We have an investment property. The mortgage will be completely paid in a reasonable amount of time and the sale of that property should cover undergrad expenses for both kids. Grad school will be on them. We'll help with basic expenses but my kids will be expected to work and contribute to things like car/insurance/gas etc. I graduated from college with an enormous amount of debt and I don't want that for my kids but we're not giving out handouts either. All my college friends with brand new cars from mom and dad and no need for a job were reckless with their property and had zero work ethic.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
My kids are little and am not sure how all this will shake out. Tuition seems extortionate already. Khan Academy is coming online. Certifications are popular. Plenty of people who paid a pretty penny regret it (others of course do not).

Your kids are going to get their degrees from Khan Academy?

+1. Thanks for the laugh pp. I needed that.

Anonymous wrote:We have pre-paid 4 years of in state tuition for each kid (2) and have an additional $80k saved per kid for room & board. Kids are 4th & 6th grade so should be enough for in state. We are in VA. With so many excellent schools in our state, we will be encouraging an in state public option. If kid decides to go private or OOS, kid will have to make up some of the difference. We will do what we can, but hard to justify OOS unless Ivy. Truly fortunate to live in a state with so many excellent options.

This is us as well. We've don't prepaid for both and hope to have another 100k in invest to split between the two. We will pay whatever remains out of pocket, as we have money invested heavily outside of college funds. I have my kids brainwashed for Virginia schools. We go to football games regularly at UVA and JMU and talk a lot about VT.

Both DH and I are UVA alumni and it has served us well.

Anonymous wrote:We are saving only as much as benefits us tax wise. In Virginia that is 4k a year per kid. We have 4 kids so saving about 1,400 a month total.

I haven't read through all of the responses, so maybe this has been discussed. But isn't this a common misunderstanding? Isn't it $4k per account? And you can have multiple accounts per kid. So it's possible to deduct more than $4k per kid, right?

Anonymous wrote:
My kids are little and am not sure how all this will shake out. Tuition seems extortionate already. Khan Academy is coming online. Certifications are popular. Plenty of people who paid a pretty penny regret it (others of course do not).

Your kids are going to get their degrees from Khan Academy?

you can't rely on loans or adequate financial aid being available
nowadays, parents have to cosign for loans above the maximum 5-7.5k/yr subsidized loans
I have saved 200k/child (seniors) and anything else will wing it. Maybe have them take out grad school loans and help them pay off over time

5000 per kid per year, which is max MD state deduction.

I've topped them up with bonuses before but will probably stop (after doing it once more to catch up the little one a bit).

My kids are little and am not sure how all this will shake out. Tuition seems extortionate already. Khan Academy is coming online. Certifications are popular. Plenty of people who paid a pretty penny regret it (others of course do not).

I'm sure the 100 - 200k in those accounts (depending on market returns) will come in useful but I am not obsessed with saving zillions. I'd be fine with UMD plus living at home and use the balance, if any, for grad school. Or if UMD is ridiculous too, they can go abroad. Someone on earth can educate these kids for less than $250k.

No one should be paying full freight sticker price unless it's an Ivy or Top 25 college and your kid has a <3.25 GPA.
There are tons of private college Presidential Scholarships, Trustee Scholarships, etc. for American applicants at many very good universities. Often the question is pay full freight at XYZ very prestigious college or 50% tuition scholarship at prestigious college. And save the ivy for grad school.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DH wants to cover 100%, I think 33% from us, 33% from the kid, 34% from scholarships is reasonable. Honestly loans aren't the worst thing that can happen to a kid and I think knowing going in that they have to pay for part of it will make them think longer and harder about public vs private, what major they want to pick and what their first job out of college will pay, the works.

I've told him that even if we hit the Powerball I'd stick to this plan, and then just pay off their loans as a graduation present. I really think having a kid be personally invested in their college education on the financial side makes them take it more seriously.

There are far fewer scholarships out there than you would think.

+1

Most scholarship money (90+%) is from the schools themselves, and typically it is a lot less than 33% of the out of pocket cost.

And honestly, loans CAN BE the worst thing that can happen to a young adult. Significant student loans are a heavy burden for adults:

https://www.usnews.com/education/blogs/student-loan-ranger/articles/2016-01-20/study-student-loan-borrowers-delaying-other-life-decisions

https://www.cnbc.com/2015/12/08/the-long-term-consequences-of-student-loans.html

https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/02/the-mental-and-physical-toll-of-student-loans/385032/

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why is anyone saving? Just pay for it as the bills come due.

This bill is no different than any other bills you pay. YOu cannot pay with plans, hopes, approaches, and by saying "kids will have to contribute." It actually says "Balance for Spring Semester $29,545 due by January 20, 2018"... Twice a year. Start saving.

+1. The current IN-STATE cost of attendance (tuition, room, board, fees) at my beloved Alma Mater of William & Mary is $37k. That's right now. And my oldest is 9. Even in-state college tuition is no joke these days.

UVA is $32K
UMD is $26K

Right. And very few people can pay that kind of money from their normal cash flow.