I think there are two kinds of complaints that bother me the most.

First, the people who are financially comfortable who complain that it’s not “fair” that low income students get money. They don’t seem to understand how persistent a low income kid has to be to overcome all the obstacles between them and going to college. They seem to think their kids obstacles were the same.

Then there are the people who convince themselves that they aren’t well off, even though they replace their cars more regularly than most, go on vacations, and live in a spacious home. I think hey look at the wealthy people in the area and social media and feel “poor” and deserving of financial aid.

Anonymous wrote:When I went to UMD instate tuition was $7k all in and room and bird about the same.
Now it's $13k tuition and $12k room and bird. And this is just UMD and not a private institution. People maybe have saved but at expected rates from when they went.
My parents house in 1999 in Bethesda was $320k and they made about $180k hhi. Our house in silver spring is $750k and we make $220k hhi and have childcare costs. So savings is just harder. And I can't even afford to buy their house not at my hhi.

$750k of house is a fair amount of house in Silver Spring. Compare that to my House and just the difference in our heating bills over the 18 years of child rearing could pay for a fair amount of R&B.

The choices people make are sometimes startling.

We didn't have social media back in the day to echo alll of our frustrations, but most people back in my day never assumed a private education was in reach.

Most of my friends went to the state flagship with a few of us from wealthier homes able to go private.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I guess I'm just surprised at the level of magical thinking that seems to have been going on, when for years the information about the costs of college has been readily available and widely discussed across multiple media platforms.

Well, op. I’m the pp who made the list above. And even saving what I am, I will not have enough to cover a day of grad school. So, I will research the heck out of merit and aid for undergrad with the hopes of having something for their masters if that’s what they are talking about exploring.

DP. You don’t need to save for your kid’s grad school. While college is basically a necessity now, grad school is not, and any program worth doing will pay for itself, either through increased earnings to pay off debt, eligibility for loan forgiveness programs, or grants/stipends from the university for grad students. If none of those are the case for your grad program of choice, you should be seriously reconsidering the program.

When doctor told my wife she was pregnant with Child number 1 we opened a 529 and have been making monthly contributions ever since. Child 2 two years later. Entering HS and we didn't save enough to cover the TOTAL bill. In state at W&M is now $40,000 year.

Anonymous wrote:I guess I'm just surprised at the level of magical thinking that seems to have been going on, when for years the information about the costs of college has been readily available and widely discussed across multiple media platforms.

Well, op. I’m the pp who made the list above. And even saving what I am, I will not have enough to cover a day of grad school. So, I will research the heck out of merit and aid for undergrad with the hopes of having something for their masters if that’s what they are talking about exploring.

It seems like some people poured what would have been their college funds into private school on the assumption that it would give their kid an edge for college. Now they’re finding out that even if it helps with admissions, the merit aid they assumed would follow just isn’t there.

Anonymous wrote:I guess I'm just surprised at the level of magical thinking that seems to have been going on, when for years the information about the costs of college has been readily available and widely discussed across multiple media platforms.

But everything went up. It's not magical thinking it's just not being able to do it. And it's a big change in a short time.

When I went to UMD instate tuition was $7k all in and room and bird about the same.
Now it's $13k tuition and $12k room and bird. And this is just UMD and not a private institution. People maybe have saved but at expected rates from when they went.
My parents house in 1999 in Bethesda was $320k and they made about $180k hhi. Our house in silver spring is $750k and we make $220k hhi and have childcare costs. So savings is just harder. And I can't even afford to buy their house not at my hhi.

I'm with you OP - but college costs $60-70k at a private school now, it was $40k when I graduated in 2007, I can't possibly save fast enough to keep up with the rate of increase right now (as I stare down something like $3700/month in day care costs next year on $7000/month net income) so I can understand people not having saved ENOUGH.

I guess I'm just surprised at the level of magical thinking that seems to have been going on, when for years the information about the costs of college has been readily available and widely discussed across multiple media platforms.

My parents didn’t do any saving for me or my siblings who are just starting college now. That’s what’s actually normal.

I get it, op. I’m also a planner and have followed the same savings plan as you. I’m putting $800 each month into the kids 529s because I want them to avoid the debt I carried into my 30s.

However, you aren’t going to get any answers that satisfy your curiosity. I was ‘lucky’ to only have $120k in loans so I was able to dig myself out. Lots of people who are looking for full rides for their kids are probably doing so because they are still paying for their own loans.

Or -
They are bad savers/planners
They had to support other family members
They love to live in the moment
They think kids should pay for college just like they did, but are now realizing costs are as high as people claim
Grandma isn’t paying, like she always claimed she would
Parent burned out at the big firm and their salary decreased 50% but they want to stay in the high mortgage house so the kids can keep their schools and friends
They had a medical emergency that wiped out their savings
They paid for their own loans until 42 and are now trying to build up their retirement
...

All these things, and many more, can be the reason why a UMC family hasn’t saved for college.

Why do you care? You do you OP.

I”m seeing a lot of threads and responses within threads. Lots of people seeking information about private schools with tons of merit aid, “full ride” schools, people frustrated about the unfair advantage of ED because you want know the full amount of merit aid that might be available (and kudos to the patient people on that thread that keep trying to explain how the Net Price Calculator works).

The conclusion I’m getting from this is... there’s a whole bunch of UMC people here who didn’t save for kids’ college.
What the @#$%!

To be 100% clear, I’m not talking about lower income families, though these posters starting the posts above almost seem to resent all the aid, Pell grants, etc. these folks will be getting.

When my kids were 5 (as soon as we didn’t have to pay for preschool anymore, just public school before and aftercare) we started investing in 529s. We’ve been putting away money every month since then.
Back then, after doing my research, my assumptions were
1. We will not qualify for financial aid (unless we are going to some really expensive private, but then we are still paying $$$)
2. While my kids are smart, I should not count on merit aid of any kind

As we get close to college age, we will have enough for them to attend an in-state school, and we are on track to take out very little—if any—in loans. Kids know they are welcome to apply to private schools, and if after all is said and done, it’s a comparable price tag, we can do that, but neither we nor our kids are going to rack up big undergraduate debt.

Yes, college costs are out of control, and there’s lots of frustrating aspects to the system, but this stuff didn’t crop up yesterday. Why didn’t you plan? Why didn’t you save?