Paying for College

[HS Mom in NC]

We pay what we can for the kids.  That means all of community college and skilled labor training.   Everything else the kids have been told they'll have to pay for through work, scholarships, and loans in addition to what we can afford to contribute. If a kid isn't following through on classes/training we're funding, then the funding ends.

 

[Ali in OR]

Our parents paid for our undergrad degrees. Dh earned some nice merit scholarship help. We both paid for our own books and expenses other than tuition and room/board. My dad loaned me money for my 1-year graduate degree and I had a $5k scholarship that helped. I was proud to be able to make payments back to him every month, but he forgave the balance of my loan as a wedding gift a couple of years later.

 

We will pay for our kids' undergrad degrees, and we'll help beyond that if funds are available. Grandparents on both sides also help--one side putting money into their college savings plans, the other giving all grandkids money for their books each semester as long as their grades are ok.  This is something we want to do to give our kids a good start in their adult life--education without huge loan payments. Then they can save that money to pay for their kids' educations.

[kroe1]

Thanks. You're right, of course. I'm in a bit of a funk because I've been running NPCs for various schools - in and out of my state, public and private universities, and the results are the same. Completely unaffordable.

This is why we had DD17 spend an entire year studying for the SAT. She had daily practice questions and several workbooks. She did well enough to get a good scholarship to a private university of her choice. She graduated at 15, then spent a gap year at home working on her business. This allowed for the extra time she needed to study for that test. Sounds crazy, but, it worked. Thank goodness for homeschooling!

[Prairie~Phlox]

We will not contribute at all. They do have a place to live until they are out on their own full time.

[DawnM]

We are changing our tune a bit.  We thought we would just offer a certain amount, but I have gone back to work full time and my son is now in a major that will require more $$ for college.

 

We are still in discussions, but we will definitely have some sort of cap and then they can opt to decide based on that.

[Zinnia]

We have started looking long and hard at college costs. My kids are 11, 9, 7, and 5. My oldest is a classic overachiever, good test taking, and I feel like he will be motivated by the race for scholarships.

 

I don't know about the others, and that is where I worry.

[foxbridgeacademy]

I can't use my family or DH's as examples, both our parents played favorites so only some children were paid for while others were not.  

 

As for my kids- We live in TN where the tuition is cheap and the University is 3 miles away.  We will pay for housing and hopefully any tuition not covered by grants.  The kids are expected to save enough that if DH were to lose his job then they could pay for their own tuition and other needs.

[shanvan]

I always thought we would help Dc, but our financial situation changed about 5 years ago when my husband lost his job. He was out of work almost to the end of unemployment funds. He did find another job, but making half of the salary we had lived on for most of my Dc's lives. We can afford to do nothing monetary for our Dc at all. It seems we have a very unique position.

 

Ds was fortunate enough to receive a scholarship at a state university, and b/t that and grants his tuition is fully covered. He also received scholarships from 2 different clubs he is a member of. The university allowed for stacking scholarships, so every semester he receives a refund of several thousand dollars. He has no loans, and says he will not take any. HE works part time and during holidays he adds lots of extra hours, but there are weeks he has no hours at all. He does not have a car and won't be looking for one until he can afford insurance. He has paid for his own computer, buys his own clothes, and sometimes even his meal if he is out. I drive him to the train he takes to the university and he gives me $20 for gas about every other week.  He has a unique job and if he travels for it on long weekends, he can sometimes make $1000 or more in a 3 day weekend. 

 

When we are back on our feet again I am hoping we will be able to help him more than we can now, even if it is by not having him pay for gas. This is not exactly the situation I wanted for him, but we are thankful he is able to attend the university and not have debt. He was accepted into every college he applied to (7) and had a very generous scholarship to an expensive private university, but he would have had to pay about $3,000 a year and take loans. And he didn't want to take loans, so that made his decision easy.

 

Dd is a completely different student. I will be having her apply to 2 local schools when the time comes and she will have to choose from them or the CC. I have no idea if we will be able to help her at all by then. She also has a part time job right now that pays very well. She pays all of her expenses for extracurriculars and some of her clothing.

 

None of this is how I would like things to be. They are reality for us though. I have apologized to my kids about how much they have to pay for. Neither one of them feels slighted in the least. They are both happy to be able to contribute. 

 

​I just wanted to say it is still possible for some kids to pay their own way. I had to pay for about the same as my Ds does, but I lived at home rent free, and so does he.

 

 

[Prairie~Phlox]

I always thought we would help Dc, but our financial situation changed about 5 years ago when my husband lost his job. He was out of work almost to the end of unemployment funds. He did find another job, but making half of the salary we had lived on for most of my Dc's lives. We can afford to do nothing monetary for our Dc at all. It seems we have a very unique position.

 

Ds was fortunate enough to receive a scholarship at a state university, and b/t that and grants his tuition is fully covered. He also received scholarships from 2 different clubs he is a member of. The university allowed for stacking scholarships, so every semester he receives a refund of several thousand dollars. He has no loans, and says he will not take any. HE works part time and during holidays he adds lots of extra hours, but there are weeks he has no hours at all. He does not have a car and won't be looking for one until he can afford insurance. He has paid for his own computer, buys his own clothes, and sometimes even his meal if he is out. I drive him to the train he takes to the university and he gives me $20 for gas about every other week. He has a unique job and if he travels for it on long weekends, he can sometimes make $1000 or more in a 3 day weekend.

 

When we are back on our feet again I am hoping we will be able to help him more than we can now, even if it is by not having him pay for gas. This is not exactly the situation I wanted for him, but we are thankful he is able to attend the university and not have debt. He was accepted into every college he applied to (7) and had a very generous scholarship to an expensive private university, but he would have had to pay about $3,000 a year and take loans. And he didn't want to take loans, so that made his decision easy.

 

Dd is a completely different student. I will be having her apply to 2 local schools when the time comes and she will have to choose from them or the CC. I have no idea if we will be able to help her at all by then. She also has a part time job right now that pays very well. She pays all of her expenses for extracurriculars and some of her clothing.

 

None of this is how I would like things to be. They are reality for us though. I have apologized to my kids about how much they have to pay for. Neither one of them feels slighted in the least. They are both happy to be able to contribute.

 

​I just wanted to say it is still possible for some kids to pay their own way. I had to pay for about the same as my Ds does, but I lived at home rent free, and so does he.

You shouldn't feel bad. I don't & am basically in the same situation. My youngest at 16 has been working since about 10 & has a lot of money saved. My older 2 the same. Dd has not had to take out loans fir school I feel a good work ethic is important & starting them early with that helps. Their employers want more workers like them & have even asked me. They all have future plans & goals. I also do not believe that a four year university is always the best route for every student. And there are cheaper routes for a four year degree than going to a University. Lots of online options these days.

[madteaparty]

nm

Edited September 24, 2017 by madteaparty

[DawnM]

We are hoping for merit based scholarships.....oldest needs a specialty school and it is PRICEY.  We need to sit down and explain to him what we can and cannot pay so he clearly knows what is going to happen.

 

Edited September 24, 2017 by DawnM

[umsami]

We would love to help our kids as much as possible, but realistically with today's costs I have no idea what that will entail.  Right now, all four have prepaid four year tuition at a state school in Florida thanks to generous grandparents and an affordabl pre-paid plan in state.  If they chose other schools, we will be limited in how much we can help unfortunately.   We do not have anything set aside yet for books/dorms, but need to work on that.  Ideally, I'd like them to graduate from undergrad with as little debt as possible.   I wish I could help fund them through grad school, but I don't see that happening.

 

My parents paid for tuition, room, board, etc.  Of course, four years of college for me at a private university back in the  80s costs the same as one year now--and salaries have not kept pace.  DH's family supported him through medical school as well--although in Egypt, far lower cost.  Kids are expected to live at home there until marriage as well.  

Edited September 24, 2017 by umsami

[2squared]

I assume our kids will take out the max subsidized loans at around $5j/year. We will pay the rest through a combo of cash flow, savings, tax relief, and GI bill (split five ways).

 

Cash flow will come from either tightening our belts or, more preferably, one of us earning more. Dh makes a PT income now around $50k/year. We hope he can turn that into a FT income in the next free years. The other option is for me to get a promotion, but I prefer dh to step up. :) I've already given up pretty much all my childdraising dreams to be our breadwinner. :(

[Pawz4me]

I assume our kids will take out the max subsidized loans at around $5j/year.

 

Just be aware that those loans are NOT available to all students. If the parents make too much or have too many assets (including non-retirement account savings) the students don't qualify for subsidized loans.

[TravelingChris]

We paid for college along with merit aid and GI bill and are still doing that.  It is just something we believe in giving to our children and we can do it.  All of our kids got merit aid which helped too.  We spread out things with loans and are helping them pay those too.

[DawnM]

Just be aware that those loans are NOT available to all students. If the parents make too much or have too many assets (including non-retirement account savings) the students don't qualify for subsidized loans.

 

Can you figure this out before you apply for it, or do you pretty much have to apply and hope for the best?

[Pawz4me]

Can you figure this out before you apply for it, or do you pretty much have to apply and hope for the best?

 

I'll have to let someone more knowledgeable answer. There are various calculators for EFC and you could probably go from there to figure it out. But someone else will know a lot more than me. Our EFC is . . truly astronomical. To the point we looked at it and knew there was no way on earth our boys were ever going to get a cent of financial aid (and subsidized loans are considered aid).

[KungFuPanda]

The financial realities of even a state school are, that to pay for everything for your kid, it's going to cost $1500+ (It's more, but this number is easy to work with) out of your family budget EVERY month. Some people can afford this. Some people make so little that their EFC is nowhere near this. A lot of people are in the middle where they're EFC is all of this, but they kinda need that money for their mortgage and to feed everyone. A LOT of people say "I put myself through school. These lazy mellinials should just work." Really? You think a college student can work 40+ hours to make enough for a state school? In what major is this even possible? Maybe it can work IF your EFC is low AND your kid starts working when they're 10?!?!

 

DH and I are in the middle. We paid our own way through school AND we're paying for our daughter. She doesn't lack our determination, it's really much harder to pull off than it was 20 years ago. She works on campus and in the summers, but what she can contribute is a very small portion of this cost. She has some scholarships that help. It's really a cobbled together jumble.

 

If the parents of today's students had saved $150 a month for ten years, or $75 a month from the time they were born, they could afford state school. Multiply this by the number of children you have. Double or triple it for private schools. I think a great savings plan for active families is to take the amount you spend on toddler ballet or travel soccer and save an equal amount for college. Yeah, I didn't think of that before now :-/ A lot of kids can get some merit aid. Some kids will get a full ride. You don't really KNOW this when your kid is one and you should start saving.

 

I guess we're a We'll-do-whatever-we-can family when it comes to paying for college. It's expensive and feel sad for kids who were good students but can't make the numbers work. Families have to make hard decisions and it really is much harder than it was a generation ago. It does irk me when families put these blowhard hoops into place and tell their kids that they've gotta work their way through to build character instead of just admitting to the child that they cannot afford to contribute. DH and I struggled to put ourselves through college. We knew our parents couldn't pay for it, but at least they never acted like they were withholding support for our own good. That's just mean. It did NOT make us better people to work harder for it. Our characters were formed well before then. It was just harder.

Edited September 24, 2017 by KungFuPanda

[catz]

I'll have to let someone more knowledgeable answer. There are various calculators for EFC and you could probably go from there to figure it out. But someone else will know a lot more than me. Our EFC is . . truly astronomical. To the point we looked at it and knew there was no way on earth our boys were ever going to get a cent of financial aid (and subsidized loans are considered aid).

 

The college board has a calculator you can start with to calculate EFC

https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/pay-for-college/paying-your-share/expected-family-contribution-calculator

 

I think this is a start.  Some schools can be WAY more generous than others with aid. 

 

Individual colleges are required to have something called an NPC - net price calculator and you can easily find those too.

[Ann.without.an.e]

I really think this has to come down to family finances.  I think that families with the resources should help their children.  At one time, college or further training after high school was a bonus, but it has become a necessity for almost every career field.  That being said, we do not have the financial extra to be of much help.  Thankfully, dd has a full ride scholarship and every penny is covered.  We will face each decision as we need to with each child.  We hope to be able to help our others but we will need to see.  They can always live at home and commute to the local Uni if the parent contribution and/or debt for them is too high elsewhere.

[SereneHome]

I didn't read the thread yet, but will after I post this.

 

I paid 100% for my own college.  Worked and paid as I went.  I paid for my Master's from my savings and RE investments.

 

My husband borrowed for college both times, first after high school and then when he went for another degree.

 

I seriously doubt that we will be paying for kids' college.  Not for any moral reasons, just bc saving for our retirement comes first.  We are old and I am not working, so we are trying to save from one income.  Which is not easy.

 

I am a firm believer that the best gift you can give your children is your financial independence in older years.

[DawnM]

The college board has a calculator you can start with to calculate EFC

https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/pay-for-college/paying-your-share/expected-family-contribution-calculator

 

I think this is a start.  Some schools can be WAY more generous than others with aid. 

 

Individual colleges are required to have something called an NPC - net price calculator and you can easily find those too.

 

I am the one who asked and I have already done this.  So let's say the calculator says we can afford (I am making up numbers here, not using actual numbers), $35,000 per year.

 

Let's say that the college is $45,000.

 

But let's say that my smart boy gets a $15,000 scholarship, making the cost a mere $30,0000, or, under the amount they say we can afford.

 

Can he still get the $5K loan or does he no longer qualify?

 

(and, for the sake of this discussion, let's assume he is the only kid in college in the family.)

Edited September 24, 2017 by DawnM

[catz]

I am the one who asked and I have already done this.  So let's say the calculator says we can afford (I am making up numbers here, not using actual numbers), $35,000 per year.

 

Let's say that the college is $45,000.

 

But let's say that my smart boy gets a $15,000 scholarship, making the cost a mere $30,0000, or, under the amount they say we can afford.

 

Can he still get the $5K loan or does he no longer qualify?

 

(and, for the sake of this discussion, let's assume he is the only kid in college in the family.)

 

I think the whole final number can depend on the school!  I'm not sure about the 5K federal loan program.  But I know some schools will tweak merit aid based on need too.  It's so confusing and we're in a similar boat!

[Pawz4me]

I am the one who asked and I have already done this.  So let's say the calculator says we can afford (I am making up numbers here, not using actual numbers), $35,000 per year.

 

Let's say that the college is $45,000.

 

But let's say that my smart boy gets a $15,000 scholarship, making the cost a mere $30,0000, or, under the amount they say we can afford.

 

Can he still get the $5K loan or does he no longer qualify?

 

(and, for the sake of this discussion, let's assume he is the only kid in college in the family.)

 

Again, I'll defer to those who know more, but I think the answer is no, he would not qualify.

 

I think a scenario in which he would qualify would be this --

 

Your EFC is $35,000.

The college cost of attendance is $45,000.

The college offers a $5,000 scholarship.

 

Then your student probably would qualify for a $3,500 subsidized loan (the maximum subsidized loan a freshman can get).

The college would probably offer some work study to help pay for the $1,500 difference, or an unsubsidized loan. I believe the maximum unsubsidized loan a freshman can get is $2,000 (for a total maximum freshman loan amount of $5,500).

 

The expectation is that the parents are capable of covering and willing to cover the EFC w/o any subsidized aid.

 

Edited September 24, 2017 by Pawz4me

[Guest]

I am the one who asked and I have already done this.  So let's say the calculator says we can afford (I am making up numbers here, not using actual numbers), $35,000 per year.

 

Let's say that the college is $45,000.

 

But let's say that my smart boy gets a $15,000 scholarship, making the cost a mere $30,0000, or, under the amount they say we can afford.

 

Can he still get the $5K loan or does he no longer qualify?

 

(and, for the sake of this discussion, let's assume he is the only kid in college in the family.)

When you fill out the fafsa, you will be informed whether or not you're eligible for need-based aid.  If that is the case, your son will be eligible for Direct subsidized loans (this is what I think you mean by the 5K loan).  You do not have to show need to be eligible for the direct unsubsidized loans (which are more than 5K, but have interest).  

[DawnM]

When you fill out the fafsa, you will be informed whether or not you're eligible for need-based aid.  If that is the case, your son will be eligible for Direct subsidized loans (this is what I think you mean by the 5K loan).  You do not have to show need to be eligible for the direct unsubsidized loans (which are more than 5K, but have interest).  

 

Thanks, I was hoping there was a way to determine this before waiting for FAFSA.  He needs it for January.  

 

Everything is going to be last minute and a tight decision.  

 

Nothing seems to be easy does it?

[DawnM]

I think the whole final number can depend on the school!  I'm not sure about the 5K federal loan program.  But I know some schools will tweak merit aid based on need too.  It's so confusing and we're in a similar boat!

 

It is, and we need to hop on this.  I am a very bottom line person.  I just talked to DS. He is looking at transferring in January!   But we have no idea what will transfer, if we can move by then, etc.....so we won't have answers until it is possibly too late to change our minds.

[DawnM]

Again, I'll defer to those who know more, but I think the answer is no, he would not qualify.

 

I think a scenario in which he would qualify would be this --

 

Your EFC is $35,000.

The college cost of attendance is $45,000.

The college offers a $5,000 scholarship.

 

Then your student probably would qualify for a $3,500 subsidized loan (the maximum subsidized loan a freshman can get).

The college would probably offer some work study to help pay for the $1,500 difference, or an unsubsidized loan. I believe the maximum unsubsidized loan a freshman can get is $2,000 (for a total maximum freshman loan amount of $5,500).

 

The expectation is that the parents are capable of covering and willing to cover the EFC w/o any subsidized aid.

 

He won't be a freshman.  I am hoping they at least take 30 of his 45 total credits as transfer credits.

[Guest]

Thanks, I was hoping there was a way to determine this before waiting for FAFSA.  He needs it for January.  

 

Everything is going to be last minute and a tight decision.  

 

Nothing seems to be easy does it?

If you go to the fafsa.gov website, look for the box on the right that says Fafsa4caster - stupid name, but it will give you a good estimate of what to expect.

[goldberry]

We will help as much as we can.  We cannot afford to pay for their entire education, but we don't have a policy of not helping or requiring them to pay for everything themselves.

 

This.

 

When DD was a junior in high school, we started conversation with her about the financial aspect of college.  We told her X is what we have to help you with in dollars, and here are the expenses that we are willing to cover or not cover.  The X would have been enough to cover the local uni or community college and living at home.  She really wanted to go to a better university 2.5 hours away.  She was able to cover the extra cost with scholarships and a small loan.  We also discussed loans with her and what they would mean.  She felt comfortable with a small loan that would be affordable to pay off after graduating.

 

We REALLY want her to get her degree so she will be in a better position to get a job that enables her to support herself.  Contributing toward college is our way to encourage her to do so.  How much we contribute is based on what we have.

[mommyoffive]

Just read this article in this month's Money magazine

 

 

Where you can get free college

 

 

http://time.com/money/4830367/free-college-tuition-promise-programs/

[KungFuPanda]

He won't be a freshman. I am hoping they at least take 30 of his 45 total credits as transfer credits.

My daughter managed to snag a couple grand in transfer scholarship when she transferred. That might be worth looking into. What credits will transfer is always a crap shoot. It's like a rubics cube with extra rows and columns. We have not enjoyed the process. :-/

[DawnM]

Just read this article in this month's Money magazine

 

 

Where you can get free college

 

 

http://time.com/money/4830367/free-college-tuition-promise-programs/

 

Unfortunately, they all have heavy stipulations.

 

Must live in the area.

Must be at a certain income level.

Must be first gen college bound. 

 

School is losing students due to location, reputation,  crime rate in the area, etc.....

 

 

And several are not truly free.  They may have free or low tuition, but the fees are high, room and board are still pricey, etc....

 

We have 3 NC state colleges that offer $500 yearly tuition.  They are our lowest performing NC state colleges.  But tuition was only $2,500 prior to the cut.  Fees are about $3000/year, which is NOT free, and room, board, transportation, and books are still full price, therefore reducing the cost from about $15,000 to $13,000, still unaffordable to many.  

 

It can help some though, and I am glad for that.

[regentrude]

It is, and we need to hop on this.  I am a very bottom line person.  I just talked to DS. He is looking at transferring in January!   But we have no idea what will transfer, if we can move by then, etc.....so we won't have answers until it is possibly too late to change our minds.

 

Check out what scholarships they give. Beware that some scholarships are awarded beginning in the Fall, so students starting a semester late will be at a disadvantage. This just came up in a conversation I had with admissions when I took a student I mentor. You need to talk to the transfer admissions counselor at the receiving school to find out whether a transfer mid-year is advisable, or whether it would be better for the student to transfer for Fall.

 

As for transfering the credits: have you looked at the articulation agreements of the four year school? Should be on their website.

If there is no agreement with his current college, he needs to be prepared to present all syllabi for the courses he took, so that they can do an individual evaluation. If he does not have the syllabi, he should begin gathering them.

Edited September 24, 2017 by regentrude

[Rosika]

In your family, who pays for college? In the opinion of your family is it the parents job to pay for college or do adult children take care of themselves or do parents help their kids some.

 

Im not asking what is right or wrong, just what you do. No arguing please.

 

Someone made a comment about college to me the other day and I was a bit blown away. I was just looking to see how other people viewed the roles of parents providing for adult children.

 

I will reply later on.

 

Not everyone in my family has gone to college, so we don't have a set plan (or even culture where it's the expected path). Our "loose" plan is this: help those who want to go, to the best of our abilities, and also inform them on opportunities outside of the college path. 

 

Key word is "help" - I think the student should be involved in the process, whether it's a work study or earning scholarships or working part-time. Finances aside, any path my kids follow should have some degree of their own buy-in. 

 

In the area I currently live, college is expected - even for kids who might be better suited to leaving academics and going the trade route. We are the minority in our thinking; so much so that other parents sometimes gently lecture us about how important college is and why it should be mandatory for [our] kids. (This is not uncommon given that we are, on average, 15-18 years younger than our 'parent peers' here. We get gently lectured on a lot of things!)

 

Every parent we know here is financing all of college. There will be some scholarships, some need-based aid (virtually all of it due to creative accounting rather than genuine need), but overall it's expected the parents will bear the brunt of college costs. This is a pressure cooker area.

 

Also, somewhat related: kids generally choose their college based on peers and legacies as opposed to departments and programs. I wonder if this goes hand in hand with college being the expectation. For many kids here, course of study seems secondary to just attending and getting a degree (any degree).

[foxbridgeacademy]

The financial realities of even a state school are, that to pay for everything for your kid, it's going to cost $1500+ (It's more, but this number is easy to work with) out of your family budget EVERY month. Some people can afford this. Some people make so little that their EFC is nowhere near this. A lot of people are in the middle where they're EFC is all of this, but they kinda need that money for their mortgage and to feed everyone. A LOT of people say "I put myself through school. These lazy mellinials should just work." Really? You think a college student can work 40+ hours to make enough for a state school? In what major is this even possible? Maybe it can work IF your EFC is low AND your kid starts working when they're 10?!?!

 

DH and I are in the middle. We paid our own way through school AND we're paying for our daughter. She doesn't lack our determination, it's really much harder to pull off than it was 20 years ago. She works on campus and in the summers, but what she can contribute is a very small portion of this cost. She has some scholarships that help. It's really a cobbled together jumble.

 

If the parents of today's students had saved $150 a month for ten years, or $75 a month from the time they were born, they could afford state school. Multiply this by the number of children you have. Double or triple it for private schools. I think a great savings plan for active families is to take the amount you spend on toddler ballet or travel soccer and save an equal amount for college. Yeah, I didn't think of that before now :-/ A lot of kids can get some merit aid. Some kids will get a full ride. You don't really KNOW this when your kid is one and you should start saving.

 

I guess we're a We'll-do-whatever-we-can family when it comes to paying for college. It's expensive and feel sad for kids who were good students but can't make the numbers work. Families have to make hard decisions and it really is much harder than it was a generation ago. It does irk me when families put these blowhard hoops into place and tell their kids that they've gotta work their way through to build character instead of just admitting to the child that they cannot afford to contribute. DH and I struggled to put ourselves through college. We knew our parents couldn't pay for it, but at least they never acted like they were withholding support for our own good. That's just mean. It did NOT make us better people to work harder for it. Our characters were formed well before then. It was just harder.

While $1500 a month may be the reality for many families, for us it's not going to be anywhere near that much.  

We live in TN.  We have a CC up the road that has a transfer agreement with the local University.  CC is free in TN.  Books are going to be about $2000 per year.  The kids will live at home and eat at home and drive the EV back and forth to school (costs about $20 per month in electricity). They can work a very part time job for spending money.

 

When they transfer to the University the tuition is (right now) $8800 per year.  The get to carry the Hope Scholarship with them from CC which pays $4500 per year (leaving $4300 in tuition) assume another $2000 for books still living at home, spread out over 9-10 months is about $600 per month.  This is the whole reason we moved back to Tennessee, low cost tuition and statewide scholarships that aren't need based.  In total for tuition only (at today's rates) it's going to cost us $8600 per kid for a 4 year degree (assuming they finish on time).

[DawnM]

I'll have to let someone more knowledgeable answer. There are various calculators for EFC and you could probably go from there to figure it out. But someone else will know a lot more than me. Our EFC is . . truly astronomical. To the point we looked at it and knew there was no way on earth our boys were ever going to get a cent of financial aid (and subsidized loans are considered aid).

 

I am hoping he gets a merit scholarship, but not sure about the rest, we may have a shot when we have two in college at a time.

[Murphy101]

I see no value to not helping my kids become more educated and employable as much as I can, which at our household income is very little these days.

 

If I don't, it's more likely they will build more debt than more character.

 

I'm also of the rising waters float all boats mentality. If we help each other, we all benefit.

 

People can choose otherwise and I'll try to be politely silent, but I'd strongly disagree with them about it.

[KungFuPanda]

While $1500 a month may be the reality for many families, for us it's not going to be anywhere near that much.  

We live in TN.  We have a CC up the road that has a transfer agreement with the local University.  CC is free in TN.  Books are going to be about $2000 per year.  The kids will live at home and eat at home and drive the EV back and forth to school (costs about $20 per month in electricity). They can work a very part time job for spending money.

 

When they transfer to the University the tuition is (right now) $8800 per year.  The get to carry the Hope Scholarship with them from CC which pays $4500 per year (leaving $4300 in tuition) assume another $2000 for books still living at home, spread out over 9-10 months is about $600 per month.  This is the whole reason we moved back to Tennessee, low cost tuition and statewide scholarships that aren't need based.  In total for tuition only (at today's rates) it's going to cost us $8600 per kid for a 4 year degree (assuming they finish on time).

Yes. I get that it varies, but you have an exceptional bargain. You can cut the price here in half if you commute, but it's a supercommute area and the kid could be spending 3+ hours a day in the car. I can't think of a worse use of her time. Oddly, the books are costing us waaaay less than when we were in school 20 years ago. Millennials really know how to find the book bargains online. Dd spent less than $250 on books this semester. Still, everything else is expensive here and FAFSA does not care if you live in a HCOL area. Two years of our CC would cost more than you're spending on a 4-year degree.

[DawnM]

While $1500 a month may be the reality for many families, for us it's not going to be anywhere near that much.  

We live in TN.  We have a CC up the road that has a transfer agreement with the local University.  CC is free in TN.  Books are going to be about $2000 per year.  The kids will live at home and eat at home and drive the EV back and forth to school (costs about $20 per month in electricity). They can work a very part time job for spending money.

 

When they transfer to the University the tuition is (right now) $8800 per year.  The get to carry the Hope Scholarship with them from CC which pays $4500 per year (leaving $4300 in tuition) assume another $2000 for books still living at home, spread out over 9-10 months is about $600 per month.  This is the whole reason we moved back to Tennessee, low cost tuition and statewide scholarships that aren't need based.  In total for tuition only (at today's rates) it's going to cost us $8600 per kid for a 4 year degree (assuming they finish on time).

 

That is wonderful.

 

Our local 4 year school is around $7,000 for tuition and all fees.  Books and living expenses would be on top of that.

I thought getting through college for under $40K was good.  Yours is much better.

 

And at our local 4 year school (30 min. away by car), even if you live on campus and have room and board, it is roughly only $15K per year, very reasonable by Univ. standards.

 

But, unfortunately, they DO NOT have what my oldest needs.....so off to private we go.  

[cflovinlife]

Our daughter is now in her third year of college. We suggested that the first two years she stay in town and go to the State college. The first two years are just core classes ie....math, sci, eng.... She did so well academically, that she had colleges coming after her (she was not a real good student in HS) She finished debt free. Now she is in a private college finishing her degree. She has learned independence by being close to home yet not at home. Her studies are what are most important to her. She received quite a few scholarships and other aid to go. She is working full time and school full time. We pay for what is left on the college bill she pays all other expenses. Car, rent, books, food,.... Its her life. She is doing it her way.

 

Sent from my LGLS755 using Tapatalk

[Bluegoat]

Post secondary ed is cheaper here than the US, but kids don't necessarily qualify for loans if their parents don't help, and making enough in the summer is unlikely.  I can't see how many could do it without help

 

Anyway, our family culture tends be be that everyone helps as is best for all, parents help kids, kids help parents.  There isn't this idea that somehow we don't owe each other anything.  Education expenses are just one example.