college tuition

[Chaoster]

I was wondering if it's a good idea to lock in tuition for the next 4 years or take your chances and see how much it increases each year.

 

[starry_solo]

Depends on the terms. Is it refundable if the student drops out of college? Are there partial refunds if it's online only?

 

[MrsPete]

Yes, I'd want to know exactly what it means to "lock in tuition". If it means the tuition can't increase -- good. If it means you're obligated to pay, even if the student leaves school, bad. What's the ratio of risk to reward in this situation?

Consider, too, that tuition staying the same doesn't equate to college costs staying the same. Fees are almost as much as tuition, and they'd be untouched by a "lock in". Yes, every bit counts, but keep the big picture in mind.

 

[Chaoster]

Yes it means for the 4 years we are locked in for the same price. I did not look into it further. I think i will look into it more this weekend

 

[barkley]

Consider, too, that tuition staying the same doesn't equate to college costs staying the same. Fees are almost as much as tuition, and they'd be untouched by a "lock in". Yes, every bit counts, but keep the big picture in mind.

PREACH!

in 2016 my state made a big deal about being the only state to decrease the cost of tuition at public colleges. they decreased it 15%. sounds great huh? thing was-the fees kept increasing up, up and up. then the places that didn't traditionally require freshman to dorm instituted THAT. in the long run there was no real price difference. there's a big stink right now with the ones here that have opted to go strictly on-line or a hybrid for fall. despite no physical access to the library, student union/pub, gym and rec center-students are still being charged exorbitant fees for them. they are touting about how the on-line courses have lower tuition costs than the face to face classes (to discourage newbies from taking the same courses on-line at the community colleges) but they fail to mention all the additional fees for on-line courses that take them to a higher per unit cost.

 

[LuvOrlando]

I like 529's that lock in tuition especially if you are in a state where you get a state tax break. You can get to it whenever you want but you just need to pay back the bit of state tax if you can't prove school spending. Money can be shared among siblings, grandparents can create them for kids & they can be used for housing too, plus you don't need to go to a same state school- although I'm not sure the lock in holds with out of state but maybe you can participate in another states fund it there is a school you have in mind. I think there is a limit of per kid deposit but since you can slide between siblings I think you can cover a lot of ground quickly. Good idea for windfalls and bonuses.

Just do your research, the tax breaks are only with the state ones even though lots of private banks offer them, it can be misleading.

I would never do one for a particular school if that is a thing.

 

[tvguy]

Well, I would say no. Kids these days don't tend to go to just one college.
DS went to two.
DD went to four.

 

[dina444444]

We did this for my college tuition 12 years ago when I started college. I ended up transferring schools halfway through and the first school sent us back the remaining money for the 2 years I wasn’t going to attend after I completed my last semester there. The lock in was only for actual tuition, we still had to pay the going room/board rate each year.

 

[MrsPete]

they decreased it 15%. sounds great huh? thing was-the fees kept increasing up, up and up. then the places that didn't traditionally require freshman to dorm instituted THAT. in the long run there was no real price difference.

Sounds like when the state claimed it gave us veteran teachers a 7% raise -- but they neglected to point out that the same year they took away longevity pay for teachers who had over 15 years' service. The soundbyte seemed like they gave us a pretty good raise. The reality was that we stopped getting a bonus check in our "hiring month" and started getting that money divided among our 10 yearly paychecks -- but the money was exactly the same in the long run.

I would never do one for a particular school if that is a thing.

Agree. I'd be more likely to do it IF the money could be used for any UNC school (which means 16 different universities), but not so much if it mean one single school. Even if the money is refundable, it'd be a hassle to "get out of the deal".

Well, I would say no. Kids these days don't tend to go to just one college.
DS went to two.
DD went to four.

Yeah, it's not uncommon. My oldest went straight to university and graduated in four years. My youngest wasn't ready to leave home, so she chose to start at community college for two years, then transferred to university for her last two years -- but, yeah, she attended two schools.

Thinking about the tuition vs. fees thing again: I just checked the cost of tuition and fees at the university where my kids graduated. Current tuition is $2121. Not bad, huh? But throw in the (mandatory) fees, and that almost doubles. I'm not even sure what some of the fees cover. Note that locking in tuition doesn't do a thing about fees.

Health Center -- 162.50
Student Government fee -- .50
Tech fee -- 288.00
Athletic fee -- 391.50
Energy initiative -- 193.00
Cultural Affairs -- 22.50
Student Union operation -- 114.00
Campus Security -- 15.00
Athletic facilities -- 112.50
Dining facility -- 42.50
Student Recreation Center -- 45.00
Student Union addition -- 40.50
Infastructure improvements -- 7.00
Sanford hall -- 42.00
Transportation fee -- 80.00
Book rental fee -- 150.00
This all totals to $17xx.xx -- this is about 80% of the tuition again.

 

[MickeyMouseCD524]

I would look into that more. Some colleges charge by credit, others charge a flat fee for full time students no matter how many classes you take. And if the student decides to graduate early or transfer are you going to paying an extra year of tuition?

 

[LuvOrlando]

https://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/investing/529-plan-rules/
I blindly picked for both kids, one child went somewhere else but I don't think there is any sort of penalty for not doing in state, just a loss of an advantage so no real consequence IMO, def not a deterrent. Same goes for the taxes, if you use it as expected great but it's not binding so if a kid or family member cant use it you get your money back, plus you can pull it out in case of job loss etc. The 529 is just sort of sitting there as we use Parent Plus and pay back as we see fit, in the end the 529 will cover things after the fact and wipe away loans we've accepted but for now it's very useful as a earmarked savings account in the event of an emergency - like housing off campus this semester which may end up more pricey then we wanted. It's a useful buffer account that won't be wasted & it's not binding. I totally recommend.