UVM to raise in state tuition to $23,754 (yearly), VT to become more exclusive

[OhBeeHave]

Originally Posted by LisaMc46

Yikes. As a mom with three kids who will go to college within the next 8 to 18 years this is disheartening news. My husband and I are frugal, stay out of debt and save as much $ as we can, but there is no way we will be able to save over $300,000 for our kids' bachelor degrees on our Vermont salaries.

My oldest daughter wants to be a doctor and has already expressed interest in attending college in N.C. where her grandmother lives. The state schools there are excellent and cheaper than UVM. I really don't see any advantage of sending her to UVM when she could get an equal or better education for less money somewhere else.

Stash away whatever you can in a 529. I don't know what the tax laws are in VT concerning this, but in NY it is deducted. Every spare buck I can muster goes into the 529 accounts. If you haven't done so already, join Upromise. You get a few pennies here, a dollar there for purchases. For us it has amounted to just shy of $500. You would be surprised at how the pennies add up over time.

It's not too late to save whatever you can -- some 529 plans require only a minimal amount per month.

Also bear in mind that your future college students will be filling out FAFSAs in order to determine how much aid they will be eligible for. Then there are scholarships, too.

[lisa1517]

I have to disagree with those saying UVM offers a sub-par education. My daughter is a junior there, majoring in education, minoring in special education with a concentration in math. She and I put a LOT of time and effort into choosing a college. We toured and attended over a dozen (education department) presentations by other universities. Some significantly more prestigious than UVM. No other school presented itself with the professionalism of this school. No other school was offering what my daughter could get at UVM in terms of experience and preparation.

Is it expensive? YUP. Is it perfect? Nope. However, my daughter has two friends at very hoity-toity schools, same majors, who are not receiving a fraction of the experience my daughter is at UVM. They are paying $50,000+. I have searched for colleges for two kids now, with a third on the way. UVM has been a great choice for my daughter. She knew exactly what she wanted to do when entering college. My son, on the other hand had no idea of the direction he wanted to go in so he is at a lower-cost state school, which is perfect for HIM. No school suits all situations for all kids, but this school has exceeded our expectations and is providing exactly what my daughter wanted and needed.

[GypsySoul22]

College is just EXPENSIVE period. Considering people are graduating with 'no hope in hell' of working in some careers right now, you have to wonder if sending your kid to trade school is a better option.

(This is coming from a person with a MS and BA).

[mustmove]

Originally Posted by GypsySoul22

College is just EXPENSIVE period. Considering people are graduating with 'no hope in hell' of working in some careers right now, you have to wonder if sending your kid to trade school is a better option.

(This is coming from a person with a MS and BA).

Yup. Colleges have let themselves get expensive and worse irrelevant. I believe the value of a college degree will go down quite a bit in the future. Despite the 'more important now than ever' talk. (from someone with a fancy pants degree- though I got it cheap)

[OhBeeHave]

Originally Posted by GypsySoul22

College is just EXPENSIVE period. Considering people are graduating with 'no hope in hell' of working in some careers right now, you have to wonder if sending your kid to trade school is a better option.

(This is coming from a person with a MS and BA).

Amen to that.

My college-bound senior helps teaching karate at the Dojo where he trains as well as working as a carpenters apprentice in his time off from school. If his BS and grad school don't lead to a career, he'll be able to swing a hammer and/or teach karate to help put food on the table.

[Niandra]

That's terrible. With need-based financial aid, even my fancy liberal arts college is cheaper than that. It's even less than UMass Amherst, actually, including room & board. Crazy, huh? I think I'll have around $27000 in loans when I graduate. Not terrible, but certainly not ideal. Great education though, for what it's worth (we'll see when I try to enter the job market after graduation!).

State schools down south are a great option that I didn't consider when I was looking at colleges. One of my relatives teaches at UNC Chapel Hill and loves it. Georgia state schools, from what I understand, are free or very inexpensive if you maintain at least a 3.0 (which is quite doable) for in-state residents and way under $10000 for out-of-state residents. Same goes for Mississippi. If I could do it over, I would have headed south, however less "prestigious". I really don't know how the average Vermonter can afford UVM.

Tertiary education in the United States is ridiculously expensive in most places. I'm seriously considering going abroad for graduate school.