How Much We Paid for Our Child’s First Year of College

The cost of college continues to rise. According to US News and World Report, for 2022-2023, the average cost of in-state tuition was $10,423, not including room and board! College costs are rising so quickly that parents are having a difficult time paying without burdensome student and parental loans. We understand the dilemma because our oldest recently finished his freshman year. So, we thought we’d share how much we paid for our child’s first year of college.

Background

My husband and I started our careers later in life. I was 29 when I began teaching full-time at a community college while my husband pursued his Master’s and Ph.D. He was 38 when he started his full-time career. (In between, we each alternated taking time off to care for our children, which slowed how quickly we began our careers.)

Because we started so late, we knew we wouldn’t have much money to pay for our children’s college educations. So instead, the plan was that our kids would attend whatever university my husband was teaching at so they could get a 50 percent tuition discount. And, then, as luck would have it, my husband left the university to go into the private sector the year our oldest graduated. We also moved out of state.

Our Son’s College Choices

We had to scramble to find a reasonable option for our son. Because we moved to our new state in August, he was considered out-of-state and would have to pay out-of-state tuition for a year. We immediately nixed that option as it was more than we could afford.

He also got into a private college that offered him generous merit. If he chose this school, he would need to take out $5,500 in student loans, and we would have to pay the additional $5,500. He would also need to live at home.

Finally, he also was accepted into the Honors Program at a community college in Michigan near my mom. This program paid his in-state tuition; we would have to make up the difference. He could live with my mom.

In the end, he chose the community college because he didn’t want to have to take out loans. We appreciated his intelligent financial decision.

How Much We Paid for Our Child’s First Year of College

We had to pay out-of-state tuition the first semester, so the difference between his scholarship and out -of-state tuition was $1872.

In his second semester, he was considered out-of-district (my mom does not live in-district.) Being out-of-district made tuition more affordable after the scholarship, so we only had to pay $1208. So, for his first year of college, we spent $3,080.

Next year, he will continue at the same school with the same scholarship, so his college tuition costs should be about $2500.

Final Thoughts

Because he chose the community college, our son can avoid student loans during his first two years in college. In addition, the low cost allows us to continue to save for his last two years of college when his expenses are higher. Of course, community college isn’t for everyone, but in our situation, especially moving as soon as our child graduated from high school, this choice made the most sense.

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Melissa Batai

Melissa is a freelance writer and virtual assistant. She earned her Master’s from Southern Illinois University, and her Bachelor’s in English from the University of Michigan. When she’s not working, you can find her homeschooling her kids, reading a good book, or cooking.