How important is your child's school? (Dallas: private school, college, salary)

[numbersguy100]

Originally Posted by kyam11

The point is someone said that a lot of Ivy league grads make enough to buy a house in Southlake as a starting salary which would mean $600,000+ per year. That is misleading at best. Very very few people out of school make that. The other point is that regardless of where you went to school your ability to monetize it means far more than the actual degree.

You know you can easily buy a house in Southlake on less than $600k per year, right? I agree with the point that I wouldn't send my kids to an incredibly expensive school if their stated goal (before going to college) is to be a public school teacher (or something w/ similar earning potential). I think it's a worthy profession but the requisite path can be achieved for far less than $60-75k per year or whatever ungodly sum that elite private schools will cost by the time my kids go to college. But what you're talking about is valuing a person based on his or her income relative to the cost to achieve said income, which is distasteful to me. I value learning for its own sake, and I hope my children do too.

[kyam11]

Originally Posted by numbersguy100

You know you can easily buy a house in Southlake on less than $600k per year, right? I agree with the point that I wouldn't send my kids to an incredibly expensive school if their stated goal (before going to college) is to be a public school teacher (or something w/ similar earning potential). I think it's a worthy profession but the requisite path can be achieved for far less than $60-75k per year or whatever ungodly sum that elite private schools will cost by the time my kids go to college. But what you're talking about is valuing a person based on his or her income relative to the cost to achieve said income, which is distasteful to me. I value learning for its own sake, and I hope my children do too.

I guess what I am really trying to say is that rather than focus on getting your child into a better school the focus should be on the end game IMO which is maximizing their earning potential. My wife and I make sure that the children understand that this world is a lot easier with choices and money gives you choices. The goal is to get a well paying job in a good field in the future and college is part of the vehicle that gets you there. I see many parents delivering the message of going to college as the most important thing and it simply isn't so.

That is all. I certainly value learning, but not half the crap that is shoveled into their minds by colleges. While learning Algebra 2 might be nice and relevant to certain professions understanding insurance and mortgages is far more important yet so many people have not learned what they actually need in life.

When I read buy a house I thought you meant pay cash for it. My mistake. Even so at least half of Harvard grads (and well up to 90%) could not afford to buy a house in Southlake upon graduating. That is OK ,but going to Harvard or an Ivy league is not the golden ticket you seem to be making it out to be.

[stan4]

Originally Posted by UnfairPark

Not about you wanting to send them anywhere. It's about them getting in top private colleges and wanting to attend and you not being able to afford or afford comfortably after paying 12 years of private school. There is little to no merit money for upper middle class at top private colleges.

In our case, we can afford it all.
But I still hope they go to UT.

In fact, unless they can prove a more expensive school is better in their field of study than UT Austin (undergrad), I'm not paying.

Fact is they'll likely go to grad school anyway, and that's where name brands make more of a difference.

Myself, my wife, my brother...all UT undergrad. We all went to competitive grad schools.

My wife and I did UT system grad schools, made $$$$$...with ZERO student loan debt by 32...completely debt-free before 40 (including mortgage and fully funded 529s for both kids).

There were people from Harvard and Stanford, etc, in my med school class...the only difference between us in the end was their $200,000 loan burden.

For once, I agree with t-shirt boy.

[NP78]

Originally Posted by stan4

In our case, we can afford it all.
But I still hope they go to UT.

In fact, unless they can prove a more expensive school is better in their field of study than UT Austin (undergrad), I'm not paying.

Fact is they'll likely go to grad school anyway, and that's where name brands make more of a difference.

Myself, my wife, my brother...all UT undergrad. We all went to competitive grad schools.

My wife and I did UT system grad schools, made $$$$$...with ZERO student loan debt by 32...completely debt-free before 40 (including mortgage and fully funded 529s for both kids).

There were people from Harvard and Stanford, etc, in my med school class...the only difference between us in the end was their $200,000 loan burden.

For once, I agree with t-shirt boy.

Not to hijack the thread, but I have a question for you: What do you consider to be "fully funded" 529's?


Just curious, been re-evaluating how much we are putting in the 529's for our kids recently.

[mSooner]

There were people from Harvard and Stanford, etc, in my med school class...the only difference between us in the end was their $200,000 loan burden.

Similar situation here. Thank God for Texas med schools

[Wittgenstein's Ghost]

Originally Posted by kyam11

I guess what I am really trying to say is that rather than focus on getting your child into a better school the focus should be on the end game IMO which is maximizing their earning potential. My wife and I make sure that the children understand that this world is a lot easier with choices and money gives you choices. The goal is to get a well paying job in a good field in the future and college is part of the vehicle that gets you there. I see many parents delivering the message of going to college as the most important thing and it simply isn't so.

That is all. I certainly value learning, but not half the crap that is shoveled into their minds by colleges. While learning Algebra 2 might be nice and relevant to certain professions understanding insurance and mortgages is far more important yet so many people have not learned what they actually need in life.

When I read buy a house I thought you meant pay cash for it. My mistake. Even so at least half of Harvard grads (and well up to 90%) could not afford to buy a house in Southlake upon graduating. That is OK ,but going to Harvard or an Ivy league is not the golden ticket you seem to be making it out to be.

I think education is inherently worthwhile, and the long-term goal for your children should be happiness, within certain guidelines. Happiness and income become very weakly correlated once a minimum threshold is reached. There are lots of miserable people who earn a lot of money, and there are lots of happy people who earn only decent money. I don't know many people who are intellectually curious and educated who are miserable, though. My point: Money shouldn't be the end game.

There are many very fulfilling careers that earn only decent money.

[kyam11]

Originally Posted by Wittgenstein's Ghost

I think education is inherently worthwhile, and the long-term goal for your children should be happiness, within certain guidelines. Happiness and income become very weakly correlated once a minimum threshold is reached. There are lots of miserable people who earn a lot of money, and there are lots of happy people who earn only decent money. I don't know many people who are intellectually curious and educated who are miserable, though. My point: Money shouldn't be the end game.

There are many very fulfilling careers that earn only decent money.

Good post. Money isn't really the complete end game. Choices are. That is what money allows. I want them to make enough to be able to do whatever they want, even if it is underwater basketweaving.

[kyam11]

Originally Posted by NP78

Not to hijack the thread, but I have a question for you: What do you consider to be "fully funded" 529's?


Just curious, been re-evaluating how much we are putting in the 529's for our kids recently.

While I can't speak for stan our fully funded college funds are sitting at $200,000 for each child. 1 is 14, 1 is 11, and 1 is 5.

[BLDSoon]

I think there's some downplaying of elite college degrees to a point where folks are being dishonest.

Going to the elite of the elite colleges is not necessary for success...but to pretend that it isn't a huge, ginormous leg up for those that manage that feat is a bit disingenuous.

This may be because the impact of such an education isn't readily apparent in the DFW area or Texas in general. I find higher education in Texas to be a very localized. Most kids in texas go to college in Texas for obvious reasons, then work in Texas.

But you only need to take your UT(anything) degree to a major city, fresh out of college to see just how much of an advantage those elite college grads have. And not just stateside.

Is it fair. No. Is it largley visible in Texas? Apparently not. Is it the case 100% of the time? Certainly not.

But those schools dont have hundreds of thousands beating down their doors with applications yearly because you can get what they give you at UT.

And thats not meant as a slight to UT.

[kyam11]

BLDsoon I certainly hope you did not think I was downplaying it because I am not, but it is only half of the equation and most treat it like it's the whole thing.

I would be ecstatic if my kids got into any Ivy league school but if they end up making $50,000 a year down the road for the next 15 years after graduating it will be a complete failure. I certainly won't go around thinking "well he still went to Harvard"

On the flip side if he went to UNT and ended up making $200,000+ a year down 5-7 years after finishing I would consider it a complete success.

The pinnacle would be to go to Ivy league and make good money, but based on statistics that does not happen as much as people think it does.