Commuting from home to save money for future grad school, college counselor disagrees

[SteveMA]

DeskPotato--assuming those are 529 funds, it makes sense assuming they are "average" wage earners.

I have to agree that you may end up paying more for one child and less for another. Our son's GPA and ACT scores are slightly higher than DD's, but that little bit extra qualifies him for a LOT more merit aid....but our DD is a recruited athlete so it may offset that. We have a max we will pay for either of them and they need to get their finances in line with that, but if they don't need all of that, we certainly aren't going to just give it to them either.

[boysx3]

Op, I am glad to see how well you are thinking up options in advance.

I am just curious, though--does your plan include a car for each boy so they can each maintain their own schedules? So many things take place on campuses at odd times--my sons' intramural teams had games at midnight, a lot of study groups and review sessions were at 11 pm., etc.

Would it be worth your while to investigate renting a small apartment for the boys to share near the campus, rather than dorming? Thinking of time savings/convenience/worry about driving distances on the roads in the winter or late at night when tired.

[LBowie]

Just a brief comment regarding graduate school: are you aware that in the sciences, (and perhaps other fields, though I am less familiar with those) often usually are very few to no expenses? Many programs cover tuition, and provide a stipend for living expenses in either grant, teaching assistantship, or research assistantship form. Here is a random example from Boston University's interdisciplinary molecular biology program:
Financial Aid Molecular Biology, Cell Biology & Biochemistry Program | Boston University
Other universities will be very similar. Plus there are outside awards, like the National Science Foundation graduate fellowship and others. Again, I don't know what it's like in other disciplines -- I am most familiar with chemistry and biology programs (for PhD) -- but for these the student does not need to pay much, maybe just a little extra for living expenses if in a high rent city like New York, San Francisco, Boston ...

Of course, if they go into a professional field, they may not get such nice awards. A colleague of mine in a healthcare field is paying off $200K in student loans.

[1214mom]

Congratulations - you have done a great job saving for your sons' college education.
I do disagree with you limiting their choices at this point, but having a talk about how much you are willing to spend is important. If you discuss loans, I suggest you put the money in practical terms, explaining the amounts they'll need to pay and comparing that to other things, like rent, car payments, etc. I don't recall seeing SAT scores here, but it's possible they may get great scholarships from private schools, which could make them as cheap or cheaper than out of state publics. If you're expecting them to drive a long way to school, and you can reasonably afford them living on or near campus, I think it might work better. If they do all wind up together, the idea of renting near school is smart. I think it's already been mentioned, but often you get better scholarship going in as a freshman than transfering. I actually disagree with the concept of "we'd make it happen" for Harvard, Stanford, etc. I told my son it was simply NOT worth paying tons of money for an undergraduate degree, and I would not sign for huge loans, especially when he will likely want to go to grad school. We went for somewhat less prestigious schools, and hoped for big scholarships. If you look at school's common dats sets, section H I believe, you will get a pretty good feel for merit scholarships.
Good luck... I don't envy you navigating this process with three at the same time.

[weatherga]

I have triplet nephews+niece (hello IVF) who are now juniors in college. They live in a large city which has a couple of well regarded public universities. They had their choice of those. They're all doing well, at the same school but with very different majors, and all still living at home. Most families have financial limits on what can be afforded for college. Naturally, those limits affect triplets more. However, commuting to a good university is not a bad fate!

[colorado_mom]

"commuting to a good university is not a bad fate!" - Yes, But the grind of a 45 minute commute each way is not trivial, especially in bad weather. The working folk that do it typically don't have hours of evening homework.

[oldfort]

I don't think GC was out of line. It got OP thinking, even if the boys end up in CO, it's done after full analysis.

I would encourage the boys to go to different schools and live on campus. Son #1 will have a lot more options. He should be able to get a full ride at some good privates if he wants to go next tier down from tippy top schools. Are the boys considering Williams, Amherst, Pomona, Colgate...some great LACs? If would be a shame for son #1 to end up at U Colorado.

There is nothing wrong with 20-40K student loans if it means attending better schools. Employment opportunity can be greater, and quality of education is certainly different.

[oldfort]

I don't have triplets, so I am probably speaking out of turn too. In this case, I would go with CC's popular advice - tell your kids how much you are willing to pay and let them decide where they want to go. They can't get a large loan without you as a co-signer.

If your kids need FA, I wouldn't apply any where ED so you could compare all FA before making a decision.

[SteveMA]

oldfort--I wouldn't encourage the kids to go to different schools unless that is what they want. People that do not have twins/triplets, etc. are always trying to separate them. That is not always a good thing. There is often a very special bond between multiples that if you don't have some of your own, you don't fully understand. It could be detrimental to send multiples to separate schools, it just depends on the kids. We have twins, the hardest adjustment they will have going off to school is not seeing each other all the time. They are not really "dependent" on each other but having the other close is important. They may end up at the same school, which will be the best thing for them, but they may not. I am very worried about what will happen if they do end up at different schools, more so than I am worried about them being away from home and us.

[oldfort]

SteveMa - you are your twins mom, so you would know what's best for them. I have 2 girls 5 years apart. The younger one is at her sister's alma mater now. Even with such large Uni (13K UG), from time to time people would say to her, "Don't you have an older sister...," especially since they had similar EC. I think if they were closer in age, I would have discouraged strongly for her to attend the same school. No matter how close you are with your siblings, the likelihood of them living close to each other later in life is not that great.

[SteveMA]

oldfort--baby steps though. Attending the same school still means they are not living in the same house, won't see each other as much and gives them time to adjust to that slowly. We can't really kick one kid out now so they can deal with this before college. They were apart for 3 weeks this summer and that was VERY hard on them. Again, it isn't the same thing as having 2 kids (or more). These kids have been together since conception They very well may end up at different schools. They have applied to some of the same schools though.

Even now they have different friends, don't really hang out together but they still NEED to see each other. Even if one of them is gone overnight or for a weekend, they hole up in one of their rooms to catch up. I am sure if they end up at different schools Skype will be a daily occurrence for them.

[colorado_mom]

" If would be a shame for son #1 to end up at U Colorado. "

CU Boulder might be a fine choice. Many of the IB/AP students (even Val) from top CO hs attend CU. Some would prefer to be further from home, but the university in their own back yard has a lot to offer and gives a lot of bang for the buck.. Many do end up living on campus (and then later near campus), even when they live 20 min away.

[tk21769]

After skimming this thread, my 2 cents worth is this:

1. The OP's plan (focusing on UC-Boulder and back-up commuter schools) is basically sensible. Nobody should pressure you to consider private or out-of-state schools just for the sake of prestige. However ...

2. The OP has a gap between his ~$18K EFC and the $26K COA at UC-Boulder. This becomes a rather significant gap when we're talking about 3 kids, not one. So the question becomes: how likely is UC-Boulder to cover that gap? On average, it does cover ~89% of determined need. 10% of a $8K gap is $800 for each kid ... which strikes me as manageable (from campus and summer employment, student loans, or even the Mitt Romney "Just borrow the money from your [grand]parents" approach.)

Still, I think the case for out-of-state or private schools can be made on financial grounds (at least as much as on academic grounds). A well-endowed private school may wind up being cheaper to attend, after aid, than UC-Boulder. It's not just that there are ~50 schools that meet 100% of determined need. You also need to consider how much of their aid packages come from grants v. "self help" aid (loans and work-study). At Boulder, the average self-help award is $5600/year. At private Colorado College (which isn't even one of the ~50 "full-need" schools) the average self-help award for entering freshmen is ~$3600/year, and the average need-based aid package covers 97% of determined need.

Need-blind admission - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This list includes many schools besides the tippy-top, high prestige brand names where you can expect smaller classes, nicer facilities, and perhaps a more serious intellectual atmosphere - in addition to lower net costs - than you'd find at many in-state public universities.

Bottom Line: I recommend the OP stick with his plan, focusing on UC Boulder plus local back-ups ... but also add a few selective private schools. Then see what shakes out in the Spring.

[Consolation]

Bottom Line: I recommend the OP stick with his plan, focusing on UC Boulder plus local back-ups ... but also add a few selective private schools. Then see what shakes out in the Spring.

I think that post #58 gives excellent advice. The schools that the OP says he is willing to see the kid go into debt for are, ironically, the schools least likely to require significant debt. (I would also strongly suggest looking at some elite LACs--especially for #1-- that tend to meet need without large loans, such as Williams, Amherst, Bowdoin, Swarthmore, and Pomona.) Since you don't know exactly how each school will address the triplet situation, throwing a couple of merit schools for each into the mix would not hurt. Agree with the point made above that the $$ required for each kid is not the same.

If you do end up with all three kids at UC Boulder, I would try to have them live on or near campus. Get rid of at least 2 of the cars, and put the money towards living expenses.

[SteveMA]

tk21769-the OP stated that they have savings enough to cover 33K/kid/year.