Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
The humble brags on this thread are annoying. Good for you if you are lucky enough to pay $75K for less than 9 months of college for your kid. That's nice for you, but it does not address the problem that most people cannot begin to afford $280K for a four-year college degree, and double or triple that if you've got multiple college-bound kids.

What you should realize is that even those who can be full pay (and there are many, check a college's CDS) are sensitive to your plight. Hence the "humble" in their statement of facts. The system needs to change, and probably will; until then, don't blame those in different circumstances, whether they me more fortunate or less. It's not their fault.

I also think we would not even comment if it weren't for those who say it is NOT WORTH IT. As I keep saying, it is worth it to under certain circumstances...especially if a top 20 school. It is unfortunate that access is not there for everyone, but we all have to do the best we can. My kids will both be full pay in a school with no merit because of our financial situation. My situation as a high school senior was VERY different, and I feel blessed to be able to give this to my kids.

It's worth it. I am no longer concerned about paying for grad school or whether DC will have the opprtunity to be financially safe given good health and good luck. There is a HUGE advantage today coming from a name school in terms of just having the chance to prove yourself.

Many colleges are above 70k. To live on campus Amherst and Fordham are like 72k. Columbia easy 90k by senior year

Anonymous wrote:
The humble brags on this thread are annoying. Good for you if you are lucky enough to pay $75K for less than 9 months of college for your kid. That's nice for you, but it does not address the problem that most people cannot begin to afford $280K for a four-year college degree, and double or triple that if you've got multiple college-bound kids.

What you should realize is that even those who can be full pay (and there are many, check a college's CDS) are sensitive to your plight. Hence the "humble" in their statement of facts. The system needs to change, and probably will; until then, don't blame those in different circumstances, whether they me more fortunate or less. It's not their fault.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Instead of judging people's choices of HOW they will be paying for college...

How about we all ask the question, WHY does college cost $280K????

Yes, that's the real question. And in a few years, it's going to top $100K per year. Salaries are not increasing at that rate.

Those who have the $$ to pay are missing this point. Do you really want your kids going to college only with other children of rich people, and those poor enough to receive FA?

That cuts out a lot of very bright kids.

As I understand it, the outrageous increases in college prices began when student loans became plentiful. Everyone was offered student loans, so everyone borrowed lots of money to go to college, which is insane, but it brought a huge pool of money into these private colleges, and they increased their prices every year as a result.

As a result, the marketing departments of these private colleges grew exponentially. Look at all those slick brochures your kid receives, even from the most elite colleges. It's sickening the amount of money they pay to market themselves.

The humble brags on this thread are annoying. Good for you if you are lucky enough to pay $75K for less than 9 months of college for your kid. That's nice for you, but it does not address the problem that most people cannot begin to afford $280K for a four-year college degree, and double or triple that if you've got multiple college-bound kids.

Another factor in the massive tuition increases we've seen is that states started electing Republican governors who cut funding to state universities, leaving them no choice than to jack up tuition. We all pay the price (far more than we would have paid in taxes to keep subsidies at the same levels) for those votes. There's a thread on this.

https://newrepublic.com/article/135972/republican-war-public-universities

And another is the corporationification of universities resulting in hiring expensive administrators emulating a business model and compensation design of corporations.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here again.

To the PP who said that 'stuff happens' and makes one's income less accessible to spend as planned, it has happened to us. Simply put my MIL needs $2K a month from us for living expenses. She is 90. We are going to do it because it is the right thing to do. However we are having to reduce both our college savings and our 401K saving as well as vacations, etc...Sp much for patting ourselves on the back for being so well situated saving-wise.

Oh well.

Dear lord, this is one of the things that happen when you wait until your 40s to have kids. How old are you guys?!

You sound like a judgmental jerk.

Yeah, and a completely ignorant judgemental jerk.\

I didn't "wait" to have kids until my 40s. I didn't have any choice. STFU PP.

Anonymous wrote:Instead of judging people's choices of HOW they will be paying for college...

How about we all ask the question, WHY does college cost $280K????

Yes, that's the real question. And in a few years, it's going to top $100K per year. Salaries are not increasing at that rate.

Those who have the $$ to pay are missing this point. Do you really want your kids going to college only with other children of rich people, and those poor enough to receive FA?

That cuts out a lot of very bright kids.

As I understand it, the outrageous increases in college prices began when student loans became plentiful. Everyone was offered student loans, so everyone borrowed lots of money to go to college, which is insane, but it brought a huge pool of money into these private colleges, and they increased their prices every year as a result.

As a result, the marketing departments of these private colleges grew exponentially. Look at all those slick brochures your kid receives, even from the most elite colleges. It's sickening the amount of money they pay to market themselves.

The humble brags on this thread are annoying. Good for you if you are lucky enough to pay $75K for less than 9 months of college for your kid. That's nice for you, but it does not address the problem that most people cannot begin to afford $280K for a four-year college degree, and double or triple that if you've got multiple college-bound kids.

Anonymous wrote:Are any private schools worth the price? Or are all, including Top 20, just enrolling suckers or the poors (who get FA)? How long will this last. Seriously trying to understand the business model.

It cannot last. Many less prestigious colleges will close because they've raised their price too high. The prestigious ones (SLACs and HYPS, etc.) will keep offering great FA from their ginormous endowments, and they'll stay afloat. There are enough rich people who will pay their full tuition -- for now.

Middle class parents like us will opt to send our kids in-state. It doesn't make financial sense to us to send our kids to private colleges, even the likes of Haverford, Amherst, Williams, Pomona, etc. We don't want our kids burdened with debt, and we don't want to take on additional debt to send them to those great private colleges.

DH went to HYPS, and I went to one of those competitive SLACs. We're not sending our kids to those colleges, even though we loved them. They aren't worth the price tag to us.

As more parents do what we're doing, the elite colleges will feel more pressure. Some on the fringes (think Colgate, Franklin & Marshall) may succumb eventually. Their financial model is not sustainable.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Starting my 3 kids at MC. unless they get scholarships.

No way I have those dollars, nor will I let them go into debt and be instant debt slaves upon a graduation.

Will report results when they are 40....stand by

Guaranteed admission to UMD with a 3.0 (except for LEP programs like Engineering and Business) classes capped at 25 students and Professors who prioritize teaching. Smart decision PP!

This is the wisest post! I agree 100% with this. Your kids will get a great education. I know people in their late 40s still paying off their student loans. What an albatross.

My husband had school loans and was paying them until he was in his 40s. He attended a top 10 and an ivy. Today he is earning just short of 7 figures. It all worked out in the end. Now my kids will attend school of their choice with no loans. You have to start somewhere and take that leap of faith. It's not for everyone though.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Starting my 3 kids at MC. unless they get scholarships.

No way I have those dollars, nor will I let them go into debt and be instant debt slaves upon a graduation.

Will report results when they are 40....stand by

Guaranteed admission to UMD with a 3.0 (except for LEP programs like Engineering and Business) classes capped at 25 students and Professors who prioritize teaching. Smart decision PP!

This is the wisest post! I agree 100% with this. Your kids will get a great education. I know people in their late 40s still paying off their student loans. What an albatross.

Anonymous wrote:Here's a thing I notice about these threads:

Those that are full pay often say something like "it sucks but we saved and it was the right decision for us" (similar to OP).

Those that choose to NOT be fully pay and choose schools accordingly often say "it's not worth it to anyone".

I think both of those statements come from internal conflict and doubt about the decision they have made. However, only one of them attacks the other's decision. Why do you think that is the case?

I posted earlier that the private "prestigious" colleges my kids were accepted to are not worth the money. I stand by that statement. Disprove it, please.

Oh, and BTW, my kid's best friend from no-name state U is now at Harvard for grad school. Guess going in-state didn't hurt that kid.

very sad! debt free and unemployed

Anonymous wrote:Starting my 3 kids at MC. unless they get scholarships.

No way I have those dollars, nor will I let them go into debt and be instant debt slaves upon a graduation.

Will report results when they are 40....stand by

Guaranteed admission to UMD with a 3.0 (except for LEP programs like Engineering and Business) classes capped at 25 students and Professors who prioritize teaching. Smart decision PP!

No way would I pay this for undergrad. No f’ing way.

When you barely get into a reach school, and have to pay full sticker, you are basically being admitted so you can subsidize the tuition for the more competitive students. That’s the deal.

If money is an issue, you should go where you are one of the competitive students and get some scholarships. That’s why smart kids sometimes attend less prestigious schools.