cost of college

[Patrick]

My parents, my wife's parents and my wife and I saved for college for our son since birth. It took a concerted effort to save and not spend in other areas. He, of course, chose an expensive school (RPI). We were able to cover it, but it wasn't fun writing those huge checks and closing entire accounts for a semester of tuition. AND they nickel and dime you on the bill, so that adds up as well.

On a side note, he graduated and it took him two years to land a job. AND it's tangent to what he really wants to do, so now he's going back for his masters as well. Stevens, at night. Luckily, there was some money left over, so he won't have too much of a debt once he's finished.

I've found that the degree from RPI and a little experience will result in interviews. Getting the job is then making the employer feel like it is a fit, and there is lots of upside potential...
Having a hobby in the field also helps - farting around with arduino processors is popular now.

i'd like to start getting into CANbus (automotive) "hacking" - not really hacking, just add-ons, and telematics. too old to get into the industry, but
it looks interesting.

 

[Piston Honda]

Not sure if you are reading correctly because it's currently more like $120-300k.

I don't think I am. That $20-50k is per semester?

 

[Monkey Soup]

Rutgers is a pretty good school, I know alot of Rutgers grads who've done pretty well for themselves. Actually alot of our state schools are pretty good. If your kid is ivy-league smart, well I don't know how you can deny them that opportunity, your fooked. The reality is, in most industries, unless you went ivy league, I don't think the college you went to matters that much on your resume, the fact that you went is what they look for. An MS/MBA after your BS helps too (but you get your employer to pay for that once hired). Its all about getting that first job, everything after is what (or who) you know. Whatever school your kid goes to, make sure they take full advantage of the job placement office.

 

[UtahJoe]

WTF $80-120k give or take for a college education?! My kid is 8. How do I prepare for this hefty bill?

Im not saying its the preferred method...But when I wanted to go to college no way my mother could afford to pay for it (she sent my sister to Pratt) so I knew from day one whatever my costs were, I was paying for it. Because of this, I did things a little differently....I mean at the time im sure I whined no fair no fair...But nobody gave shit...So I could either not go to school, or figure something else out. So few things I ended up doing

Really thought about what I wanted to do rather than just go to school to hang with my friends and party...which hey, im sure I missed a few great parties, but NJIT was 99.9% dudes anyway.
Soon as I could, I found a job doing ANYTHING I could in an actual engineering firm...drafting, making blueprints, etc... By doing this I learned something important...MANY of my bosses and coworkers went to NJIT...And nobody seemed to hold it against them that they didnt go to Stephens, MIT, etc. This has carried on now through several companies....Where it seems that if you know what you are doing, people want you. So while I finished CCM and got accepted to Lehi...I decided to save a BUTTLOAD of money and go to NJIT.
Having to pay for every class...I sure as hell didnt screw around a fail any of them.
Taught me some great lessons about spending money
In the end, my sister had a dump truck on money spent on her education and has spent the past 20 years trying to find a job and has worked for about 3 of those years and lived off my mom for the rest. I ended up with a total of $15,000 in loans after scholarships, couple of tuition reimbursements at jobs I worked at (CCM I worked and paid for myself)

So while im saving for my kids college...there is no way its going to be some blank check and go fuck off for 4 years on my $100,000...not a chance. I dont feel the slightest bit obligated to fund his education. Nobody funded mine and I thank my mother every time I see her for it. I learned some great life lessons from it.

 

[Bike N Gear]

I don't think I am. That $20-50k is per semester?

PER YEAR, but not sure what school you can attend for $20k unless they live at home. Room and board is typically $11k+.

My son is leaning towards Pitt to be with @pooriggy son. It is a good school, not a great school. It will cost $50k the first year and go up from there. Even better kicker is that he's going to the Business School which for some reason charges $3000 more than their regular tuition.

 

[GSTim]

Work on convincing your kid that going to a state school is not a disgrace. My daughter could have gone to Rutgers almost free, instead we are "helping" to pay for a $40+K/yr tuition bill (OK she did get a scholarship so that helped a bit).

529 almost gone first semester.

 

[Robin]

as a teacher of seniors in high school, I hear the chatter of how much school is going to cost and what support they may get. A few are opting for a year or two at County then transferring to save money - I believe it helps with maturity too. When I hear how much debt some of these kids are going to have, it's more than a mortgage!? I think some of the costs are associated with "name" or location (i.e. UVM or CU Boulder).

I am grateful that I finished both my BS and MS with no debt/have that lingering over me. Some of that had to do with the choices I made and my parents demands/what they could afford. I spent a year at County, went to Rutgers in the 90s/finished in 3 years (so I think total 10k/year) and had a full ride for my Master's (I was on a TA/Research grant in science). Could I have gone to a more expensive school/out of state? sure...but I'd still be paying for it probably.

 

[Magic]

So while im saving for my kids college...there is no way its going to be some blank check and go fuck off for 4 years on my $100,000...not a chance. I dont feel the slightest bit obligated to fund his education. Nobody funded mine and I thank my mother every time I see her for it. I learned some great life lessons from it.

Amen. I did live at home through college which is always a huge chunk of savings. It took me a while to finish school, but thats because I wanted to pay through it myself and not put a strain on my parents. Knowing people that got a ride from their parents to go far away for school and are now working their high school jobs at Woodbury Commons, I'm glad I did what I did.

I'm a NYU grad, but my company foot the bill. I just went back to school at Stevens just because...

Funny. My gf got a masters in biomedical engineering at Stevens, and is now doing an MBA at NYU. Almost a free ride, and now getting mostly paid for by work.

I started at a two year college at SUNY Rockland. It's a great place to start because you won't be out 20k if you switch majors, which I did twice. It was also cheap enough that I paid for it as I went and worked. Finished up at a private college, MSMC, which after 2 years left me with a loan of about 20k. Not as bad as other places, but still sucks. Ending degree is what matters, so starting at a 2 year isn't the worst idea unless you're rich and give your kid a free ride.

 

[Magic]

dont go for basketweaving and then cry about your inability to earn enough to pay your loans.

This. ^

Don't let your kid major in art.

 

[Patrick]

Work on convincing your kid that going to a state school is not a disgrace. My daughter could have gone to Rutgers almost free, instead we are "helping" to pay for a $40+K/yr tuition bill (OK she did get a scholarship so that helped a bit).

529 almost gone first semester.

This is interesting - not from a savings POV, but from strategy.

If it is based on savings, then paying down the house may be a better option - then pull a loan against it, which would be deductible.
Do it as a credit line, and set up even payments with the school to string it out.
If you pay ahead on principal, you can request that the loan be re-amortized over the remaining life. which would lower the payment,
rather than moving the payoff date up.

i see there are parent based student loans also - where being denied kicks in other options.

College, trade school, or anything else with long term consequences needs to be looked at as an investment.
Hell, there are hs tracts in somerville that result in HS graduation with an associates degree from RVCC....and they are not all science based.

This. ^

Don't let your kid major in art.

if art is what they love, then why not?
the good paying jobs are difficult to land, but there is plenty of grunt work. which is where one should start anyway...

i'd watch out for majoring in mid-evil, english literature, with a minor in french.
unless you want to teach - then hey, make it work. (smith or vassar are going to build a lifetime of debt for something like this!)

 

[pooriggy]

The trick is to pick a major that gives you marketable skills so you can get a decent job and make the payments out of school, dont go for basketweaving and then cry about your inability to earn enough to pay your loans.

Yes this.
I believe we model our kids college financing from how our own education was paid for, whether our parents paid for it or we put ourselves through school or some other situation, combination. We do what we learned.

The most important thing is getting the results you want from that money spent. Unfortunately a lot of kids don't know what they want to do career wise and therefore look to college as a right of passage to further their social circle as opposed to a spring board to start their career. Maybe kids coming out of hs should be put into work camps for several years and then be given the option of college.

So, if you are sending a child to school, looking at intern and job placement is extremely important as well. My older son graduated Montclair and is having a difficult time finding a job because he has no experience and contacts in his field. If anyone is in the publishing field and needs an intern let me know

 

[Mountain Bike Mike]

Im not saying its the preferred method...But when I wanted to go to college no way my mother could afford to pay for it (she sent my sister to Pratt) so I knew from day one whatever my costs were, I was paying for it. Because of this, I did things a little differently....I mean at the time im sure I whined no fair no fair...But nobody gave shit...So I could either not go to school, or figure something else out. So few things I ended up doing

Really thought about what I wanted to do rather than just go to school to hang with my friends and party...which hey, im sure I missed a few great parties, but NJIT was 99.9% dudes anyway.
Soon as I could, I found a job doing ANYTHING I could in an actual engineering firm...drafting, making blueprints, etc... By doing this I learned something important...MANY of my bosses and coworkers went to NJIT...And nobody seemed to hold it against them that they didnt go to Stephens, MIT, etc. This has carried on now through several companies....Where it seems that if you know what you are doing, people want you. So while I finished CCM and got accepted to Lehi...I decided to save a BUTTLOAD of money and go to NJIT.
Having to pay for every class...I sure as hell didnt screw around a fail any of them.
Taught me some great lessons about spending money
In the end, my sister had a dump truck on money spent on her education and has spent the past 20 years trying to find a job and has worked for about 3 of those years and lived off my mom for the rest. I ended up with a total of $15,000 in loans after scholarships, couple of tuition reimbursements at jobs I worked at (CCM I worked and paid for myself)

So while im saving for my kids college...there is no way its going to be some blank check and go fuck off for 4 years on my $100,000...not a chance. I dont feel the slightest bit obligated to fund his education. Nobody funded mine and I thank my mother every time I see her for it. I learned some great life lessons from it.

What do you want to sit down with each of my kids to tell this story when they are of the age to think about college?

I did a similar process yet the story is better coming from someone other than the parent. Cause at that age, we know nothing.

 

[rick81721]

Seriously, if you have the means to save, suck it up and do it. Too many people just assume "their special kid" is going to get that academic scholarship, or athletic scholarship, get into a military academy, or other such nonsense. Similar to planning for retirement under the assumption that you're going to hit that "can't lose" get-rich-quick scheme. Like any good financial planning, plan for the worst. If the kid does get assistance, it's just a bonus for you.

 

[Monkey Soup]

as a teacher of seniors in high school, I hear the chatter of how much school is going to cost and what support they may get. A few are opting for a year or two at County then transferring to save money - I believe it helps with maturity too. When I hear how much debt some of these kids are going to have, it's more than a mortgage!? I think some of the costs are associated with "name" or location (i.e. UVM or CU Boulder).

I am grateful that I finished both my BS and MS with no debt/have that lingering over me. Some of that had to do with the choices I made and my parents demands/what they could afford. I spent a year at County, went to Rutgers in the 90s/finished in 3 years (so I think total 10k/year) and had a full ride for my Master's (I was on a TA/Research grant in science). Could I have gone to a more expensive school/out of state? sure...but I'd still be paying for it probably.

Some of the hardest working people I knew in school, and know now, did the 2 years at community/transfer to Rutgers (or wherever) thing. I didn't get my shit really together until year 3, at which point I was working and paying my way. I got my MS on the company dime, the good thing about big pharma is that they'll pay for your graduate school 100% as long as you bring back nothing lower than a B (I think most places apply the same criteria).

Wife went to school on a full athletic and academic scholership. The kids have her athletic gift, but they're still way too young, with many years ahead.

 

[The Squirrel]

Private school was over 250K for four years and thank god he was only in NY state.

 

[Bernard H]

I joined the Navy in 2010, left honorably in 2014, got into Rutgers, now graduating this May with a B.S in Public health, total cost: 4 years in the service. Wouldn't have done it any other way. The post 9/11 G.I. Bill is truly amazing. Books, tuition, housing, all covered. Plus, the skills and life lessons I've learned overseas cant be had anywhere else.

 

[pygmypony]

lots of really great points of view and info here...figured i'd add to the mix...

we are currently right in the middle of this...we have a college frosh, a HS senior and a HS soph...so, twelve years of college to pay for over the next 7 years! bring on the ramen and PBR!

here's my advice/observations to anyone interested:

1) save early and as much as you possibly can...we did 529s and UGMA/UGTA...we initially targeted having the savings equivalent to 4 yrs of state school for each kid...well, for rutgers, that was around $300K ($100K kid (based upon the $25K / year rutgers Cost of Attendance back when they were born...that is now up to around $33K)...perhaps it's needless to say, but we didn't quite make that savings goal...

2) engage your kids in the cost conversations as early as possible so they see the reality, and long-term sacrifices you will need to make as a family (ie, here's why we are going camping instead of going on a Caribbean cruise! or here's why our bathrooms are all still from the 1960s!)

3) my wife and i were both fortunate enough that our parents paid for both our undergraduate educations...we feel the obligation to do the same for our kids, so they will graduate debt free (in other words, we will incur any required debt)

4) as @fidodie mentions, don't forget your home as a potential equity source...it's not ideal, but it is definitely one of the components of our fall-back plan to cover the gap between our savings and the costs.

5) we've seen that, while the stated Cost of Attendance on all the colleges websites is ridiculous, all of the schools my kids have been accepted to have offered some form of scholarships to help reduce that cost...in other words, it seems that, at many of the state schools, where you are an out of state student, very few people actually pay sticker price.

6) if your kids' high school offers it, got to any Financial Aid nites...our kids go to JP Stevens in Edison and they had the financial aid folks from Monmouth, Rowan and another school or two come in and give the parents and really comprehensive run-down of navigating the whole FAFSA/CSS nightmare or paperwork, etc...

7) my kids are majoring in dance, musical theater and TBD...not exactly high earning potential majors!...that said, we've had very long discussions about the pros and cons of this as well...in short, i think this really boils down to the individual kid involved...there are probably just as many kids who went to expensive private colleges and had STEM majors and are toiling away at sucky jobs, or who are miserable in there careers as there are kids who worked their asses off in an "artsy" major and are living perfectly happy lives...

 

[JimN]

I would recommend paying for financial aid guidance. We paid a couple hundred bucks to meet with a dude and have him fill out all the paperwork. He did really well for both me and my brother, although I obviously have no proof that he did better than we would have on our own. Tuition for me was like 35k/year, and the cost breakdown was roughly 50% grants, 25% my parents, and 25% me (loans). I applied to six schools: three good schools I wanted to go to, two safe backups that would have been ok in case I didn't get into one of the three, and one safe school in case we didn't get enough money and couldn't afford one of the five. I ended up choosing the good school that gave me the most money.

So I got out of school with 35k in debt, and I couldn't find a job and ended up hanging drywall for my dad for a year. I had no experience and couldn't even get an interview anywhere, so I did an 18 month program at night to get hands on skills for another $18k which I paid as I went. I paid the minimum on the college loans for a few years until I was making decent money, and then paid off the higher interest loan. One of my federal loans had an interest rate lower than the rate of inflation, so I made money by paying that one off as slowly as possible. The trade school definitely helped me get my first job, and the real degree definitely helped with my second. Beyond that neither mattered.

 

[ChrisRU]

Paying my own way (well, still paying) taught me life and financial lessons early on that a free ride college experience never would have. @Monkey Soup and @UtahJoe already made a lot of great points, as have others. Getting out of work at age 19 or 20 and spending an entire paycheck on books puts your mind in a much different place then going out and partying after "free" dinner thanks to your unlimited meal pass.

Excluding Ivy's or other niche schools, value should be a selection consideration. Is the ROI on an undergrad degree from a big name out of state school going to be any better than going to a state school? I'd bet if many of you look around at your peers the school they went to didn't significantly set them apart in career outcomes. Work ethic and other personal characteristics take play a bigger role in that once that degree gets handed over and its time to find your place in the world.

I have nothing to offer on the savings side, but there are ways to spend less.

• Housing costs are ludicrous. $10k+ for ~8 months? Sure, some kids make the most of it an maximize the experience, but is there really a return there? Live off campus, go to school near relatives that will house you, commute, couch surf. I spent an entire semester living at a college I didn't go to.
• Tons of ways to save on books, don't buy until you need them, often times they aren't even needed.
• Go to community college first, or take credits at community college to speed things along or lower the cost. This may take some homework, meet with advisers at both schools to verify the credits will transfer. You get the EXACT SAME degree from the 4 year school to put on your resume, even if you take half of your credits close to home.
• Work, and pay for things as you can. Some of the worst financial decisions I've ever seen involved student loans paying for things that could have easily been paid for with a side job (books, credit card debt, vacations, used car, etc.) Those $1000-$2000 hits turn into 10's of thousands in debt after 4-5 years in school

If nothing else, keep the kid involved. Being told what it costs and really understanding the costs are two different things. It ends up being a sacrifice for someone, the benefiting party should feel some of the weight of that.

 

[Monkey Soup]

lots of really great points of view and info here...figured i'd add to the mix...

we are currently right in the middle of this...we have a college frosh, a HS senior and a HS soph...so, twelve years of college to pay for over the next 7 years! bring on the ramen and PBR!

here's my advice/observations to anyone interested:

1) save early and as much as you possibly can...we did 529s and UGMA/UGTA...we initially targeted having the savings equivalent to 4 yrs of state school for each kid...well, for rutgers, that was around $300K ($100K kid (based upon the $25K / year rutgers Cost of Attendance back when they were born...that is now up to around $33K)...perhaps it's needless to say, but we didn't quite make that savings goal...

2) engage your kids in the cost conversations as early as possible so they see the reality, and long-term sacrifices you will need to make as a family (ie, here's why we are going camping instead of going on a Caribbean cruise! or here's why our bathrooms are all still from the 1960s!)

3) my wife and i were both fortunate enough that our parents paid for both our undergraduate educations...we feel the obligation to do the same for our kids, so they will graduate debt free (in other words, we will incur any required debt)

4) as @fidodie mentions, don't forget your home as a potential equity source...it's not ideal, but it is definitely one of the components of our fall-back plan to cover the gap between our savings and the costs.

5) we've seen that, while the stated Cost of Attendance on all the colleges websites is ridiculous, all of the schools my kids have been accepted to have offered some form of scholarships to help reduce that cost...in other words, it seems that, at many of the state schools, where you are an out of state student, very few people actually pay sticker price.

6) if your kids' high school offers it, got to any Financial Aid nites...our kids go to JP Stevens in Edison and they had the financial aid folks from Monmouth, Rowan and another school or two come in and give the parents and really comprehensive run-down of navigating the whole FAFSA/CSS nightmare or paperwork, etc...

7) my kids are majoring in dance, musical theater and TBD...not exactly high earning potential majors!...that said, we've had very long discussions about the pros and cons of this as well...in short, i think this really boils down to the individual kid involved...there are probably just as many kids who went to expensive private colleges and had STEM majors and are toiling away at sucky jobs, or who are miserable in there careers as there are kids who worked their asses off in an "artsy" major and are living perfectly happy lives...

Couple of my friends in college went to Mason Gross. Mason Gross is pretty brutal in that out of an entire freshman class, only something like 3-4 complete the program (at the time, don't know if this has changed). Neither made the final cut, however both are now pretty successful. One went on to make a bunch of network TV commercials, was in the Sopranos, Boardwalk Empire, and a couple of movies.