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With college being more affordable than the historic norm, I'd imagine that we haven't hit that limit yet (if it were to exist). I'd say that a reasonable limit would be the median income of a teacher per year just like it used to be in the past.
College more affordable than the historic norm? Thanks, I needed a good laugh to start my day.
College more affordable than the historic norm? Thanks, I needed a good laugh to start my day.
Actually, if you did some research and used proper figures, you would see that college costs have actually maintained their cost/income ratio over the past 50 years....but you won't . All of the data has been posted here with credible links to various reports, etc. If you take apples to apples comparisons, college for college, job for job, the ratio has actually dropped a very small amount since the 70's
College costs (just education costs like tuition) probably have maintained their costs. it's the extras that have increased - technology, having to have insurance, text books, living on campus and things like that.
I don't know when you last looked into this, but at the Ivy's and similar, if you make under 60K (or 75K at some) you go to those schools for free and graduate debt free. You pay 10% of your AGI up to 180K, so 18K for an Ivy education. They are actually the most affordable schools around...if you can get in. You are correct, state schools give very little in aid, however, most private schools, at least in the Midwest, are very generous. Your EFC won't be more than what you make unless you have a lot of liquid money parked in 529's, Mutual Funds, etc.
Ah, but if you make beyond the $60,000..... Mine all went totally free to state schools - two even got stipends. Princeton, Harvard, Yale, and MIT wanted us to pay between $29,500 - 31,000 and we had three more kids at home who would also need to go to college in a few years. I don't know how it is now, but back when my oldest first went through this they had the $60,000 guarantee but if it was more than that additional awards and scholarships were not allowed to reduce parental contribution. In other words, that $10,000 community scholarship does not mean your parental contribution goes down to $19,000, they just reduce the amount they give you from the college in financial aide by that much. None of the four gave merit scholarships, stating that all their students were meritorious. The next two didn't even bother to try. I wonder if they have now added the 10% of AGI because they lost kids like mine and their campuses became students either from low income families or wealthy families with nothing in between. Hmmmm......
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Actually, if you did some research and used proper figures, you would see that college costs have actually maintained their cost/income ratio over the past 50 years....but you won't . All of the data has been posted here with credible links to various reports, etc. If you take apples to apples comparisons, college for college, job for job, the ratio has actually dropped a very small amount since the 70's
Yeah the only ones who keep trumpeting this tired and erroneous refrain are you and NJBest, the rest of us living in the real world (as in not comparing costs 2 centuries ago) realize that college costs have outstripped inflation and salaries....
"Tuition: In 1988, the average tuition and fees for a four-year public university rang in at about $2,800, adjusted for inflation. By 2008, that number had climbed about 130% to roughly $6,500 a year -- and that doesn't include books or room and board.
Income: If incomes had kept up with surging college costs, the typical American would be earning $77,000 a year. But in reality, it's nowhere near that"
Tuition costs of colleges and universities
Question:
What are the trends in the cost of college education?
Response:
For the 2011–12 academic year, annual current dollar prices for undergraduate tuition, room, and board were estimated to be $14,300 at public institutions, $37,800 at private nonprofit institutions, and $23,300 at private for-profit institutions. Between 2001–02 and 2011–12, prices for undergraduate tuition, room, and board at public institutions rose 40 percent, and prices at private nonprofit institutions rose 28 percent, after adjustment for inflation. The inflation-adjusted price for undergraduate tuition, room, and board at private for-profit institutions was 2 percent lower in 2011–12 than in 2001–02.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2013). Digest of Education Statistics, 2012 (NCES 2014-015), Chapter 3. Fast Facts
College costs (just education costs like tuition) probably have maintained their costs. it's the extras that have increased - technology, having to have insurance, text books, living on campus and things like that.
This exactly. Tuition is only a very small part of going to school these days.
Yeah the only ones who keep trumpeting this tired and erroneous refrain are you and NJBest, the rest of us living in the real world (as in not comparing costs 2 centuries ago) realize that college costs have outstripped inflation and salaries....
"Tuition: In 1988, the average tuition and fees for a four-year public university rang in at about $2,800, adjusted for inflation. By 2008, that number had climbed about 130% to roughly $6,500 a year -- and that doesn't include books or room and board.
Income: If incomes had kept up with surging college costs, the typical American would be earning $77,000 a year. But in reality, it's nowhere near that"
Tuition costs of colleges and universities
Question:
What are the trends in the cost of college education?
Response:
For the 2011–12 academic year, annual current dollar prices for undergraduate tuition, room, and board were estimated to be $14,300 at public institutions, $37,800 at private nonprofit institutions, and $23,300 at private for-profit institutions. Between 2001–02 and 2011–12, prices for undergraduate tuition, room, and board at public institutions rose 40 percent, and prices at private nonprofit institutions rose 28 percent, after adjustment for inflation. The inflation-adjusted price for undergraduate tuition, room, and board at private for-profit institutions was 2 percent lower in 2011–12 than in 2001–02.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2013). Digest of Education Statistics, 2012 (NCES 2014-015), Chapter 3. Fast Facts
...and like I said, you can't base the number on "average" incomes because those figures take into consideration a lot of part-time jobs that just were not around 30 years ago, especially women working part time, second income jobs. Like I said, if you compare apples to apples, job to job, the ratio is the same. If you also compare HOUSEHOLD income of those sending kids to college for the past several decades, that ratio is the same. Sure, you you want to say that someone working at McDonalds is paying whatever percent of his income to send a child to school, feel free, but those are NOT the kids going to college. If you want to use "averages", the average salary, mid-career, so people with college aged kids, is over $100,000...so your $77K is low....
Ah, but if you make beyond the $60,000..... Mine all went totally free to state schools - two even got stipends. Princeton, Harvard, Yale, and MIT wanted us to pay between $29,500 - 31,000 and we had three more kids at home who would also need to go to college in a few years. I don't know how it is now, but back when my oldest first went through this they had the $60,000 guarantee but if it was more than that additional awards and scholarships were not allowed to reduce parental contribution. In other words, that $10,000 community scholarship does not mean your parental contribution goes down to $19,000, they just reduce the amount they give you from the college in financial aide by that much. None of the four gave merit scholarships, stating that all their students were meritorious. The next two didn't even bother to try. I wonder if they have now added the 10% of AGI because they lost kids like mine and their campuses became students either from low income families or wealthy families with nothing in between. Hmmmm......
If your kids went for free, why are you complaining? The 10% AGI has been in place for 6 or 7 years now...
Our kids are going for free--minus spending money of course--to private schools--thanks to merit awards . We don't get help financially otherwise
...and like I said, you can't base the number on "average" incomes because those figures take into consideration a lot of part-time jobs that just were not around 30 years ago, especially women working part time, second income jobs. Like I said, if you compare apples to apples, job to job, the ratio is the same. If you also compare HOUSEHOLD income of those sending kids to college for the past several decades, that ratio is the same. Sure, you you want to say that someone working at McDonalds is paying whatever percent of his income to send a child to school, feel free, but those are NOT the kids going to college. If you want to use "averages", the average salary, mid-career, so people with college aged kids, is over $100,000...so your $77K is low....
Seriously, this is too funny...
So now to "prove your point" you want to say the average household income of those sending their kids to college is over 100K???
Outside of a very few metro areas in CT, NY and Calif you find me where household income is over 100K.....
If anyone besides you compares HOUSEHOLD income of those sending their kids to college for the past several decades and DOES NOT MAKE UP DATA they will find the ratios I already posted that PROVE COLLEGE COSTS HAVE OUTSTRIPPED INFLATION AND SALARIES
Here, let me help you out, here is how you do this without making up "facts" to fit your theories..
"In 2005, entering freshmen came from households with a parental median income of $74,000, 60 percent higher than the national average of $46,326. This represents a 14 percent increase from 1971, when students’ median family income was $13,200, 46 percent higher than the national average of $9,028." http://heri.ucla.edu/PDFs/PR_TRENDS_40YR.pdf
So, no incomes on average haven't gone UP over the past 7-9 years....
Not to mention the biggest flaw with the imaginary scenario you created....
What would that say if the average household income of those attending college really was over 100K???
It would just prove the point of what I and others have said, the middle class has been priced out of a college education. If the ratio of what is paid in college tuition to average family income really has stayed the same over the past few decades, despite the outrageous rise in college tuition over that period, it doesn't mean college has stayed affordable to the masses, it means it has stayed affordable to the "upper" middle class and above...those families on the lower end of the scale have given up...
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. All of the data has been posted here with credible links to various reports, etc. If you take apples to apples comparisons, college for college, job for job, the ratio has actually dropped a very small amount since the 70's 
) realize that college costs have outstripped inflation and salaries....
