Anonymous wrote:My husband went to Stanford and I went to umbc. We have the same job...

I am very sure your husband took you into his company. I love to talk about this with him.

See Stanford aid rules in link.

http://financialaid.stanford.edu/undergrad/how/parent.html

DD is mulling over UMBC vs Syracuse. My bank account is saying UMBC but her heart is with Cuse..

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Full tuition at Stanford runs about $45k/year plus another $15k for room and board. There is no way that I or my child would ever spend/borrow $240k for school when there is a free ride at a great school like UMBC.

Not sure of your exact circumstances, but a fully researched comparison, and not just a cursory one, would include the amount of financial aid from a place like Stanford. The vast majority of Stanford aid is in the form of grants and not loans. Comparing the headline number of Stanford full cost to "free ride" at UMBC is not a fair comparison in most cases.

OP did not indicate that Stanford offered any financial aid so I would assume that none was offered. Why mention the full ride from UMBC but not mention any aid from Stanford? In any case, it's not going to be any less expensive than free.

There is an economic indifference point between the two options, assuming the family favors one school over the other. Most people, not all, would pay a small premium for their preferred choice. And clearly, comparing the full cost of a private college to "free" is a gross oversimplification of the question at hand. The families that are not eligible for a single dollar of FA from Stanford are typically in the top 10% of all household incomes (about $150k). So while the OP may fall into this category, the vast majority do not...making no assumptions about yours, OP, or anyone else's circumstances.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Further, average need-based grant at Stanford is $44k, with average loan amount of only $2-3k. This has to close the gap significantly for most, with the typical FA recipient graduating with about $10k in student loan debt; or about the loan amount for a used Camry.

These numbers are nearly impossible to believe. What percentage of students receive FA?

50%