how much will DDs college actually cost?

[Snydley]

Hi- DD will be off to college in 3 years. We have about 100K in the bank allocated for this and our house will be paid off. DH will likely be retired, at least partially, and I expect my income to be ~180K.

Academic scholarships aside, if a college cost 80K per year, should I plan to pay that entire amount, given our financial situation? Thanks

[myrdale]

Yes.

My thoughts on college cost are similar to my thoughts on vehicles. Your daughter "needs" a college degree the same way she "needs" a car. You can pay $20,000 for a new Kia, or $150,000 for a Ferrari. Both cars are going to get her where she wants to go. Will one car get her there faster? Well maybe, if we're talking driving down the interstate, but not if we are just driving across town.

Similarly for a college degree, $50,000 total for an in-state public college, or $320,000 total for a private out-of-state college.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with owning the Ferrari, if you can afford it. If you wanted her to pay for the car herself, I would say it was abuse to push her to sign for the Ferrari at 18. If you want to buy it, well that's on you. It is identical for the college. To expect her to pay $320,000 (I understand that's not what you said) is insane.

The math also HIGHLY depends on what the degree is in. I wouldn't recommend a Chemical Engineering major pay a dime over what the closest public college would charge. If we're talking an English major, absolutely not. If we are talking pre-med to medical school, well maybe.

What degree is she interested in? How are her grades? Straight +A's? DId I significantly misunderstand the situation?

[Snydley]

Yes.

My thoughts on college cost are similar to my thoughts on vehicles. Your daughter "needs" a college degree the same way she "needs" a car. You can pay $20,000 for a new Kia, or $150,000 for a Ferrari. Both cars are going to get her where she wants to go. Will one car get her there faster? Well maybe, if we're talking driving down the interstate, but not if we are just driving across town.

Similarly for a college degree, $50,000 total for an in-state public college, or $320,000 total for a private out-of-state college.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with owning the Ferrari, if you can afford it. If you wanted her to pay for the car herself, I would say it was abuse to push her to sign for the Ferrari at 18. If you want to buy it, well that's on you. It is identical for the college. To expect her to pay $320,000 (I understand that's not what you said) is insane.

The math also HIGHLY depends on what the degree is in. I wouldn't recommend a Chemical Engineering major pay a dime over what the closest public college would charge. If we're talking an English major, absolutely not. If we are talking pre-med to medical school, well maybe.

What degree is she interested in? How are her grades? Straight +A's? DId I significantly misunderstand the situation?

We ideally don't want her to take out any loans. I agree about the 'value' of a given school depends on the focus and interests of the student, the advantage of their particular program, etc. She is good student, she's not laser focused on As all the time but understands they are needed as much as possible (she finished with a 3.6 GPA as a freshman). We shall see what this year brings.

Let's say her first choice school is private and 80K a year. Given our financial situation, can I expect zero aid of any kind and that I would be have to pay that entire amount?

[crazyliblady]

I agree with myrdale. It depends a lot on the major she chooses, what school, and where it is located. For example, if she chooses a major in the sciences, she may have very expensive textbooks and also lab fees that are added on to the existing tuition costs. If she chooses a major in history, English, or education, the extra costs may be mostly textbooks, which will likely be a lot less. Also, are the school(s) she is interested in locate in or out of state and are they private or public? Both of these factors will make a huge difference in the expenses. However, I attended a private college and got a significant amount of scholarships that I would not have gotten at a public school. Also, encourage your daughter to apply for every scholarship that she remotely qualifies for. There are a lot out scholarships out there that go unclaimed. Here is an example of a website that is completely free and lists scholarships of all types: https://www.petersons.com/scholarship-search.aspx. Good luck!

[crazyliblady]

I cannot say whether you would qualify for aid beyond student loans, but anyone who meets the qualifications of scholarships can get them, so tell her to apply for any she qualifies for. Any funds she can get like that is less she would have to pay back when she gets out of school. So, even a $100 scholarship could be worth it. As a high school senior, I was awarded a $500 scholarship from the local Kiwanis Club. Because I got outside funds, my college gave me a matching award based on that.

[ua_guy]

Short answer, I don't know. It's probably worth speaking with a school's financial aid department to get a ballpark idea, or filling out a FAFSA and see if you qualify for anything.

I'd say go explore the federal student aid website but it's actually overloaded today following yesterday's debt relief announcement.

[myrdale]

I cannot say whether you would qualify for aid beyond student loans, but anyone who meets the qualifications of scholarships can get them, so tell her to apply for any she qualifies for. Any funds she can get like that is less she would have to pay back when she gets out of school. So, even a $100 scholarship could be worth it. As a high school senior, I was awarded a $500 scholarship from the local Kiwanis Club. Because I got outside funds, my college gave me a matching award based on that.

I agree whole heartily on scholarships. Any and everything she can apply for, she should. The small one I had payed anywhere from $300 to $1,500 depending on how the market did and how many other people were involved. Even the year it only paid $300, that at least covered most of my books.

[myrdale]

She is good student, she's not laser focused on As all the time but understands they are needed as much as possible (she finished with a 3.6 GPA as a freshman). We shall see what this year brings.

Let's say her first choice school is private and 80K a year. Given our financial situation, can I expect zero aid of any kind and that I would be have to pay that entire amount?

College is also an experience. I saw people who were laser focused, they made straight A's but missed out on a lot. I also saw people who partied every night of the week and they were gone by the end of sophomore year. Part of the reason I asked about grades is it is my understanding that some of the top end schools, say MIT for example, are an order of magnitude harder and have much higher wash out rates. That whatever she takes on, she is capable of finishing.

Also I am a bit confused by what you mean when you say aid. Do you mean student loans? You could be billionaires and I would think she could still apply for government student loans if she is the one applying under here income (basically $0). And if not government student loans there are private loans from banks you could get. Do you mean scholarships? That's totally on her grades and tenacity for chasing them down. Do you mean grants? I don't really understand how they are different from scholarships.

[Snydley]

College is also an experience. I saw people who were laser focused, they made straight A's but missed out on a lot. I also saw people who partied every night of the week and they were gone by the end of sophomore year. Part of the reason I asked about grades is it is my understanding that some of the top end schools, say MIT for example, are an order of magnitude harder and have much higher wash out rates. That whatever she takes on, she is capable of finishing.

I definitely encourage this balance with her. Get as many As as you can but don't make yourself sick over it, find time for fun and being social. She has friends taking AP classes this year and I told her not to. I think she's not ready for that maturity-wise and not interested in the subjects offered enough; she should wait another year I think.

Also I am a bit confused by what you mean when you say aid. Do you mean student loans? You could be billionaires and I would think she could still apply for government student loans if she is the one applying under here income (basically $0). And if not government student loans there are private loans from banks you could get. Do you mean scholarships? That's totally on her grades and tenacity for chasing them down. Do you mean grants? I don't really understand how they are different from scholarships.

I guess I mean is there something I'm missing, sounds like no. She needs to apply for as many scholarships she qualifies for.

As of now she wants to stay within a easy-ish drive home (a few hours max) and I live in the Boston area so lots of options. I personally think schools like MIT and Harvard are bad choices for many reasons (she won't be going into business or law, and I fully expect those cultures to be less than ideal). Brandeis, Middlebury, Skidmore, Colby type schools might be a great fit for her, but they are expensive. Umass system doesn't have tons of options, at least compared to NY.

[Jluke]

I am pretty sure that Disneysteve did not pay “sticker price” for his daughter’s education so wait for his response.

if you are savvy enough to search the site you might find some comments he has made about this in the past.

im just going off of what I think I remember reading here.

[kork13]

First & foremost, yes -- she should apply for any & all scholarships out there. There are litterally hundreds of thousands of scholarships, often only requiring an essay & an application. Huge databases/websites exist to help you find those. I don't know how early students can start applying for scholarships, but I say the sooner the better. If she applies for 100 small scholarships over the next 3 years, wins just 20 of them, that could still be $10k-$20k or more that you guys won't have to cover yourself. Pretty sweet part-time job if you as me.

Just another consideration, many private universities are often more generous with various grants/scholarships than public universities. Still doesn't make the private schools comparable even on a net cost metric... But only a small minority of students actually pay the full sticker price for tuition.

Also consider that if your state's university system isn't that great & your other option is an expensive private school anyway... Then you may as well open the aperture to look at schools across the country, or at least in neighboring states. Sure, you'll pay non-resident tuition... But that may still be cheaper than the private school.

[MonkeyMama]

Let's say her first choice school is private and 80K a year. Given our financial situation, can I expect zero aid of any kind and that I would be have to pay that entire amount?

Yes.

When I worked in tax**, $150K was the general cutoff for any financial aid. Assets also factor. It's not just based on income.
With time and inflation, I'd say that number is closer to $175K today (income cutoff).

The tax year that will be used to factor your DD's freshman year of college will be 2023.
The tax base year will be 2023. re: reporting your income to colleges. Your assets will count on the date you complete FASFA and private college financial aid forms. Which is usually October the year before the school year.

This is probably a good question to ask over at Bogleheads.

Other than that, the best thing you can do is run through financial aid calculators at specific colleges. They will give you an idea of what you can expect to pay based on your personal situation.
Every college is different and I think it's important to look up the rules re: specific colleges. As a side note, not all colleges do merit aid. I've seen discussions online about hoping for merit aid from colleges that don't do merit aid. Planning and doing your homework ahead of time is wise.

**Relevant re: how much my clients whined about getting -$0- financial aid.

[disneysteve]

I am pretty sure that Disneysteve did not pay “sticker price” for his daughter’s education so wait for his response.

if you are savvy enough to search the site you might find some comments he has made about this in the past.

im just going off of what I think I remember reading here.

You are correct.

At most schools, fewer than 5% of students pay sticker price. Almost everyone gets some degree of aid.

My daughter's private school was over 52K/yr. We paid about 30K/yr. She got about 22K in academic scholarship. 19K was automatically awarded upon admission based on her high school performance. She didn't have to apply or do anything at all. It was just given to her. The other 3K was a departmental scholarship that was awarded to her sophomore year and the following 2 years. She didn't have to apply or do anything at all. It was just given to her. She/we didn't even know about that second one until the credit showed up on her statement. In fact, we had to call to find out what it was as we thought it was a mistake.

If your daughter's school has an 80K sticker price and she's got a 3.6 GPA, I wouldn't expect to pay anywhere near 80K. I'd suggest checking out the school's financial aid info to see what academic aid they offer. At my daughter's school, there are 5 levels of academic scholarship. The minimum GPA for the lowest level is 2.7. For 2023, that would get you a $12,000 scholarship. The levels go up from there to a max of $22,000.

[disneysteve]

not all colleges do merit aid.

Certainly an important factor to consider. Especially if you won't qualify for need-based aid, merit aid is a critically important factor when choosing a school.

[Drake3287]

"At most schools, fewer than 5% of students pay sticker price. Almost everyone gets some degree of aid"

Count me in on that 5%! And that's with my wife and I both making that same $180k between the two of us. Because of our income we pretty much got squat and our 3 kids got a couple of nickel and dime scholarship checks which paid for a few books. Everything else I wrote a check for, including housing and food. Luckily we had saved for nearly 25 years so I had the money thank goodness. It's still a bitter pill for me to swallow, the vast majority of other kids received government help but because I actually worked for a living, we got nothing.

Agree about the unknown college costs, all depends on which type of college. For us, it was pretty much $100k for each kid by the time the dust settled. And don't get me started on Biden forgiving that $10k to $20k on student loans. And you wonder why this country is divided.