At Public Universities: Less for More (New York Times) - Page 4

dstark · 10-31-2009, 12:35 PM

OK BCEagle91, I was confused.

Coolbrezze · 10-31-2009, 12:59 PM

Part of the article I've found interesting was when I read that some Rutgers students live in a hotel and take a shuttle to campus ( not sure if it was written in the article but notice the statement listed beside with a picture).

According to this article nearly 500 Rutgers students live in a hotel:Nearly 500 Rutgers students reside in hotel for school year | New Jersey Real-Time News - - NJ.com
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Is placing students in hotels cheaper overall or will the school eventually start to lose money vs. owning a building and paying for upkeeps etc... and no extra routes and additional buses?

noimagination · 10-31-2009, 01:02 PM

^ I wouldn't mind living in the Crowne Plaza.

openedskittles · 10-31-2009, 01:17 PM

LakeSuperior, I'm pretty sure that's only if you look at out-of-state tuition. In that regard, Minnesota is very inexpensive compared to better publics which can "get away with" charging out of state students so much.

I still think publics should be evaluated based on in-state tuition, in which case, if your flagship U is top 10 for your intended area of study (which several top publics are), then it simply doesn't make sense to pay so much more to go out of state.

As for saying a $200,000 degree is manageable for an average family, this is quite untrue and I can only assume you've spent your entire life in a massive bubble.

Let's say your family made $130k (which might be puny in your eyes, but would be very basic for two parents in their 50s) and with savings for a sibling's education (which the average family would have) retirement as well as savings and accumulated wealth from at least 20-30 years in the workforce (which they probably also have) had an EFC of $50k/year.
After federal income tax, your family has 93k. Let's say your family has a home and is smart enough to pay your state and local taxes, insure it and maintain it costing them at least 25k/year (and that's with relatively low taxes; not somewhere like NYC). Let's say that means they also have to commute to work. 2 cars with insurance for each driver in the family, gas and maintenance would easily cost about 8k/year. Subtract 28k from 93k and you're left with 60k.
Now let's say your bills (utilities, basic cable, hoa, etc.) cost $6k a year and you have a pretty basic family phone plan that costs $2k/year. Let's also say your family spends $150/week on food (I know college students who manage that alone!) for the four of you and ends up spending $8k/year on food. Well, now we're left with 44k/year to spend on college for two children.
Assuming your family saved nothing while you were in college and made no non-essential purchases (new anything, vacation, even movies or clothes) your EFC is higher than your family can manage by 6k and you've got a sibling entering college and your parents were hoping to retire pretty soon.

Bottom line; 200k degrees are NOT manageable for an average family, unless your idea of "manageable" involves 60%+ in loans.

noimagination · 10-31-2009, 01:32 PM

Quote:

I still think publics should be evaluated based on in-state tuition, in which case, if your flagship U is top 10 for your intended area of study (which several top publics are), then it simply doesn't make sense to pay so much more to go out of state.

I disagree. Most students do not get to choose their state of residence. As such, it is a factor that cannot be controlled during the college search process. Comparing publics in different states based on IS tuition is ridiculous because the student either lives in that state or doesn't. IS tuition and fees at UMN comes out to $11,542, while the IS tuition/fees at Ohio State are ~$8,706. But OSU is not really cheaper unless one actually lives in Ohio, something that the student cannot control.

mom2collegekids · 10-31-2009, 02:53 PM

^^^

I agree. Many kids want to go OOS, so it's important to know/consider which state publics have reasonable OOS costs - especially since publics can rarely meet need for OOS students.

It's also nice to know which publics will give merit to strong OOS students to help reduce/eliminate those OOS costs.

BCEagle91 · 10-31-2009, 05:49 PM

Knowledge of regional programs are important too.

BTW, a friend's son was accepted to UMass Amherst Honors with about a decent scholarship to get the costs down to a bit more than in-state costs. The budget crises than hit and my guess is that he will be hit with $1,500 increases for the next few years. He also wonders if the Honors College will take funding hits too. He is somewhat questioning his choice as his son also had a very good scholarship at WPI.

aisgzdavinci · 11-01-2009, 01:29 AM

This is pretty bad.

Alexandre · 11-01-2009, 04:34 PM

"My kids' high school's German classes are full. There's an annual trip to Germany that many kids go on. My kids' high school offers...Spanish, Latin, German, and French. French is the least popular; it's become a "girl language" here - no boys ever take it."

That's too bad mom2collegekids. Culturally and politically, French is the second most significant language on Earth. Economically, France is the second or third largest Economy in Europe (they swap places with the UK depending on the year and the currency conversion). Even demographically, France (and the UK) will overtake Germany as the most populous state in Europe by 2060. France is the only country in Europe with a growing homegrown population whereas Germany has one of the lowest fertility rates in Europe. The UK's population growth is more a function of immigration. In 2060, it is expected that France and the UK will have populations that will top 75 million while Germany will have a population of 70 million.

elizabethh · 11-01-2009, 08:05 PM

What scared me most when I read the article in the NYtimes this morning was the prediction that many who would have attended privates will now be looking state flagships instead to save money. I am assuming these would be in-state students vs. OOS, since as noted earlier many state schools OOS tuition is near private level. My son has only applied to OOS state schools, plus two Cal States just for safety purposes - but I really don't want him at school in California, things being the way they are - plus we feel very strongly about going OOS for college. I am concerned that state schools are becoming unreachable for average (B/C) students...so where will they go???

pierrelourens · 11-02-2009, 01:56 AM

I just finished all my college applications.

To me, it seems all I can do is work hard for scholarships, hope I get into my #1, and form close relationships with my professors. They may be teaching bigger classes, but that certainly doesn't mean they are instantly worse. Besides, most of the practical knowledge I plan on gaining will be outside the lecture hall, anyway.

It's time to be positive. Look at the bright side: at least the US has all these great universities to choose from, in good times and bad. It honestly could be worse.

pierrelourens · 11-02-2009, 02:01 AM

Although some people dislike those in constant favor of public universities, take a look at this: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/02/ed...e.html?_r=1&hp

According to the NY Times, "almost every year, presidential salaries have gone up faster than inflation, and faster than tuition, which rankles some people on campus." ... NO KIDDING!

At least public universities are theoretically more scrutinized by their contributors.

mom2collegekids · 11-02-2009, 09:36 AM

>>>
That's too bad mom2collegekids. Culturally and politically, French is the second most significant language on Earth.
<<<<

that may be so, but I would think Chinese (Mandarin) might become the second most significant language on Earth.

BCEagle91 · 11-02-2009, 09:42 AM

> It's time to be positive. Look at the bright side: at least the US has all these great
> universities to choose from, in good times and bad. It honestly could be worse.

I like your attitudes. Things aren't as good as they used to be but public is still a great deal.

> At least public universities are theoretically more scrutinized by their contributors.

They provide more information on how they operate.

> almost every year, presidential salaries have gone up faster than inflation

Some of the value of college presidents is in how much money they can bring in from donors, government, companies and money in research grants.

Alexandre · 11-02-2009, 11:22 AM

"that may be so, but I would think Chinese (Mandarin) might become the second most significant language on Earth."

I would not dispute that. Chinese is already the second most significant language on Earth, but culturally, I don't think it can replace French.