College costs

[Gumby]

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[youbet]

Gumby,

Well put.

You should remember as well that many would have considered the opportunity to attend the Naval Academy a real honor and a fortunate situation.

My son wanted to attend the Air Force Academy and had the grades and test scores to be a competitive applicant.  Sadly, he had major surgery to correct Arnold Chiari 1 malformation when he was 14 leaving him with a scar running from the crown of his head to his upper back.  Obviously, he was disqualified.

So, he became a Purdue Boilermaker, participated in their co-op program where he worked for Sun Chemical alternating semesters and went on with his life.  And yep, DW and I paid his tuition, room and board.

We just had no urge to name him Sue.  We'd already been there and done that.

I do agree that it is possible to overdo support for a child's education and wind up decreasing their personal drive and ambition.   

 

[youbet]

1)Instead, I'm saving all of my money into retirment accounts and when college time comes (13 years from now), I'll just stop saving for retirement and use that income to pay for college.

FWIW, that's what we did and it worked for us.  Your milage may vary. 

Now,we are using ESA's for the grandkids. You might want to at least Google up some info and see what you think.

Good luck!

 

[mickj]

I think that there is no reason that every artist and musician should go to college. I think that way too many useless college degrees are earned every year. I certainly don't want to pay a payroll tax for the rest of my life to ensure that more useless degrees can be earned.

 

[Gumby]

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[Gumby]

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[Nords]

Spouse & I have our 25th reunions over the next two years.

How were the crowds? Were you able to stay within an hour of ground zero? Were you able to do everything you wanted to do?

 

[Gumby]

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[Nords]

Thanks! That geography is all pretty fresh in my mind from July's trip. The crowds don't sound too bad, especially with the shuttle buses. I hope our classes make the same smart decisions and don't try to do it on Homecoming.

Next year I think I'm going to load up on Kona & macadamia nuts and see if we have any old shipmates still living on Porter Road...

 

[uncledrz]

My two cents on college. Started saving for as soon as I left the hospital (after birth) ha ha . Got in a panic as the price kept going up way faster than inflation. Had enough (thank you stock market) to pay all the basics and did. Kid worked all the way through college and paid fair share of expenses. Made clear that four years was it. Out of state tuition was a killer though.

However, the opportunities, especially today, to one with a solid degree from a good university are boundless.

Worth every cent of it.

 

[jerryo]

I figured on $120,000/year when I started planning....if the kids went to private schools...and they did....but it turned out to be more like $35,000-$40,000/year (younger son now a college junior; older son 3rd year law). Older son is paying for most of law school (@ nearly $60,000/year), with a small inheritance, scholarship, and loans....and a little help from his dad. Guess it's paying off, though....he's made $2500+/week over the summer and already accepted a job for next year at $140,000+..... The younger son is an engineer, so he'll probably do okay too.....

 

[SLC Tortfeasor]

I figured on $120,000/year when I started planning....if the kids went to private schools...and they did....but it turned out to be more like $35,000-$40,000/year (younger son now a college junior; older son 3rd year law).  Older son is paying  for most of law school (@ nearly $60,000/year), with a small inheritance, scholarship, and loans....and a little help from his dad.   Guess it's paying off, though....he's made $2500+/week over the summer and already accepted a job for next year at $140,000+.....  The younger son is an engineer, so he'll probably do okay too.....

One significant issue that some reading this may not be aware of is how high student loans are in many cases dramatically influencing recent graduates' careers (especially law and medical school graduates).  The problem is this:  you go to law school, rack up $100,000K to $150,000 in loans, and then you feel compelled to get a corporate law job at BigLaw, selling your soul to do mergers and aquisitions and working 12 hours a day, instead of playing Atticus Finch, all because you've got to pay your student loans. 

I personally feel that you shouldn't be taking on massive student loans unless you have a clear understanding of what it will mean to pay them back.  As a result, I'm not particularly teary-eyed when most people wring their hands about this problem.  It is nonetheless unfortunate for society and for the individuals involved.

Related to this, has anybody seen the recent articles in various publications (in the past 5 days or so) discussing how luxurious undergrad housing is becoming?  A lot of kids are living in truly fancy apartments that hardly qualify as "dorms" anymore.  Colleges feel the need to provide this level of luxury in order to compete with other colleges for the best students.  It's sort of crazy.

I guess the craziest thing is that I'm only 30 and yet I'm already sounding like a curmudgeon.  Soon I'll be starting all my sentences with the phrase, "Well, in my day..."

 

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

One significant issue that some reading this may not be aware of is how high student loans are in many cases dramatically influencing recent graduates' careers (especially law and medical school graduates). The problem is this: you go to law school, rack up $100,000K to $150,000 in loans, and then you feel compelled to get a corporate law job at BigLaw, selling your soul to do mergers and aquisitions and working 12 hours a day, instead of playing Atticus Finch, all because you've got to pay your student loans.

Your observation is accurate. Throw in another 4 years of residency at low salary for the medical side, and you are in debt til age 40, losing those valuable early compounding years. I was 40 when I invested my first dollar for retirement other than a small IRA. Fortunately I made up some ground through discipline and high compensation but you can never really catch up to what $25-50k at age 35 would have done (like $7mm at age 55, or $19 mm at age 65).

No complaining, really, since it's been and is a good ride for me. But you nailed the real cost of education.

 

[mb]

Don't forget Texas' excellent flagship schools - Univ Texas and Texas A&M.

Both are schools that the football teams can be proud of

 

[Zoocat]

Ways to pay for college:

1. Parent (or student) works at University= free tuition
2. Full tuition scholarship (i.e., get those AP courses in HS and get top grades, test scores, and be a sports or extracurricular hero/heroine)
3. Go to a small liberal arts college on a merit scholarship.
4. If you're poor, get lots of financial aid. Not loans, very bad idea for kids to graduate stuck with lots of debt, IMHO.
5. Go to a cheap junior college for two years, then transfer to University for last two years (save big bucks on tuition).
6. Work, take classes, work, take classes, work, take classes.  Many have earned their BA the hard way. It can still be done
7. Put it all on a line of credit.  Very bad idea, IMHO.

I went to college and grad school with no help from parents by using #1, 2, 4, 5, and 6.

 

[Brat]

My daughter attended a private U.  Several of her classmates attended a community college for the first two years and cut their costs significantly.  The student really needs to work with the admissions folks because they want those class credits to transfer (it often won't work for highly selective programs such as finance).  One pot-hole to watch out for is a State U putting a cap on new admissions.  I recall hearing that UoW did that a couple years ago. 

Another approach is to do what I did: finish quicker by taking summer classes in the same system (but a local campus). 

There are some states that permit HS students to transfer to a community college.  Classes taken in that setting count toward the HS diploma, and are often college credits at the Freshman level - a two-fer.  This is particularly good for students who aren't into the HS social scene and who are bored.  If you are ready for calculus why not take it at a community college during your Senior year and earn college credit?