This is why we live in Virginia. We've saved $250K for 2 kids and they are going to state schools.

Schools like Swarthmore do not offer merit. They are a full need school. So, you assumptions are correct that your child would not receive any need based aid at Swarthmore. Another thought you probably haven't heard yet because your kids are still young. Colleges expect the family to find tuition $$ from 3 sources: Current savings (your 529 ) + current income + future income (loans).

I like how Old Navy is how the UMC keep it real.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:what it also means is that there is a terrifically smart cohort of kids who are going to 2nd, 3rd tier colleges simply because of finances. can't rest on your ivy league laurels.

Sucks for them

Not really. These are great schools and they are getting a great education.

Anonymous wrote:This is a weird question, OP, because it sounds like you are trying to imply that your income level is not that high or at least not high enough to be putting any money away for this purpose, such that you deserve some kind of financial break. To which I have no choice but to seriously side eye. If you've been saving all along, as you say you have been, then you already know the answer: a combination of savings, cash flow, and loans (if the student is unlucky). So why ask the question then?

Anyway assuming this is a genuine q, the general rule of thumb is to save 2/3 up front and cash flow the rest.

12:37 here.

I don't read OP's question as having that implication at all. I read it as, how do people who are rich but not 1%'ers afford to pay tuition that is currently $65K/year/kid and rising faster than inflation? Or do they not pay it, and choose a cheaper option?

We have saved but cannot pay full freight at top-tier schools, nor do we qualify for FA.

We have 2/3rds saved (as of now; tuition increases outpace inflation) but there is no way we could cash flow the rest. Moreover, we are older parents (DH is 64) and one of us will likely need to retire while our second is still in college.

Families like us are in the "donut hole." We can neither pay full sticker price, nor qualify for FA. Children of families like ours are therefore increasingly attending state schools (hence the rise in UMD's competitiveness), or going to second and third tier schools with big merit scholarships.

Anonymous wrote:what it also means is that there is a terrifically smart cohort of kids who are going to 2nd, 3rd tier colleges simply because of finances. can't rest on your ivy league laurels.

Sucks for them

This is a weird question, OP, because it sounds like you are trying to imply that your income level is not that high or at least not high enough to be putting any money away for this purpose, such that you deserve some kind of financial break. To which I have no choice but to seriously side eye. If you've been saving all along, as you say you have been, then you already know the answer: a combination of savings, cash flow, and loans (if the student is unlucky). So why ask the question then?

Anyway assuming this is a genuine q, the general rule of thumb is to save 2/3 up front and cash flow the rest.

This is a great question one that I'm looking at very closely. My DC a junior goes to Wilson and has a good shot at the schools you describe. Our income is $220k which I was shocked to see on our tax form - I don't look at it each year because my spouse does it. Bad I know.

Anyway the Brown calculator says we would pay $38,000. Because we've saved we would be able to cover most of this and the rest would have to come from our wages. We weren't super aggressive savers but put a big chunk in at birth and dribs and drabs later on. I'm glad we did it. It will save our butts.

Yes 250-400k is the income range where you are expected to pay full freight. There is no need based aid at that HHI and if there is a need, they'll be happy to supply you with the loan paperwork. They don't care that your money went to an expensive old house and your clothing comes from Old Navy - nor should they IMO.

Your kids are in elementary -- plenty of time to save if you want to give them options. If you don't/can't -- start putting it in their ear that UMD or UVA is it; no use killing yourself to be valedictorian if you're going to flagship u no matter what.

what it also means is that there is a terrifically smart cohort of kids who are going to 2nd, 3rd tier colleges simply because of finances. can't rest on your ivy league laurels.

OP, what you see is fairly typical.
You should plan for the worst case scenario, in this case private school tuition. The good news is, your income will increase over the years; the bad, college tuition costs increase way faster than federal pay. However, it's unlikely that you'll ever be eligible for fin aid.
The reliable way to catch a break on tuition is to sacrifice prestige by going to a state school or a private college ranked 1-2-3 tiers lower from the "top" with a merit scholarship.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What are you really asking here? You honestly think you deserve financial aid at 250-400k? And no, unless your kid is spectacular you're not going to get merit aid at the top schools. The ivies don't give any merit aid at all. Now if you're kid is ivy material and chooses a bottom top tier school, he/she might get some aid but not enough to cover 60-70k a year.

Why haven't you been saving all along for this?! You knew this huge expense would be coming up.

12:37 here. We have been saving, since Day 1. Obviously we were not making a HHI of $250K at that time, and along the way we have had significant expenses. So, our savings of about $300K for two kids will have to suffice.

OP isn't suggesting s/he "deserves" need-based aid. S/he is asking how people in this income bracket pull it off.

The answer, at least in our house, is that top-tier schools that don't award merit aid are not on the list.

OP here. Ditto the previous poster.
We are saving. I never said we weren't saving.
(I love how posters on DCUM immediately go on the pitt bull attack. )

However, saving in the abstract when your kids are young (ours are in 1st and 4th) and hearing actual stories from neighborhood kids (or kids on this website) who are entering college are two different things.

Schools like Smith meet 100% of need. The problem is that with your income, you can most likely afford to pay if you make some choices. Smith has a calculator on their website you can use, but at that income I wouldn't expect any free money.

We earn in that range ($260K) and are paying full freight to send DS to MIT. But we only have one kid, so I can't imagine why the school would possibly give us financial aid. We're not rolling in it by any means, and we've made some lifestyle adjustments, but we can afford the tuition.

Anonymous wrote:What are you really asking here? You honestly think you deserve financial aid at 250-400k? And no, unless your kid is spectacular you're not going to get merit aid at the top schools. The ivies don't give any merit aid at all. Now if you're kid is ivy material and chooses a bottom top tier school, he/she might get some aid but not enough to cover 60-70k a year.

Why haven't you been saving all along for this?! You knew this huge expense would be coming up.

12:37 here. We have been saving, since Day 1. Obviously we were not making a HHI of $250K at that time, and along the way we have had significant expenses. So, our savings of about $300K for two kids will have to suffice.

OP isn't suggesting s/he "deserves" need-based aid. S/he is asking how people in this income bracket pull it off.

The answer, at least in our house, is that top-tier schools that don't award merit aid are not on the list.