Anonymous wrote:Especially those who make just barely above the amount to qualify for any aid. Most private schools cost $50,000 a year just for tuition. It's completely unrealistic to think that the average family will have saved that kind of money beforehand. Are parents just going into debt for years and years to afford this? I have a friend who's daughter got into a top ivy, but will be going to UVA because they can't afford the tuition. This seems completely reasonable to me, but I can't help but wonder who all these families are that are paying over $50,000 for college (and not even "top" schools, just private colleges)

Our HHI has been $150k-$220k for the past ten years or so. It fluctuates based on bonuses. I don't consider us to be middle class. We are currently paying around $40k a year for our older son and will be paying around $45k a year for our younger son starting this fall. Two years of over lap. We are funding through 529 savings and extra savings we made outside of 529 and about $20k from current cash flow so we don't dip into savings too much. Basically, we saved enough to fully pay for in state college in the 529s and saved in other vehicles (eg ROTH IRA - this past year was the first year we did not qualify for ROTH and other savings) to cover other options. Our first is going to an out of state school and it look like our second will go to smaller private school and with a $25k per year scholarship- which puts the cost to us at around $45k.

Friends whose income in the $100k-$200k are going the in state college route unless their child can find scholarships to make it the same cost (eg University of South Carolina or Miami of Ohio).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DS goes to Grinnell, he said most students are either poor enough to get a lot of aid, or wealthy enough to swing full-pay or close to it. There's some in the middle that I assume have saved as they only provide need based aid according to the EFC. Iowa kids get an automatic 12k per year but there's no merit aid.

Actually, as you can see on page 19 of the Common Data Set, Grinnell awarded merit aid to 38 students admitted for Fall 2016:

http://web.grinnell.edu/institutionalresearch/webdocs/GC_CDS_1617.pdf

Almost all of those are the Iowa kids who automatically get a merit scholarship plus a handful of national merit scholars that get $2000
They do award a very small number (like 1-2) merit scholarships but even those have a component of need and are not strictly "if you score X you get Y dollars"

My DS just admitted to Grinnell with $20K per year merit scholarship and he is not a national merit scholar. Still not sure if we are willing to pay the rest when he's got a great in state VA option.

+1

67 freshmen were awarded non-need-based aid, averaging $17K or so:

H2A n) Number of students in line a who had no financial need
and who were awarded institutional non-need-based
scholarship or grant aid (exclude those who were
awarded athletic awards and tuition benefits) -----------------------> 67

H2A o) Average dollar amount of institutional non-need-based
scholarship and grant aid awarded to students in line n -----------------------> $ 17,329

Anonymous wrote:Less prestigious private colleges give more merit aid. Most middle class parents I know have their children going where ever they receive merit aid plus financial aid.

This. If you are looking at private colleges, aim for ones where your student would be in the top 25% of admits so you are in a better position to get merit aid.

We make about $250k (which is only in the past 5 yrs or so, prior to that I was a SAHM and we lived on DH's salary that ranged from $85K up to $140K) and are saving to cover a VA in-state college. But, I know a number of people if a similar position whose kids are now at privates or OOS publics that gave enough aid to match in-state costs. So, we'll look at a variety of places and see where we end up with the finances. But, there will be no loans for undergrad.

We don't. They're not worth the money when we have perfectly fine state supported options.

have not read this thread, but still hopping in. I grew up working class and no one cared about how poor and working class kids paid for school when I was in college. now all this hand wringing for middle class kids. student debt is not new...except for the middle class.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DS goes to Grinnell, he said most students are either poor enough to get a lot of aid, or wealthy enough to swing full-pay or close to it. There's some in the middle that I assume have saved as they only provide need based aid according to the EFC. Iowa kids get an automatic 12k per year but there's no merit aid.

Actually, as you can see on page 19 of the Common Data Set, Grinnell awarded merit aid to 38 students admitted for Fall 2016:

http://web.grinnell.edu/institutionalresearch/webdocs/GC_CDS_1617.pdf

Almost all of those are the Iowa kids who automatically get a merit scholarship plus a handful of national merit scholars that get $2000
They do award a very small number (like 1-2) merit scholarships but even those have a component of need and are not strictly "if you score X you get Y dollars"

My DS just admitted to Grinnell with $20K per year merit scholarship and he is not a national merit scholar. Still not sure if we are willing to pay the rest when he's got a great in state VA option.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DS goes to Grinnell, he said most students are either poor enough to get a lot of aid, or wealthy enough to swing full-pay or close to it. There's some in the middle that I assume have saved as they only provide need based aid according to the EFC. Iowa kids get an automatic 12k per year but there's no merit aid.

Actually, as you can see on page 19 of the Common Data Set, Grinnell awarded merit aid to 38 students admitted for Fall 2016:

http://web.grinnell.edu/institutionalresearch/webdocs/GC_CDS_1617.pdf

Almost all of those are the Iowa kids who automatically get a merit scholarship plus a handful of national merit scholars that get $2000
They do award a very small number (like 1-2) merit scholarships but even those have a component of need and are not strictly "if you score X you get Y dollars"

Some borrow. Some borrow too much. Some choose not to go.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A surprising number of the most elite colleges give aid to a significant percentage of families making over $200k, and that is straight aid, not loans. Helps to have a huge endowment.

Not in our experience.

Ditto. $20-$25K isn't chump change, but it couldn't bring the COA of a $70K school down to where we were comfortable. We are not interested in loans for us or our kid.

Anonymous wrote:My nephew is middle class and got a full free ride at Harvard. Harvard has deep pockets.

Nope.

Less prestigious private colleges give more merit aid. Most middle class parents I know have their children going where ever they receive merit aid plus financial aid.

DD is at a private. I was dumb and didn't save. Now, I'm taking out loans. I do plan on paying on the loans while she is in school. I haven't yet (still trying to pay off my CCs and car), but once those are paid for, I will start paying the loan.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My nephew is middle class and got a full free ride at Harvard. Harvard has deep pockets.

Define middle class.

If he got a "free ride" that means that he had a lot of need and it was fully met.

I think it's easier to meet the schools' definition of middle class when you are in a lower COL area. I suspect the nephew was not in a major metro region.

Anonymous wrote:My nephew is middle class and got a full free ride at Harvard. Harvard has deep pockets.

Define middle class.

If he got a "free ride" that means that he had a lot of need and it was fully met.

Anonymous wrote:Do all of them? My friend's daughter got into Columbia and she didn't get any money.

Columbia is an Ivy and none of them give merit or sports scholarships, only FA.