Flabbergasted by friends' lack of awareness of college costs - UPDATE in post #440

[8filltheheart]

This post demonstrates just how out of whack some of the formulas are

Http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/21202501/#Comment_21202501

 

The AOTC issue seems crazy.

 

Fwiw, please excuse the gazillion mistakes in my recent posts. My grandkids have been here almost 2 weeks and I have multitasking beyond my ability to actually multitask. :)

Edited February 15, 2018 by 8FillTheHeart

[eternalsummer]

But if you can get into Harvard, you can likely get close to a full ride from your state flagship (depending on your state, of course), or another state's state flagship.

[Jazzy]

But if you can get into Harvard, you can likely get close to a full ride from your state flagship (depending on your state, of course), or another state's state flagship.

True!

[creekland]

But if you can get into Harvard, you can likely get close to a full ride from your state flagship (depending on your state, of course), or another state's state flagship.

 

There are quite a few places that offer attractive merit aid for top stat students hoping to get them to attend their schools instead, BUT they're often highly competitive (just as admission to highly selective schools are).  Some states offer automatic full rides, but not all of them.  I know ours don't.  Even U Alabama - a known financial safety for top stat kids - came in higher for my lad than the school he attended (which combined merit and need based aid for him) and I've read that UA has since cut their guaranteed aid even more.

[Jazzy]

Actually, I saw when checking e-mail tonight that there WAS one that said "Yale is affordable!" There was another that said, "You can afford Harvard."

 

The one from Yale linked to the "Quick Cost Estimator."  It came back $5,000 cheaper than Harvard.

 

I guess these schools really need our apps to lower their admission rates! 

 

[Arcadia]

The one from Yale linked to the "Quick Cost Estimator." It came back $5,000 cheaper than Harvard.

The Yale’s Quick Cost Estimator came back with three different numbers for me, a Low, Best and High estimate. They did ask for a home equity estimate based on whatever Zillow estimate my house is worth subtract the outstanding mortgage amount.

 

The Low estimate includes a $23,750 Scholarship/Grant and $2,850 Student Work-Study

The Best estimate includes a $7,450 Scholarship/Grant and $2,850 Student Work-Study

The High estimate is $71,000 Student and Parent Contribution

 

I think UC (California) merit scholarships is need based as well and not merit only. My kids aren’t interested in the East Coast but it’s still fun to run some estimators and see the numbers.

Edited February 15, 2018 by Arcadia

[Mabelen]

The Yale’s Quick Cost Estimator came back with three different numbers for me, a Low, Best and High estimate. They did ask for a home equity estimate based on whatever Zillow estimate my house is worth subtract the outstanding mortgage amount.

 

The Low estimate includes a $23,750 Scholarship/Grant and $2,850 Student Work-Study

The Best estimate includes a $7,450 Scholarship/Grant and $2,850 Student Work-Study

The High estimate is $71,000 Student and Parent Contribution

 

I think UC (California) merit scholarships is need based as well and not merit only. My kids aren’t interested in the East Coast but it’s still fun to run some estimators and see the numbers.

UC merit scholarships vary depending on each individual campus. My dd has a merit scholarship that is not need based. We are full pay at UCs.

 

ETA The UCs are, in general, not terribly generous with merit scholarships if there is no financial need. Some campuses give a little more money than others. UCSD has the Jacobs Scholarship for engineering which offers a full ride. I know someone who is about to graduate as a Jacobs scholar and they have no financial need.

Edited February 16, 2018 by Mabelen

[Hoggirl]

UPDATE on friends' daughter's outcome:

 

Daughter will be attending McPherson in Kansas. I was unfamiliar with it, but it is a small (700 students) LAC in Kansas. COA is about $38,000. She received a $14,000 per year academic scholarship, and I'm guessing around $11,000 in an athletic scholarship. She will be playing Middle for their volleyball team. It is an NAIA school. Mom says her cost to attend right now is $12,500 per year, but she is now in the pool to be a Presidential Scholar which could yield her more academic money. Her parents gave her a "pile" of $10,000 per year, so even if she receives no additional scholarship money, her debt load will be below Stafford amounts. She has to maintain a 3.2 to keep her academic scholarship. They didn't have her desired degree, but they offer a design-your-own option.

 

I would have some concerns, but at least she got to go OOS, which was important to her. Entire school is smaller than her graduating high school class. Admission standards seem low, graduation rates seem low, endowment seems low, etc. I hope it all works out for her and she is happy there going forward.

[GoodGrief]

Sounds like it worked out nicely for her!

[JanetC]

Sounds like it worked out nicely for her!

 

The school has a 70% freshman retention rate (almost 1 out of 3 students drop out after one year) and a 36% six-year graduation rate. It will work out great if she graduates, but this school has a terrible track record.

[MarkT]

UPDATE on friends' daughter's outcome:

 

Daughter will be attending McPherson in Kansas. I was unfamiliar with it, but it is a small (700 students) LAC in Kansas. 

https://www.niche.com/colleges/mcpherson-college/

[Hoggirl]

The school has a 70% freshman retention rate (almost 1 out of 3 students drop out after one year) and a 36% six-year graduation rate. It will work out great if she graduates, but this school has a terrible track record.

I had googled and seen those numbers. Not very encouraging.

 

ETA: more googling showed a statistic that the national average freshmen retention rate is only about 71%. Our state flagship's is about 82% for freshmen retention with about a 62% 6-year graduation rate.

Edited February 19, 2018 by Hoggirl

[creekland]

The school has a 70% freshman retention rate (almost 1 out of 3 students drop out after one year) and a 36% six-year graduation rate. It will work out great if she graduates, but this school has a terrible track record.

 

My guess is the school is so small that many kids decide it's too small or want a different (not offered) major there and end up transferring rather then solely dropping out.  That can be very common with the super small schools.  Some kids like them - prefer them even and thrive in them - but others think they will be ok and find themselves wanting (or needing) to trade up (in size) a bit.

 

It seems that many who graduate end up employed, though one never knows what they are employed in.  The average is more then minimum wage, so I don't think it's all bad.  She'll just have to see what she thinks as she goes along.

[wapiti]

Her parents gave her a "pile" of $10,000 per year, so even if she receives no additional scholarship money, her debt load will be below Stafford amounts.

 

Just a PSA that I feel is worth pointing out, for those mulling over costs:  that college has a relatively low R&B cost at 8.3k; R&B generally runs in a range of 10-15k at most colleges.  Between the family's planned 10k contribution and federal subsidized student loans, from the very outset of the search, this full-pay student was prepared to cover living expenses only and was likely to need a full-tuition scholarship or something close to that, unless the school has super-low costs.

Edited February 19, 2018 by wapiti

[Hoggirl]

Just a PSA that I feel is worth pointing out, for those mulling over costs: that college has a relatively low R&B cost at 8.3k; R&B generally runs in a range of 10-15k at most colleges. Between the family's planned 10k contribution and federal subsidized student loans, from the very outset of the search, this full-pay student was prepared to cover living expenses only and was likely to need a full-tuition scholarship or something close to that, unless the school has super-low costs.

Excellent point. Our state's flagship's room and board is about $1,600 MORE per year than its tuition and fees for an in-state resident.

[Mabelen]

Did you try appealing your package at any of the schools? My sister was very successful in getting her daughter’s top choice Profile school to consider their somewhat unique circumstances. Her daughter received very generous financial and merit aid and finished with zero debt.

To be honest, no, we didn't. We had college decision saturation by then. My daughter had other choices that she was happy with. In the end, she decided she wanted to stay in state, so she picked one of our state university campuses. I am happy to hear that it worked out well for your sister though.

[JanetC]

My guess is the school is so small that many kids decide it's too small or want a different (not offered) major there and end up transferring rather then solely dropping out. That can be very common with the super small schools.

Perhaps, but there are a lot of college drop outs in the USA, too. Transferring almost always costs time and money -- not all credits transfer and not all schools allocate as much financial aid to transfers as freshmen.

 

This student is not only going to a college with a low graduation rate, but a school that doesn't offer her desired major.