Um, yeah, so I pretty much won't be sleeping tonight. Just looked at the cost for

[imeverywoman]

Wheaton College. It's over 38K. Oh. My. Goodness.

 

That's all I have to say about that.

[creekland]

My son's college (Covenant College) is roughly the same for cost. Fortunately, he's received a hefty chunk of that in merit and need based aid making it less costly than our state U's. Wheaton is not well-known for giving a lot of merit aid, but if you qualify for need based aid, don't shy away from applying. You never know... My middle son might be applying there. We'll have to see after we visit. He's just a junior this year, so we've got a year before applications.

[JFSinIL]

My son's college is about $42,000 - BUT gave a hefty merit scholarship, work study, and a small grant. That covers about HALF the cost. Then add in student loans and the small (2,000/yr) outside scholarship he won and we are left to come up with about 15,000 per year (less than the EFC FAFSA said). So if your student can qualify for merit aid the cost can be far less.

 

Wooster offered a total package of $38,000 (but cost a LOT more to begin with so our cost would have been at the too high EFC)

 

How much merit aid might Wheaton offer? If they have a set amount a certain GPA/ACT/SAT score gets, it still might work out. Otherwise - look for the schools that have big merit aid awards!

[EKS]

I know.

 

I was looking at the cost of various private colleges recently as well. I thought they were running about $25K. Boy was I wrong!

[Halftime Hope]

Wheaton College. It's over 38K. QUOTE]

 

For me, it's not so much the total cost--there were three colleges in that range on dd's list--but the fact that Wheaton doesn't give very much merit aid. Gaaah! Even national merit scholars only get $5K!

 

Pretty much guarantees that there won't be a fouth generation Wheatie in my family. :banghead:

 

They sent out a nifty little chart that plotted quality vs. cost, and using those calculations, Wheaton does come up as a bargain in comparison (IOW, bang for your buck), but in my family's math, I can only afford so much quality, without dooming dd to pay off steep student loans. Just couldn't do it, considering her "big picture" of seminary, plus going into a field that doesn't promise high salaries.

 

sigh

Edited July 16, 2010 by Valerie(TX)
ETA: updated the $ amount based on rechecking the website today. It's gone up! Sorry for the old info!

[Starr]

And we were worried about homeschooling? That was the easy part. :D It's the paying for college that's the problem.

[MomsintheGarden]

And we were worried about homeschooling? That was the easy part. :D It's the paying for college that's the problem.

:iagree:

 

Dd did not apply to Wheaton, in part because they give very little merit aid. We couldn't see setting her up to get into so much debt for an undergraduate degree.

 

I'd love to see that chart that quantifies quality.

 

GardenMom

[In The Great White North]

So, what schools do give merit aid? As in, lots of merit aid not based on the FAFSA at all?

[mommy4ever]

:eek: What type of school is Wheaton?

 

Here are average tuitions in our city:

Most University courses average for books, tuitions and other fees: $4500 - $7,558.48

 

Now for medical, dental and hygenists the costs are higher due to other materials require.

Between $10K and $20K, depending on which year. Dental kits are costly. But once you have them, you don't need to replace them for a long time, you may need to add to them but not start from scratch.

 

The thought of $35k per year is very scary!

[In The Great White North]

Here are average tuitions in our city:

Most University courses average for books, tuitions and other fees: $4500 - $7,558.48

 

 

Is this per course, per semester or per year?

 

What city is this?

[mommy4ever]

That is per year. At a major University. I am in Canada.

[newbie]

And we were worried about homeschooling? That was the easy part. :D It's the paying for college that's the problem.

:iagree::iagree::iagree:

[Michelle in AL]

Here in Alabama public universities are about $7000/yr just for tuition. Add in living on campus and the cost increases to $18,000/yr. I don't know how people can possibly afford college unless their kids get some type of large scholarship.

 

We've saved for college since our 2 children were born, usually $300/month and their total savings will only cover 1.5 yrs at public school. Luckily they should both qualify for large merit aid. But what if they didn't? I don't know how others do it.

[Michelle in AL]

I will say, if your children do qualify for merit aid, it is worth looking at private schools.

 

My dd already qualifies for $16,000 at Birmingham Southern before adding in any other scholarships. I think that leaves $16000 uncovered. Unfortunately, that's not where she wants to go.

[Hoggirl]

So, what schools do give merit aid? As in, lots of merit aid not based on the FAFSA at all?

 

I can't recall the name, and I can't get to it, b/c we are having some remodeling done. I think it is a Princeton book. Something like the top 381 colleges. Yes, a strange number. It is rankings based on students' polls/opinions. Anyway, each school has percentages given for students receiving need-based and non-need-based (strictly merit) aid. As an example, Duke only has something like 1 or 2% that receive strictly merit-based aid. Not sure, but perhaps most books like these provide that type of information.

[TravelingChris]

The whole college price thing has gotten so outrageous. One thing I have heard but never seen in official print is that the EFC is expected to be paid 1/3 with savings, 1/3 from salary, and 1/3 from parental borrowing. That won't be happening here. I just know that our EFC is totally undo able at this time. We were paying, and hopefully will pay soon, the total cost for our son to go to a local state univ. THat costs 10K a year and that is without living expenses, books, or transportation. We don't fill out the FAFSA and pay that ourselves. We figure we can pay close to 12K a year ourselves from income. Unfortunately, our expected EFC is more like 44K. If we didn't have the GI bill, we would be wondering how to pay for the older dd. We think we will put away about 36K before the last dd goes to college and then use that, current income, and merit aid with probably some loans for her. OUr income should be higher than and hopefully we will be able to pay more for her than we can right now. I am not going into debt for college.

[creekland]

Wheaton College. It's over 38K. QUOTE]

 

For me, it's not so much the total cost--there were three colleges in that range on dd's list--but the fact that Wheaton doesn't give very much merit aid. Gaaah! Even national merit scholars only get $2K!

 

 

 

OK... so Wheaton is probably no longer on our list again. I was hoping if middle son got NMF (which he might) then it might be affordable. Only 27 of their 620 Freshmen were NMF so I was hoping they would direct their merit aid to them. I guess I was wrong. Since he's also looking at grad school afterward I definitely don't want much in loans from undergrad. I know we crossed it off our consideration list for oldest son for affordability reasons.

[creekland]

So, what schools do give merit aid? As in, lots of merit aid not based on the FAFSA at all?

 

 

I honestly don't know how many on this list give merit aid without FAFSA, but this is a list I refer to a bit when looking for new schools to check out:

 

http://www.insidecollege.com/reno/The-Experts-Choice-Colleges-that-Go-the-Extra-Mile-to-Make-It-Financially-Possible-to-Attend/352/list.do

 

I'm not sure how the link will be titled, but the page is from Inside College.com on "Colleges that go the Extra Mile to make it financially possible to attend." (forgive my not putting all caps in where they belong in the title!)

[Grace is Sufficient]

Fortunately, I guess, I doubt we'll qualify for any need-based aid. I would think both of mine would get some merit aid if the schools offer it, but nowhere near enough. Unfortunately, despite the fact that we've set aside monthly since birth for each, comparing our paltry total to the cost of a four year education at almost any institution you care to name is laughable. Unfortunately, not qualifying for need-based aid does NOT mean that we're capable of shelling out ten thousand or more per year

 

I REFUSE to go into debt, or to encourage my kid to go into debt, for an overpriced and overvalued product such as most university educations have become.

 

So, at this point we're generally leaning toward having the first two years taken at the local CC, and cobble together the funds needed for two more years (probably at a local public college to save the room & board.)

 

I went to a private university in the early 80s... I think I remember the cost being around $4-5K.

 

Sickening.

[TerriMI]

 

OK... so Wheaton is probably no longer on our list again. I was hoping if middle son got NMF (which he might) then it might be affordable. Only 27 of their 620 Freshmen were NMF so I was hoping they would direct their merit aid to them. I guess I was wrong. Since he's also looking at grad school afterward I definitely don't want much in loans from undergrad. I know we crossed it off our consideration list for oldest son for affordability reasons.

 

I'm glad that this thread points out Wheaton. It's a great school in so many ways, but I wish someone had told us about their awful FA before dd and I spent time and money to visit there in the fall of 2008. The FA department was very kind, but firm despite the fact that their costs were way above anyone else I have heard of. They claim to be need-blind, spreading any aid out to every single student regardless of need or merit. At that time every student got a straight $5000 off of total costs. The cost was still WAY more than anyone else we considered for her. I have wondered WHO actually ends up paying that kind of bill? When making a comment to one of the facutly we visited there about that very thing, they admitted that many students end up with over $20,000 in loans EVERY YEAR!! and many have substantially larger amounts than that!! This facutly member was the sheepish one about that, asking if I thought they ought to be more forthcoming about actual costs to prospective students before they visit the campus. I guess some students bear the load; some parents must make great sacrifices; some grandparents must help; some must come from wealthy families. I don't mean to disparage those who choose thusly, but Wheaton was unmistakenly wrong for us.

 

 

There are many other Colleges committed to Christian values that are academically strong, that give much better FA. Even among the ones that don't SEEM so academically strong, there are many, if not most, that have very strong honors programs that truly offer good students the same academic opportunities.

[Rhea]

The whole college price thing has gotten so outrageous. One thing I have heard but never seen in official print is that the EFC is expected to be paid 1/3 with savings, 1/3 from salary, and 1/3 from parental borrowing.

 

I'm not read up on any of this (and need to be soon as my eldest is 10th) so please forgive my ignorant questions...

 

The above refers to the parents of the student, right?

 

What if the child has some savings? Specifically, the child will be given money on their 21st birthday from a relative. I read on another thread that if the child has savings it is expected to all go towards tuition over the course of 4 years. I'm guessing if they get it their junior year half of it will be expected to go towards tuition each year the last two.

 

Rhea

[MomsintheGarden]

We know of one homeschooled graduate from our area who is attending Wheaton. He is from (what looks to me) a well-to-do family. He's majoring in English and Anthropology. I don't know what kind of aid he is receiving. His family never talks about money. He is happy there, and his parents are happy with his situation as well.

 

For our family, it simply would not work to send one of our children to a school where we'd be paying $35K+ a year. We have seven children, some of whom are very academically inclined, and some who have average abilities. Our goal is to get the most $ in merit aid for our brighter students so we can possibly pay for the others to get their degrees.

 

Can someone please tell me what it is about Wheaton that allows them to charge so much for "quality?" I'm not trying to be snarky! I'd really like to know. Our dd thinks she wants to be a doctor, and their med school acceptance rates were just so-so. What am I missing?

 

GardenMom

[Nicole M]

Well, $38K seems about right for just tuition for a private school, and then with room and board, most are up around $42K. My son's college, Knox, is considered a "bargain" at $32K for tuition alone. I don't know of any private, small liberal arts colleges where students are expected to pay every cent without scholarships and other aid. The college where I work is also very expensive, and something like 90+% of the students receive some kind of aid.

[TravelingChris]

Yes, the student is expected to spend all of their savings on college (for the four years).

 

The parents assets aren't counted until they are over a certain amount. When we did file, it was something like the first 32000. Some schools also use the Profile. If you own a home, that one is usually even harder or if you have a non-custodial parent. If you have certain special circumstances, the Profile may be more advantageous.

 

Either way, EFC or some other way, most colleges don't claim to meet full need. So even if you EFC is 0, and you apply to a college like Wheaton, you may very well not get enough aid to go. I know that in College Confidential I keep reading about students who have gaps between what the school gave them for aid and loans they can take out, and the total cost of the school.

 

I find the Wheaton College cost to be slightly below others we have been looking at to way below the cost of some others. I think the problem is that they don't give merit aid and so there is no discount at all for those who have an EFC of 38K while at many other schools, they will discount that cost by quite a bit.

 

I know a family here whose son goes to Wheaton. They live in my neighborhood and I can presume they own their house (we rent). I expect that they figured they were going to have to pay something close to this amount anywhere he went except to a VA state school and UVA, W& M, and VT are very tough to get into now, and it is rated a better school that the other state schools here.

[Halftime Hope]

I went to a private university in the early 80s... I think I remember the cost being around $4-5K.

 

Don't quote me on this, but if I remember correctly, I think full cost at Wheaton in early to mid 80s was around mid-12 to mid 13-K. Again, don't quote me, but that seems to be what I remember.

 

I was a legacy student AND an MK, and we qualified for some serious need-based aid, so I know we didn't pay anything near full ticket.

 

Times have sure changed, but it being expensive hasn't.

[Halftime Hope]

 

OK... so Wheaton is probably no longer on our list again. I was hoping if middle son got NMF (which he might) then it might be affordable.

 

Creekland, I'm sorry and I hope this helps; it is now $5K per year. That's a substantial increase, but still not a major amount.

[Mary in GA]

I'm totally flabbergasted by posts like this. It's really great if a family can truly afford a $38k/yr education for a child while supporting the rest of the household. But I have to ask, how many fields of employment justify spending that kind of money on an education? In this or any other economy? It's the law of diminishing returns x 10 (or more.) I so totally cannot relate to this. My dc will pay for their own educations and #1 dc in college these 3 yrs does, and he is in an excellent public university for his major (CS.) His education is truly an investment and will get him a job that justifies the cost even should he lose his merit scholarship. He has a co-op job and pays all of his housing, parking, books, car ins. etc. He has no loans.

 

I believe that loans are going to become much harder to get and will carry higher interest rates. And back to my point above about an education being justified by the end it qualifies the student for, I have nieces who opted for very expensive schools for professions ranging from teaching to acting and they are in debt up to their eyeballs. 80k+. And this was from the late 80's early 90's. They are still paying huge monthly payments, and it greatly impacts their lifestyles.

 

These crazy tuition rates will never change until folks quit paying them. OK. Off my soap box now. Please, no tomatoes!

 

Mary

[creekland]

I'm totally flabbergasted by posts like this. It's really great if a family can truly afford a $38k/yr education for a child while supporting the rest of the household. But I have to ask, how many fields of employment justify spending that kind of money on an education?

 

Just remember that many of us don't pay the full sticker cost. My son is going to his #1 choice private college that has a superb program in his desired major. He's already been told by one company he's hoping to work for to remember them when it's time for him to apply for his internship. Their total cost is supposed to be around $37,000/year, but we are paying nothing close to that due to merit and need-based aid. Even if we lose the need-based aid, it's still nothing close to that. According to their stats, 98% of the students attending his college get some sort of aid. I'm envious of the 2% that don't need it, but, most of us pay less than sticker price.

 

I'm glad I let my son apply and see what the financial package was rather than just tell him it was too expensive, though I also told him all along that if it was too expensive, we couldn't do it. Until we saw what his aid package was, we had a back-up plan. One big difference, of course, is his college IS well-known for being helpful with aid. Wheaton is not.

 

There's no way I'd let any of my boys graduate from undergrad with oodles of debt. I agree that it's not worth it. I can't even comprehend those with mid 5 digit debt, much less 6 digits. That's the same as a mortgage cost!

[Luckymama]

I have a rising senior who is determining where to apply. Because we cannot afford full-pay at any school, we are making sure that he is an attractive applicant, comfortably above the 75% SAT level of applicants. We are also paying close attention to the avg merit award and to the number of students who receive merit aid (found through the schools' Common Data Sets).

 

If only a very few kids get the big awards, then that school falls into the "lottery school" category and ds may or may not apply. If many many kids get small awards, then that school will not be affordable and doesn't stay on our list.

[Gwen in VA]

Merit aid is a wonderful thing.

 

Thanks to merit aid, we are paying significantly less for our kids' education at a top-tier private LAC than we would for them to go to the state school down the road and live at home.

 

If you think your kid may be a reasonable candidate for merit aid at a particular school (and the school offers merit aid)l, he/she should apply. You should have a backup plan in case the merit aid doesn't work out, but sometimes it does!

[Renee in NC]

I'm totally flabbergasted by posts like this. It's really great if a family can truly afford a $38k/yr education for a child while supporting the rest of the household. But I have to ask, how many fields of employment justify spending that kind of money on an education? In this or any other economy? It's the law of diminishing returns x 10 (or more.) I so totally cannot relate to this. My dc will pay for their own educations and #1 dc in college these 3 yrs does, and he is in an excellent public university for his major (CS.) His education is truly an investment and will get him a job that justifies the cost even should he lose his merit scholarship. He has a co-op job and pays all of his housing, parking, books, car ins. etc. He has no loans.

 

I believe that loans are going to become much harder to get and will carry higher interest rates. And back to my point above about an education being justified by the end it qualifies the student for, I have nieces who opted for very expensive schools for professions ranging from teaching to acting and they are in debt up to their eyeballs. 80k+. And this was from the late 80's early 90's. They are still paying huge monthly payments, and it greatly impacts their lifestyles.

 

These crazy tuition rates will never change until folks quit paying them. OK. Off my soap box now. Please, no tomatoes!

 

Mary

 

My ds has a scholarship from his father's employer that will pay up to $32K per year in tuition at any accredited school. This will cover tuition at most private schools.

[imeverywoman]

My ds has a scholarship from his father's employer that will pay up to $32K per year in tuition at any accredited school. This will cover tuition at most private schools.

 

WOW!!!! What a wonderful offer!

[Renee in NC]

WOW!!!! What a wonderful offer!

 

They don't offer it to new employees anymore, but it is a benefit of his employer. They pay for up to two children to attend school for 4 years - how much they will pay each year is based on what their tuition is for that year (he works for a major university.) He's worked there for 10+ years and will continue to work there until his two oldest are done with college (5 more years.)

[Grace is Sufficient]

I have a rising senior who is determining where to apply. Because we cannot afford full-pay at any school, we are making sure that he is an attractive applicant, comfortably above the 75% SAT level of applicants. We are also paying close attention to the avg merit award and to the number of students who receive merit aid (found through the schools' Common Data Sets).

 

 

I have a rising senior also, but clearly I'm not as 'on the ball' as you! Where do I get this "Common Data Sets" information?

 

Thanks!!!!

Debbie

[Luckymama]

The Common Data Set is basically a standard form that a school using to share its enrollment information, freshman applicant pool information, financial aid policies and so on. The data is published in late winter/early spring for that academic year's entering class.

 

There is a long thread on College Confidential (perhaps in the college selection forum? or the admissions forum?) with direct links to many Common Data Sets, in alphabetical order. Not every institution publishes its CDS but most. You can also locate the information by searching "Common Data Set" on a school's website or by googling the name of the school plus "Common Data Set." It is often found buried in the Institutional Research area of a website.

 

Here is an example from the University of Delaware http://www.udel.edu/IR/cds/cds0910.pdf