How do you save for kids college fund?

[BubMunkeyBles]

Our kids both have two years with housing and books with DH's GI bill now... We're starting to save for the other 2 years (they are only 1 and 2 right now). Hopefully they will pull some scholarships and be able to help out a little too though.

 

[disykat]

I think marrying earlier than intended for the sake of financial aid is a pretty risky proposition. If the marriage fails (and we can't ignore the stats on that), divorce is one of the most expensive things a person can do.

I wasn't trying to imply someone should get married for only that reason!

 

[DVCLiz]

As for school size, perhaps I feel this way because I attended a large university, but I do not share the very common desire for a small school environment. My daughter and I visited one small school this summer (1700 students), and we both came away thinking, "This is it?" Beautiful campus though.

When I was in school, I think we had about 15,000 students, and I was fine with it. A larger school offers a wider range of majors (good for students who aren't sure what they want to study), a greater number of professors, more course offerings, lots of offerings for on-campus living, four cafeterias, always something to do on campus -- concerts, movies, speakers, lots of sports, more jobs on campus, larger library . . . just more opportunity. This wasn't a "thing" when I was in school, but as I've done college visits with my daughter, I've seen lots of international opportunities at the larger schools. I can see that this'd be "too much" for a shy or unassertive student who was afraid to "do for herself", but I thrived in that environment. I don't remember ever having trouble finding my professors when I needed them.

I do think this is more of an individual preference, though, Mrs. Pete. I know lots of kids who went to large universities after leaving their small private high school, and they loved the larger size. Others went to small liberal arts colleges and also loved it. They are both great options for the right student.

My daughter's college had all of the opportunities she could have asked for, including international travel and leadership opportunities on campus, and it had less than 2000 students. She couldn't begin to take advantage of all of the things she would have liked to get involved with in college. I really don't hink you can go wrong with either type, but I do think individual students get a sense of which type they prefer and then steer their college choices to the schools that match in size.

 

[DVCLiz]

I have some questions and would love feedback, especially from anyone who happens to live in MA and has experienced these scenarios.

Here in Boston, we are surrounded by many private colleges and universities. Great choices, but much more expensive than a state school. (Lets just average it and say about 3X as much...some are clearly much higher like BC, etc)

If your child doesnt get into the state school, and that is your plan, what is your plan b for a private school tuition? Mine are high school but not seniors so we arent there yet. (Curious specifically about anyone who has had recent experience with admissions to our state schools here in MA)

Secondly, for those of you with more than one child planning to go to college, what if one goes to a state school and the other private? With such a large difference in pricing how do you keep things fair? I have some thoughts on this but would be interested in hearing feedback.

I know the state schools for many states are huge....much larger than ours so I wondered how that can impact students and their choices.

Some of DD17's friends are thinking about going to another state's flagship and attending the Honors College. I have a friend whose student did just that - the GPA and test scores were high enough to get almost a full ride to another state's flagship, and it was a better opportunity than some of our second tier state schools.

Another option is to dial back to a second tier private school - if you have the grades and the GPA you will often get enough money to make it affordable for you.

 

[DisneyMomma81]

well, you can disagree with me, but this is exactly why I am against it. I am actually surprised you disagree given your experience.

Maturity is a good thing.

Are there some who got married at 18 and stayed married for 40 years and got all the education they wanted? Sure. But statistics show they are fewer rather than greater in number.

Dawn

Around here it's quite normal to marry young *my religion strongly discourages sex before marriage + living together. I know plenty of people who married young and are still happily. In my case let's just say he was not what I hoped for in a partner. *made and is still making very poor decisions. Sure divorce happens but I feel that if both partners want to make it work it will.

 

[minnie1928]

I went to a private college for my BS degree in Accounting. I went to school full time, worked full time AND got married when I was 20. I did classify as independent after marriage, but the only aid I received was my loan did not accrue interest....and it was only the loans after I filed my married tax returns, so I think it worked out to be only 1 year. When I walked out, my total student loans were about $10,000 which I quickly paid off.

Obviously, I was there because I wanted to be there. I paid for everything, parents didn't pay a dime (but they did let me live at home for free). But, it really burned me up to see so many kids coming into class, being disrespectful and rude. College was a party because mom & dad were footing the whole bill. They didn't have anything invested in it. And, sorry DisneySteve, most were from NJ.

We've decided that the kids will most likely get loans for their education and upon graduation we will pay a large chunk towards their loans. We want them to have a vested interest in their education.

We've also opened Upromise accounts for them and whatever they contribute to their account, we match 100%. Birthday, christmas money, etc. usually goes to their account.

 

[ctinct]

I was being a bit tongue in cheek there. We know what our ability to pay is. The argument was "if you have the ability to pay, you should pay for private or an expensive school." I wanted to hear from the poster what she meant.

We KNOW what we are able to pay without going it being a hardship, and that is what we are willing to offer. We think it is fair and appropriate.

Should our children need a different school for their needs, we will reassess. However, we will certainly look at all the options before contributing.

Dawn

Dawn, do you mean that you think that I am saying "if you have the ability to pay , you should pay for private or an expensive school" ? Because if you do, I REALLY need to work on my communication skills. I'm not saying anything of the kind. I'm saying that if you (generic you, not you specifically) do have the money to pay for any school, but choose to only cover the cost of a public education, it is doing a great disservice to your child to say, "You can go anywhere, but you have to cover the balance yourself". I just think it would be better to say to the child, "If you can't find a college that will end up costing about the same as a public, then you must go to a public. I do not want you starting your life out with tens of thousands of dollars in debt."

In fact, that is exactly what I told my daughter, although in my case it was because that was all I could afford. In the end she found a great school that was as just about as affordable as our state flagship. I was not going to let her take out a boatload of private loans, which I would have had to cosign for anyways, and I do not think it is a wise idea for me to incur a pile of debt at this stage of my life, either.

As far as ability to pay, that is for another thread I would think, but in brief, I would say if one's retirement is on track to be comfortable and there is enough extra cash to pay for college, then that extra cash would be one's ability to pay. The government/FAFSA, unfortunately, often sees things differently.

I also think I recall a poster saying that I thought a private education is better than a public. I certainly don't believe that, either. Neither do I believe a public school is necessarily better than a private. Each school has to be judged on its own merits, and what is a great school for one kid won't be the right school for the kid on the next block. We looked at about 15 schools, including in-state public, out of state public, and private. One of the privates reminded me of a glorified high school. I may have said that our public would not have been the best school for HER, for many reasons, BUT......she would have gone there if she had had to and hopefully have been reasonably happy.

One last point-I understand that sentiment some parents have of wanting to their kids to have "some skin in the game." (Believe me, I know. As I said in an earlier post, I only finished my degree within the last ten years, and it used to make me so angry to see some of the kids blowing off classes. I used to get upset when classes were cancelled for whatever reason. Hey, I paid for it, I want it!! That wasn't the attitude the majority of studnets had). They will, unless they are from a full-pay family. Nearly every financial aid pkg. will have Stafford loans for the student. If it doesn't, or if the family is full pay, every student is eligible for unsubsidized Stafford loans every year, regardless of need, so even if it is not in the financial aid pkg., you can request one. Copied and pasted from the studentaid.ed.gov site:



Direct Unsubsidized Loans—You are not required to demonstrate financial need to receive a Direct Unsubsidized Loan. Like subsidized loans, your school will determine the amount you can borrow. Interest accrues (accumulates) on an unsubsidized loan from the time it’s first paid out. You can pay the interest while you are in school and during grace periods and deferment or forbearance periods, or you can allow it to accrue and be capitalized (that is, added to the principal amount of your loan). If you choose not to pay the interest as it accrues, this will increase the total amount you have to repay because you will be charged interest on a higher principal amount.

 

[crjack]

Thank you for the replies to my question on private schools and a plan B.

My oldest just started his junior year in high school so this will be a focus for us for sure. I know how many variables there are but I like to explore all options, especially because the financial impact could be so dramatically different. (DS absoutely doesnt want to go out of state right now)

Thanks again and I would still love to hear from any MA posters and their experiences with our state schools.

 

[tweedlemom]

Subbing

 

[DawnM]

Well, I still argue maturity. Sex isn't a reason to get married either if you aren't ready.

Some people are ready at 20 and some are not. If you aren't ready or haven't met the right person, don't get married.

Dawn

Around here it's quite normal to marry young *my religion strongly discourages sex before marriage + living together. I know plenty of people who married young and are still happily. In my case let's just say he was not what I hoped for in a partner. *made and is still making very poor decisions. Sure divorce happens but I feel that if both partners want to make it work it will.

 

[imsayin]

One thing I will not do is pay for a fifth (or sixth) year of college. Barring serious illness, there is no reason a child can't finish in 4 years.

Many students at large state universities can't get into the classes they need, thus requiring an additional year of school. Everyone here seems set on the state U's, but I'm not a huge fan. The best public U in our state costs $30,000-$35,000/ year so it is no bargain.

 

[Robinrs]

Many students at large state universities can't get into the classes they need, thus requiring an additional year of school. Everyone here seems set on the state U's, but I'm not a huge fan. The best public U in our state costs $30,000-$35,000/ year so it is no bargain.

Which state?

 

[runwad]

We have 529 plans for our 3 kids. Didn't really start investing in them till the daycare years were over. We've told the kids the plan is for them to take 1 year of college free at our high school they have dual enrollment. They may have to do one year at a community college then transfer to the local university 30 minutes down the road for years 3 &4. I figure if they get one year free in high school and they pay for a year and we'll pay for a year and one year they'll have to get loans. That's our plan. We don't really have the luxury of picking any schools they may want, unless they'd get a full ride and I don't see that happening. They'll have to live at home and drive to the few that are close by. They all know the value of a dollar so i don't think they'd opt to get loans to finance 4 years of college at another location, but we'll see. I'd try my best to talk them out of that option!

 

[imsayin]

Which state?

Illinois.

 

[disneysteve]

One thing I will not do is pay for a fifth (or sixth) year of college. Barring serious illness, there is no reason a child can't finish in 4 years.

I think that is generally true and our DD will be told the expectation is that college is a 4-year endeavor but if there is a good, valid reason to take longer (other than illness), we'd work with her. Changing majors would probably be the most likely reason. Scheduling issues could happen though I'd want to know that it wasn't because of her slacking and not getting her act together in time to get into the classes she needed.

I'm not planning to cut her off from all support after 4 years of college. I do want to know that she is on track to become independent and that we aren't just throwing money in a bottomless pit.

 

[imsayin]

Which state?

Illinois .

 

[tar heel]

Two of my sons have graduated and both took more than four years. The first changed his major as a junior. The second transferred between two branches of the University of North Carolina system. Several classes that were requirements at the first school came into the new one as electives.

He had plenty of credits -- we even had to pay the tuition surcharge his last semester. One of the inducements to graduating in four years in the UNC system is that after you earn a certain number of credits, you have to pay extra. It was originally 25% but now it's 50%. You don't have to pay it if you haven't gone more than eight semesters or if you're in a program officially recognized as five years (there aren't many of those).

One thing I've learned as a parent is to never say "never" about a lot of things. Both my sons had valid reasons to take extra time. The one who changed his major was subsequently much happier and has a good job. The one who transferred has his diploma from a better school than he started out in.

 

[MrsPete]

Many students at large state universities can't get into the classes they need, thus requiring an additional year of school. Everyone here seems set on the state U's, but I'm not a huge fan. The best public U in our state costs $30,000-$35,000/ year so it is no bargain.

My old students tell me they don't have a problem getting into the classes they need.

On the other hand, I do hear that people take 5-6 years to graduate because they changed majors. And I do hear that people fall behind because they fail Class #1, which means they didn't have the pre-req to take Class #2 (which is only offered in Spring) and that puts them a year behind -- but that's not what you're saying.

I was in school more than four years, but that was because I was working more hours than was wise, and I couldn't handle more than four classes a semester -- it was the best option available to me at the time. If I'd had some financial help from my parents, if I'd been able to work just one part-time job, I'd have been able to graduate in four years.

 

[MrsPete]

I'm not planning to cut her off from all support after 4 years of college. I do want to know that she is on track to become independent and that we aren't just throwing money in a bottomless pit.

Yes, that's why we've said we'll pay four years. We all know students who've been studying for years and years, and still aren't really close to having a degree. That's what we don't want, and that's why we've made our expectations clear up front.

The second transferred between two branches of the University of North Carolina system. Several classes that were requirements at the first school came into the new one as electives.

I forgot about transferring schools as a reason that students take more than four years -- transferring almost always has a "time cost".

It seems lately I'm hearing about more and more students who are transferring though. In the last 2 weeks I've heard of a whopping THREE students this semester who are already dissatisfied with their first-semester freshman experience and are transferring to another school next semester:

1. Moving from a prestigious private school to a less expensive state school.
2. Moving from a tiny, lackluster private school to a bigger state school.
3. Moving from an out-of-state school back home -- this one was so unhappy that she actually just left mid-semester and came home, not finishing her classes.

I've never heard of so many at once.

 

[disykat]

Getting into the classes that they need is a HUGE problem at our my son's state school. I don't know about the others. With less and less funding, it's only going to get worse.

My son is a freshman who is ALREADY having trouble getting into classes. He didn't pick the school I would have picked for him for many reasons - this being one of them. He knows he only gets four years of funding from us. (As others have said we can always switch this later we just wanted him to have this expectation) His AP credits will hopefully enable him to get through in those 4 years. We knew getting into classes would be a problem, but we didn't expect it to be this bad right away!