we don’t do many of the things you do like named brands, vacations, etc.  The only splurge is expensive activities. [/quote]

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