US looming recession

[Tuitionsaver]

Will the US (seemingly) inevitable recession, crashing of markets, etc, affect the decisions parents are making this
and the next few years about where to send (and how much to pay for ) the kids to college??
What do the CC parents think?

[asdfjkl1]

I don't think the recession will affect my college decision. I mean, it's going to put more weight on financials but the economy has been shoddy for a while now. It's cycle and I can only hope it will be better in 2012!

[Nightingale]

I heard we are in for the worst economic downturn since The Great Depression...Editor of USNWR (I think) on one of those talking head Sunday news shows. Be afraid. Be very afraid.

[mamabear1234]

I am waiting until the last possible day to submit my FAFSA; my investments are going down at a rapid pace, maybe we will qualify for aid after all! Our 529's are supposed to move to more conservative investments as the kids get closer to college, we'll see if they did a good job preserving assests.

[Youdon'tsay]

*fingers in ears* LALALALALA.

[emeraldkity4]

I'm worried we are going to lose our house.
We were doing OK on house payments 7 years ago, but while putting D#1 thru college we were expected to tap equity- which we did, in order to pay college costs.
Even though we couldn't really make larger payments back to the loan.

Our home, because of the increases in overall property value in Seattle, has increased in assessed value about $20,000-$30,000- every year for the last 15 years. What we pay out in property taxes also has gone up accordingly- anytime they want to get funds for anything, property taxes are raised.( this is a <1000 sq ft house, 108 years old- we still have fuses- downsizing isn't feasible unless it is to living in our car)
We now pay about 3 times our mortgage payment in property taxes.

Then I read that they are going to raise property taxes in the biggest increase in state history.

We already lost much investment with the downturn 10 years ago, I really don't know what to do with whats left.

[Youdon'tsay]

I'm sorry, emeraldkity.

To answer sincerely, because I haven't had one in college yet and my child is just a sophomore, I can't say that I know what I would do differently. This morning first thing, I called and got my 401k balance, just to see how bad it's gotten.

I do think another discussion might be in order with my child, however, about how much we can realistically pay for education.

[mammall]

I really wish rhetoric like the title of this thread would get toned down a bit. Markets are social constructs - they responde to hype and stampede mentalitiy. Not saying to just whistle past the proverbial graveyard but nothing is served by adding to the sense of unease at this moment.

In truth, the American economy has proven itself remarkably resilient over many decades now. There are safeguards in place that we did not have in 1929. I think this is one of those moments when we all need to act our age and be reasonably good citizens and not broadcast our anxieties. Rember the dot com bust not so long ago? As I recall we all rebounded quite nicely from that one.

[GoBlueAlumMom]

mammall-- You obviously don't live in Michigan. Recession is not "looming" here, it's a brutal fact.

[mammall]

GoBlue - not denying regions of our country are in recession. Just feel as if drawing parallels to THE GREAT DEPRESSION does not help anyone. In fact, it can hurt us all. A lot of the market is driven by crowd mentality. If the media fans the flames of a panic and we all respond from our guts instead of our brains - yeah - it could get bad.

[northeastmom]

For us, it is not the recession, crashing market, etc. that will effect our college choice, but the actual cost of attending college and more than likely without the needed financial aid, that will dictate where our son attends college. I am sure those very factors are what keep people from attending college at all.

[drizzit]

Well it does reaffirm my decision to not take out any loans for my sons colleges. They went where they would be debt free when they graduate.

several schools did meet EFC but quite a few colleges where eliminated due to weak financial aid.

Large Loans are pure poison in a weak economy imho

[mammall]

Agree that debt avoidance is really important. I view colleges take on what our family can pay for tuition much as I view mortgage lenders take on what we can afford in a house -- crazy!

[emeraldkity4]

Rember the dot com bust not so long ago? As I recall we all rebounded quite nicely from that one.


well perhaps some have and thats great- the only investment we have is from a retirement account through H employer- much of their investments went south before 9/11- after 9/11 H was laid off and rehired at a lower pay scale, only now making what he was in 2001- in 2008 dollars.

I admit I don't understand very much about economics- perhaps you could explain what safety nets are in place to protect people from being out on the streets.

[M'sMom]

I'm regretting my decision to allow my son attend a selective top 20 USNWR school at a cost in excess of $45k (about half that to us because of scholarships) when he could have gone to the local State U for nothing. Education costs have gone up every year (his school just announced another big hike) and our wages aren't beginning to keep up. He's halfway done now so unless things really get bad, we'll tighten up to let him finish there because it is a good fit. My real problem is his younger sister who is a HS junior. She thinks that she is entitled to go to a selective school like her brother. Problem is she doesn't have the grades and test scores he had and our finances are tighter now. There's no way we could afford to send her to the same type of school. She isn't going to think it is fair but that's just the way it is going to be.