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Whenever conversations about college costs come up there are always people who post stories about the exception rather than the rule. We hear how their kid went to college for free,or how they worked their way through it. If you examine closely often this happened years ago or their student truly was top 1%.
For your average kid in your average public school right now in Colorado, affording college without parental help is very difficult. Costs have skyrocketed. Getting significant scholarships (not loans) is reserved for a select few (very poor but good student, underrepresented minority, recruited athlete, National Merit scholar). Housing everywhere has jumped so total costs including room are high. Look at the public universities in our state. CU Boulder is $30k a year, Fort Collins is $26k, Greeley is $23k (these are IN STATE costs). You might think your student is special with a high GPA and SAT but guess what, that's pretty average today and doesn't earn you much in the way of money. Also, schools now have stopped using objective scholarship charts (SAT+GPA) and have changed to awarding scholarships holistically, meaning chances for most non-minority Colorado students have decreased even more.
You may think go to community college and get your "2 years of general ed" out of the way. Yes, this helps reduce costs, but public universities have greatly reduced their offerings in high-demand majors and many students find it difficult to get into their required classes to graduate on time. Not going to a 4 year right away can mean adding a 5th year to tuition considerations. Colleges now have increased pre-req's so for many majors you must start them right away your first year otherwise you again won't be able to complete your major on time. Most classes build on each other and must be taken in succession and not concurrently . My son is a Computer Science major and he will graduate on time but had he not started his core major pre-req's literally his first semester he would not graduate in 4 years. Same with my niece who will graduate nursing school soon.
From what I've seen for an average kid go to to one of our public universities right now, count on a minimum of $75k for the 4 years and that's if they have great grades and manage to receive some sort of academic scholarships. For parents who save nothing and tell their kid "you're on your own" remember your income is what schools look at for need-based aid. So students whose parents save nothing are at a huge disadvantage.
Yeah but saving THAT much is a little extreme to go to a slightly better university for UGrad.
Best advice I got was it doesn't matter where you go to undergraduate school... It only matters where you get your Masters pr PHD. A huge mistake I see young parents making are throwing all their money to their kids UGrad and then they can't afford a top tier Masters program. It's a little backwards.
Yeah but saving THAT much is a little extreme to go to a slightly better university for UGrad.
Best advice I got was it doesn't matter where you go to undergraduate school... It only matters where you get your Masters pr PHD. A huge mistake I see young parents making are throwing all their money to their kids UGrad and then they can't afford a top tier Masters program. It's a little backwards.
It is true to some extent. However not everyone goes to graduate school.
Also, the friends I made in college (undergraduate) are much closer than the friends I made in graduate schools. I still keep in touch with some college friends after so many years.
Roughly $5K each kid (3 of them) into a 529. This is after retirement accounts are fully funded. I also have a general investment account that has been doing well and I intend to use for college expenses. There's also a collectable car I could sell, but hopefully it doesn't come to that.
This is far more generous that what I got for when I went to college from my parents, which was $0. They just didn't have the means at the time. Went to an average school. Came out owing $50K in debt (after loans and grants) and was fortunately to build a great career after graduation and pay that off quickly.
I don't really stress myself out too much on making sure every cent of college is covered. Will I help them? Of course. Will I be able to cover ever cent? I don't know.
Whenever conversations about college costs come up there are always people who post stories about the exception rather than the rule. We hear how their kid went to college for free,or how they worked their way through it. If you examine closely often this happened years ago or their student truly was top 1%.
For your average kid in your average public school right now in Colorado, affording college without parental help is very difficult. Costs have skyrocketed. Getting significant scholarships (not loans) is reserved for a select few (very poor but good student, underrepresented minority, recruited athlete, National Merit scholar). Housing everywhere has jumped so total costs including room are high. Look at the public universities in our state. CU Boulder is $30k a year, Fort Collins is $26k, Greeley is $23k (these are IN STATE costs). You might think your student is special with a high GPA and SAT but guess what, that's pretty average today and doesn't earn you much in the way of money. Also, schools now have stopped using objective scholarship charts (SAT+GPA) and have changed to awarding scholarships holistically, meaning chances for most non-minority Colorado students have decreased even more.
You may think go to community college and get your "2 years of general ed" out of the way. Yes, this helps reduce costs, but public universities have greatly reduced their offerings in high-demand majors and many students find it difficult to get into their required classes to graduate on time. Not going to a 4 year right away can mean adding a 5th year to tuition considerations. Colleges now have increased pre-req's so for many majors you must start them right away your first year otherwise you again won't be able to complete your major on time. Most classes build on each other and must be taken in succession and not concurrently . My son is a Computer Science major and he will graduate on time but had he not started his core major pre-req's literally his first semester he would not graduate in 4 years. Same with my niece who will graduate nursing school soon.
From what I've seen for an average kid go to to one of our public universities right now, count on a minimum of $75k for the 4 years and that's if they have great grades and manage to receive some sort of academic scholarships. For parents who save nothing and tell their kid "you're on your own" remember your income is what schools look at for need-based aid. So students whose parents save nothing are at a huge disadvantage.
Good point about parents saving nothing. I had a friend my first semester of college who had to transfer from the flagship university to the local one because she couldn’t afford it. In contrast, I had a friend who transferred to a much smaller private school because they were willing to give him a sports scholarship and let him play soccer or whatever sport it was he wanted to play. I had a third friend I met in graduate school who went to a flagship state university, had some help from a parent (about 1/3 of tuition, I believe), and worked essentially full-time at a job making $15/hour, which was pretty decent for the early ‘00s. He still ended up with $65K in student loans from undergrad. He was not eligible for good financial aid because his father had a high-paying job and simply elected not to pay as much as he had previously promised.
My sister’s best friend in high school was in a coop program in college. It was six years with every other semester working at a company, but she had to start the program as a freshman. She ended up getting a great job offer from that company after she graduated and is still there some 15 years later. My sister was a CS major and had core classes starting her first semester. Apparently with that school, you apply direction to the program as a freshman. I had a grad school friend who ended up not going there the following year because he had been accepted to all programs but that one and one other, both of which were his main areas of interest.
As someone who hired college grads there were about 20 schools that piqued my interest, the rest not so much. Get your degree and come in for an interview with good communications skills and the appearance you have your ___ together. That's first and foremost. The college you attend can prepare you for success but doesn't guarantee it.
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
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Originally Posted by StealthRabbit t Financially bullied by parents? (Your kid's grandparents). That's not required above age 18. )16 in some states.
...as in YOU (not your kids / the grandkids)
Age 16, YOU could have checked out (as can your kids). No financial pressures / bullying need be endured. I can't imagine feeling (?) pressure for finances from my parents past age 15. by age 18 I was caring for them, age 19, I bought them a house (They had lost everything, so no 'college funds... '. I helped my siblings with college expenses, as I had 3 jobs, so all kinds of money.
Money pressure?... just make it on your own, as noted... Many here have done so, I expect the majority has accomplished this pre age 20. Post age 18 (exit from home) END of 'implied' financial pressures from parents. They have their own needs and financial responsibilities! Why continue to burden them. Poof, GONE!
How Much is Everyone Saving for College These Days?
Zero is an acceptable answer. and for many... the RIGHT answer
There are so many more financially savvy ways to cover college costs than "Savings programs" that tie up and allocate $$ that could be WORKING for asset gain and a huge variety of more valuable options than college (for yourself or your kids).
There is no guarantee your kid will live to college age, or even desire or need college in the future.
There are many options for college that are not at all expensive. (I prefer to hire U of WY engineers and teachers) <$6k / yr. (5,581 USD) They really know how to benefit your company and community, and are well educated and responsible. Need to gain residency?... send your college student to WY (8or particular state) to work for a yr in their chosen industry and gain experience + $60k - $80k in the process. (That will cover 4 yrs of college).
My kids gained a lot of life skills and value (~$40k in 6 weeks) from their dangerous and responsible summer jobs (AK fishing and Wildland fire fighting / medical rescue). They worked to get certified before college, so they had immediate employment.
Age 16, YOU could have checked out (as can your kids). No financial pressures / bullying need be endured. I can't imagine feeling (?) pressure for finances from my parents past age 15. by age 18 I was caring for them, age 19, I bought them a house (They had lost everything, so no 'college funds... '. I helped my siblings with college expenses, as I had 3 jobs, so all kinds of money.
Money pressure?... just make it on your own, as noted... Many here have done so, I expect the majority has accomplished this pre age 20. Post age 18 (exit from home) END of 'implied' financial pressures from parents. They have their own needs and financial responsibilities! Why continue to burden them. Poof, GONE!
How Much is Everyone Saving for College These Days?
Zero is an acceptable answer. and for many... the RIGHT answer
There are so many more financially savvy ways to cover college costs than "Savings programs" that tie up and allocate $$ that could be WORKING for asset gain and a huge variety of more valuable options than college (for yourself or your kids).
There is no guarantee your kid will live to college age, or even desire or need college in the future.
There are many options for college that are not at all expensive. (I prefer to hire U of WY engineers and teachers) <$6k / yr. (5,581 USD) They really know how to benefit your company and community, and are well educated and responsible. Need to gain residency?... send your college student to WY (8or particular state) to work for a yr in their chosen industry and gain experience + $60k - $80k in the process. (That will cover 4 yrs of college).
My kids gained a lot of life skills and value (~$40k in 6 weeks) from their dangerous and responsible summer jobs (AK fishing and Wildland fire fighting / medical rescue). They worked to get certified before college, so they had immediate employment.
As someone who hired college grads there were about 20 schools that piqued my interest, the rest not so much. Get your degree and come in for an interview with good communications skills and the appearance you have your ___ together. That's first and foremost. The college you attend can prepare you for success but doesn't guarantee it.
Communication skills are indeed very important, but sometimes I feel it is overemphasized (by some interviewers or HR people).
I used to work in a group where a manager also likes those who "have good communication skills". So we hired two good chatters, recommended by him, but they were not productive. Eventually one was forced to leave (on PIP) and the other was doing tasks a lower level employee should do.
No, it isn't that expensive. Room and board at a New York State University is $25,000 per year. Debt anywhere near $100,000 means a person didn't have any parental contributions or scholarship or took more than four years to graduate.
If someone has no money - not a single cent - for college, then they should start at a community college. Two years at a community college while living at home is $9,500 ($2,375 per semester).
A friend's son was not focused. He took three years to get this stuff together and to graduate from his community college His parents paid for his community college which was $15,000 (for three years total) and loaned him a car. Afterwards, he attended a NY State University for two years while living at home. He paid for the last two years at public university - about another $15,000. His four year degree cost a total of $30,000.
College is the first big purchase for kids. Parents need to help them navigate the process within their means. Often parents push kids into students loan for an expensive private college just to have the "right" bumper sticker on their car. It becomes more about the parent than the child.
If I had to chose between more children or worrying about college tuition, I would chose more kiddo's. College will get sorted out.
You do know it usually takes more than four years to graduate right? Also people in rural areas often don't have the luxury of commuting. People really need to stop with this living at home argument. That is very often not an option.
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'. I helped my siblings with college expenses, as I had 3 jobs, so all kinds of money
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