It's amazing how expensive it has become. My twins are 14, and my plan was always to pay as much of their college costs as possible (my parents did it for me any my brothers). I think they will probably target UVA and William and Mary, but we'll see. It's incredible to me that even state schools are quite expensive now. I think I will be able to cover 2.5 years each by the time they are 18 even though I have been saving in 529 accounts since they were about 4 months old. I think it really is much tougher for young people these days compared to when I went to college in the 1980s.
either way, something should be done. 60k+ per year is unreasonable.
Personally, I hoping for renaissance in vocational training. I've told my kids to strongly consider it as I've seen more start-up businesses in my area with young people in the 20s with technical backgrounds.
Depends on where you go. A good state school is generally under 100K in state. You could save even more by spending the first 2 years at a community college. On the other end, some top private universities can be north of $250K
Currently about $35K per year at the two schools I mentioned. I attended SUNY Geneseo as an in- state resident. I was curious about that one too. That looks like it's about $23000 (in state).
my twins are entering their junior year in HS. I agree with both Rick5 and Eric (though I don't think Eric's point is new, I think that was always the case).
Private colleges on average will cost you 280k for 4 years room and board for the better schools. You can get as low as 150k for the lesser schools.
In state resident for state schools can be 100k, but ironically it is now harder for in-state students to get into their state schools, because the schools can charge more for out of state students. they have lower standards for them. This is at least true in New England for all the state schools. Uconn is very difficult to get into for CT students (for example). When I was growing up it was easy.
Out of state resident at a state school is more like 150k for the better schools. And the differentiation is something like in MA you have Umass which is the biggest state school, but there are schools like Framingham state, Bridewater state, etc. that are not very good, so Framingham state may be affordable but Umass is the numbers I'm quoting.
Education costs are out of control and it's a massive ripoff.
Around me the vo-ed schools (for high school) are on fire, but the unforeseen side of it is most of the students are going to college. Caught the school organizers by surprise. People felt the education was better, so kids began flocking to them, and now the one my kids could choose has an 80+% college attendance rate.
I was pushing one of my kids to join the military to help with the cost of college (and I think it's a good idea for this child), but I doubt that's going to happen.
I’m still going to advise my boys to go to college or vocational school, but encourage the two year community college path for cost reasons.
Make 85k a year with your trade... make 110k a year with your bachelors (lol if your lucky)
So 25k a year extra per year if you spend 250k on that university in pay checks, so you’d have to work 11 years in your career to break even with the Trade schooo person and that’s not counting the 2-4 years of extra time they already have in their career before the college student even try’s to find a job..
College is definitely a massive ripoff unless your going for something you know will produce mass amounts of money in a short period of time to pay off the debts you obtained to get that degree and job.
Costing us 30K for my son to go to Iowa State which is an in-state school
One already nailed a fat scholarship to Rochester U, but not nearly enough to cover the insane annual tuition/board, etc...
At this rate it will be over $40k per year in state for kids who will attend 15 years from now. That’s insanity.
This is the way I look at it. I am an educator. When people have nothing invested in their education it just becomes a joke for a lpt of people. Not all people but a lot. In middle school and high school so many classes become watered down in terms of what you can teach because actually learning really comes last. Something like managing behavior and having great classroom management has to occur first.
Now, hopefully when these kids are a little older you don't have basic problems like behavior but I believe there will be other issues. Lets say a college prides itself on graduation rate. If a good chunk of people are getting into college for free I can see a good portion of those students not taking it as seriously as they should. I can see colleges adjusting their standards like high schools have just to get people to graduate.
In high school we had No Child Left Behind. Again, in theory a great idea but in reality it doesn't work. If you look at our Regents exams a student needs about a 35 percent on that exam to pass because the curve makes that grade a 65. All we really have done is lower standards to make the numbers look better. And as an educator the worst thing you can do for anybody is lower expectations. The number one thing proven to get the best results out of students regardless of money or any program is to set high expectations. I see all of this going in the opposite direction.
Why should anyone making a modest living set aside any money for college when the investment rates are a fraction of the rises in costs?
College stopped being widely affordable in the early 2000s for a family of 4. Its now so far out of control that it’s crippling for most families just to save a couple hundred a month. What’s the point?
My Daughter started her College in Sept 2008, just as the Lehman shit was hitting the fan. On the campus, you'd think it was still 1999 the way they threw money around.
And forget about any Tuition Aid packages. Unless you're living in a cardboard box under a bridge....you're making too much money for any serious free aid. They will refer you to the many for profit Loan Arrangers and their exorbitant interest rates.
We were lucky, I started saving for her College the year she was born so we had a big part of it covered. But I paid for the rest of it out of Cash Flow rather than get tangled up with the shyster Loans. Daughter also helped us by graduating a semester early in January -- saved us about $20K. She got a good job months before her classmates got out in May....and her employer paid for her MBA.
The government has Billions for a Bogus Wall, but nothing left for college funding.
Why should anyone making a modest living set aside any money for college when the investment rates are a fraction of the rises in costs?
College stopped being widely affordable in the early 2000s for a family of 4. Its now so far out of control that it’s crippling for most families just to save a couple hundred a month. What’s the point?
100%. I had a college by me go bankrupt. I can see this happening more and more in the future. As the poster above me said, they seem cut off from reality and costs just keep going up so they just extend it to the students. I agree with Eric. Vocational school is a much better option for most people now. I tell my stidents all the time that they have to truly want to go to college. If they don't truly want to then they should be looking at trades. The people going to vocational schools are doing very well for themselves without the crazy debt. I know lawyers that are struggling because the debt has taken over their lives. It is crazy.
I’m in the construction industry and once the baby boomers are done, this country is going to be paying out the ass for trade labor - we already are. I know it isn’t sexy, by my electrocution neighbor makes almost as much as my wife and I combined. No college necessary and those jobs will be in abundance.
just leave it to the fact education is expensive and the student loan practices are abhorrent. Why would you bring the Federal government into it?
when you make comments like this you ask for retaliation.
Education costs are not set by the federal government. They're set at the state level. Do you think maybe if states like CA, NY, MA, NJ, etc. didn't spend so much (they spend hundreds of millions if not billions) on illegal immigrants and being sanctuary "states" that they could use they money they spend on illegal immigrants to offset education costs for citizens?
Maybe a wall if it limits illegal immigration would in fact help free up money for education, but college costs have NOT escalated b/c of the Federal government so asking the Federal government to accommodate for state greed or whatever policies forced them inflate education costs seems unjust and scapegoating.
- be smart consumers because there are lot of family resources at stake. Don't just look at the facilities. Ask questions about the intern office, the placement office and the alumni network. What is the success rate? what connections do they have to what employers and industries? where are the alumni located and in what fields? If your kid has interest in a particular field, what is the shcools reputation in that field? What is the employment rate for each field for graduates of the university. (and yes, they have those numbers). Guide your kid. They will start, if they haven't been getting it already, literature from schools recruiting students. Students are a big business, and you don't want your kid making choices to spend tens of thousands of family dollars without guidance. There will be battles, the battles will not be pleasant and you will have to fight them.
- Tell your kid what you are willing to pay for and what you won't.
- if your kid is interested in a higher education-vocational type degree: accounting, nursing, public relations, engineering etc, the state schools will often be better choices than the private colleges
- small, private liberal arts colleges will offer the best financial aid packages, but they have to. Liberal arts, in the sense that many of us knew them from college years have been destroyed, the graduates they turn out have a tough time finding employment and these schools are having a tough time competing for students. Unless the school offers, nursing (Salve Regina in Newport, RI is very well known for its nursing program), engineering, accounting or something similar, what seems to be a bargain may not be
- unless your kid has a compelling story or attended a private feeder high school, was a star high school athlete, is from outside the Northeast or is a legacy, do not bother with the Ivies. They are not interested in kids from public schools in the Northeast no matter how well they did in high school. They get all the applicants they need for the few of those slots they have to fill.
- Location is more important than you think. A school in a hot job market like Boston or Nashville or one that dominates the state or is well known in a particular field is worth something.
Good luck. You all sound like great parents, and I know the kids will all do well.
Costs will never drop unless there is the threat that they will go out of business.
Robbieballs, I take your point about no-cost resulting in lower standards, but what can be done to make it more affordable? Parents are getting priced out. Are college employees gouging the system, overpaid? If yes, then cheaper schools will eventually win out. But, so far that isn't happening.
My fear, is that colleges have figured out ways to tap into the maximum disposable income parents have.
And, online training I am not convinced is the answer. Only certain students benefit from it. Live classroom instruction cannot be beat.
the high costs are in part an unintended consequence from the government backed student loans from the Reagan era.
As stated above, there are other options. In-state is much cheaper. Also, 2 years at community college and then transfer to a 4 year school is also a good way to save. Also, some private schools offer good Merit aid. Even some state schools (i.e., Ohio State) offer big money for out of state kids.
Sure the individual states are involved in setting tuition rates.....but don't think for a minute that NJ doesn't know what NY or MA is charging.
Also, I don't think, anyone here has mentioned yet the cost of a text book, which sometimes can cost at least $250.
Sure the individual states are involved in setting tuition rates.....but don't think for a minute that NJ doesn't know what NY or MA is charging.
this is irrelevant to your post. Admins of all parties have supported guarantee of student loans.
The current student loan debt is estimated at 1.4 trillion dollars or something outrageous like that.
the wall is estimated at 10 billion.
Even if the wall ever gets built and winds up double that and accomplishes nothing your comment is political garbage and unhelpful.
Thankfully the school has a tuition exchange program and all three of my kids (all in college this upcoming year) all picked schools on that list. They are just paying room/board and fees.
It's tough for a school like the one I work at to cut costs. In order to attract the "high quality" ($$$$$$) students so that they can offer generous financial aid to those that need it, the sending needs to happen.
So now, the only government backed guaranteed student loans essentially come from the DOE. And since this has happened we have seen a lot of the largest increases in tuition.
Thankfully the school has a tuition exchange program and all three of my kids (all in college this upcoming year) all picked schools on that list. They are just paying room/board and fees.
It's tough for a school like the one I work at to cut costs. In order to attract the "high quality" ($$$$$$) students so that they can offer generous financial aid to those that need it, the sending needs to happen.
*spending, geez.
As a footnote - 60% of the students where I work pay full boat.
I cannot agree in my daughter's case that level of education slipped. She got an outstanding education there, much better than my college education and unlike
her friends who went to vocational schools or on line education, she had a job locked up b4 graduation making a near 6 figure income in the Boston area. She may be the exception but while something definitely has to be done about college costs, I don't think at least in the next 5-10 years that vocational or on line schools are the BETTER alternative. Unless of course money is the issue, not level of education. Just my current opinion.
It seemed like a pulse was their only requirement.
Now, 25+ years later the co-op "gimmick" has proven to be a major differentiator for corporate America. NU is harder to get into than BU and BC, which was unheard of back when I was looking at schools and as mentioned above the quality of education is as good or better.
One of my twins has over a 4.0 in high school (heading in to her junior year), takes AP courses, plays sports, is on student council, does extra curricular activities (volunteers) and wants to go to Brown, no chance, and has Northeastern as her 2nd choice and I really feel like she will need to look at other schools because Northeastern has become that competitive she can have those good credentials and still not get in. Need to see how she does on SAT/ACT.
no, sorry, it was named later.
and yes under the ACA amendment what Obama (with a Republican congress) did was remove the private lender subsidies making all federally guaranteed student loans come from the DOE. In addition to the wall, Named later blamed the for profit lenders - which are no longer relevant - for the current escalating costs climate.
Doesn't it have family income cap though?
Quote:
The government has Billions for a Bogus Wall, but nothing left for college funding.
just leave it to the fact education is expensive and the student loan practices are abhorrent. Why would you bring the Federal government into it?
when you make comments like this you ask for retaliation.
Education costs are not set by the federal government. They're set at the state level. Do you think maybe if states like CA, NY, MA, NJ, etc. didn't spend so much (they spend hundreds of millions if not billions) on illegal immigrants and being sanctuary "states" that they could use they money they spend on illegal immigrants to offset education costs for citizens?
Maybe a wall if it limits illegal immigration would in fact help free up money for education, but college costs have NOT escalated b/c of the Federal government so asking the Federal government to accommodate for state greed or whatever policies forced them inflate education costs seems unjust and scapegoating.
This is an absurd post.
The root problem is that student loan debt is non-dischargeable in bankruptcy proceedings. That’s a federal issue. If a company can lend money with the least amount of risk possible and most protection they will. If a college has guaranteed money coming in every year and demand there’s no incentive to lower costs — it’s to raise costs.
Change the bankruptcy rules regarding student loan debt and this landscape changes instantly. Loan companies issue less loans, potential students choose other options, enrollment declines at colleges, colleges are forced to lower prices or close.
To your wall argument, there’s no guarantee it will even keep illegals out without getting into the rest of your nonsensical reasoning.