MichealKnight
Full time employment: Posting here.
- Joined
- May 2, 2019
- Messages
- 520
College
I won't write a post individually as they would be 'spamming' according to some - but thank you so much, EVERYONE who has written and shared - please keep it coming.
For us -a state school would be Penn State. With some creativity - for real - I feel I may get in-state for Virginia too. I can't DDs future - but I have a hunch a smaller, private school is gonna be suited for her. A Penn State (tuition only) is around $20k per year. Privates -- be it Lebanon Valley, Gettysburg, etc - - $40-$50k per year, tuition only. A few more questions..... please anyone jump in:
For Bachleor's does it give a student an "advantage" getting a good job - - if they graduated from a private college vs something like Penn State? I assume *YES* - but the other day a Mom told me that PennState - has a culture of alumni helping grads - vis a vis. hiring - and that's a real thing. Naturally - I wanna believe that saving $30k yearly tuition is "smart" and will lead to the same opportunities - but something tells me there's a reason people shell out the private money. I look at random LinkedIns - the young bigshots are mainly from privates.
I also wonder - how about a plan where 4-years is a state school. But Masters - go for it, wherever you can get in because my logic is - perhaps that's what companies look at more than the undergrad?
Also - our school is ranked well - but NO "I.B". My 8th grade DD has been recommended for *all* honors level courses in 9th - and the school does have A.P.
If a student does well in some AP courses - does that count as much as IB or is a kid at a disadvantage.
*finally!* - I"m worried that "all" honors courses in 9th grade - man it'll eb too much. Is it better strategy to take easier classes - get GPA- have more time for extra-curricular., or load up on AP...... OR - take a little AP - but then use the time to do well at all the classes plus some extra curricular?
Spending money:
I give my kids $0 for spending money. My deal with them is I pay for everything necessary and connected to school: tuition, room, board, books, fees, transportation to/from, transcripts, etc. They pay for optional extras: pizzas, dates, cell phones, etc.
Eldest was frugal and spent nearly nothing. Middle one likes nicer stuff and has various part time jobs. Youngest is also frugal and is getting paid to go to school so has leftover scholarship money. Each kid is different.
Financial aid:
If your kid goes to a FAFSA school and you can have a low enough AGI and some other criteria, you might qualify for FAFSA-based aid even with lots of assets. There is something called the simplified needs test which ignores assets.
If your kid goes to a CSS profile school or a very selective school, it's harder to get aid.
...
Many private schools have a "sticker" price which nearly nobody pays. The students either get Pell Grants, or institutional merit aid which is effectively a coupon or discount but sounds nicer and is treated better tax-wise as a "scholarship".
My middle one, for example, got a $20K merit aid per year at his school, but it's out of state and private so it's still more expensive than the in-state public. His grades were good but not stellar, but he did manage to earn the IB diploma and the school he chose recruits IB students.
You might want to drill down a bit on the aid numbers. 99% getting an average of $500 a year in aid is far different from 99% getting an average of $20,000 a year in aid. If you use the Net Price Calculator at a school or talk with the financial aid people there they can give you a rough idea.
Most schools are well aware of the other schools they're competing with for students, so you'll see similar aid packages from them. They've got it down to a science, so they pretty much know how much $$$ to offer your kid to make it a tough decision to decide where to go.
I won't write a post individually as they would be 'spamming' according to some - but thank you so much, EVERYONE who has written and shared - please keep it coming.
For us -a state school would be Penn State. With some creativity - for real - I feel I may get in-state for Virginia too. I can't DDs future - but I have a hunch a smaller, private school is gonna be suited for her. A Penn State (tuition only) is around $20k per year. Privates -- be it Lebanon Valley, Gettysburg, etc - - $40-$50k per year, tuition only. A few more questions..... please anyone jump in:
For Bachleor's does it give a student an "advantage" getting a good job - - if they graduated from a private college vs something like Penn State? I assume *YES* - but the other day a Mom told me that PennState - has a culture of alumni helping grads - vis a vis. hiring - and that's a real thing. Naturally - I wanna believe that saving $30k yearly tuition is "smart" and will lead to the same opportunities - but something tells me there's a reason people shell out the private money. I look at random LinkedIns - the young bigshots are mainly from privates.
I also wonder - how about a plan where 4-years is a state school. But Masters - go for it, wherever you can get in because my logic is - perhaps that's what companies look at more than the undergrad?
Also - our school is ranked well - but NO "I.B". My 8th grade DD has been recommended for *all* honors level courses in 9th - and the school does have A.P.
If a student does well in some AP courses - does that count as much as IB or is a kid at a disadvantage.
*finally!* - I"m worried that "all" honors courses in 9th grade - man it'll eb too much. Is it better strategy to take easier classes - get GPA- have more time for extra-curricular., or load up on AP...... OR - take a little AP - but then use the time to do well at all the classes plus some extra curricular?