I 100% feel you. Though we are comfortable now, we had some unexpected, rocky times and it seemed once we recovered stability post recession, my husband’s industry (commercial print) took a downturn and he went through several periods of un or under employment and my younger son’s ASD Diagnosis and subsequent therapy/appointments. Anything we had saved disappeared and our debt was manageable, but hurting our ability to save.
That being said, as soon as we were able, we consolidated all debt and put the amount we were previously paying above that one monthly payment to savings. It’s not much, at all, but it’s a little bit of help. We agreed to take out the loans for her and pay while she is in school plus two years at which point, if there is anything left, she will take it over… just in time for her siblings to start the process. We will have paid off the consolidation by then and be able to put more towards the loan than we can currently, so hopefully it won’t be too much.
With a few years ahead of you, you really can save more than you think!
@thumper1 what do you mean by competitive? What do we need to do to be able to compete. I know you’ve mentioned maintain good GPA and score well on SAT ACT. What enrichment can I do and have my kids do?
I know Khan academy was mentioned. I will get into that again.
@BuckeyeMWDSG May I ask what is the difference between OSU regional campuses vs Columbus?
Of course I am not zeroing in on OSU. I have explained to my kids that “dream college” may not be in the stars BUT they can hopefully get in if/when they go for graduate degree. I am glad they understand that our help is limited but I am doing my best.
If we have the ability to fully pay for our kids college their “dream school” is Rice University.
Location, size, tuition cost and popularity. The regional campuses are tiny compared to tOSU and offer a few 4 year degrees which differ based on campus, but not the hundreds available at main campus. Regional students are also able to buy football/basketball student tickets. But most students that apply to tOSU as a top choice are looking for a big urban campus, so they aren’t very likely to be interested in a small campus setting.
Have you run the net price calculator for Rice? They are one of the most generous schools.
“The Rice Investment, one of the nation’s most generous financial aid initiatives that increases access to an affordable, quality education for low- and middle-income students. Beginning in fall 2019 under The Rice Investment, middle-income families with typical assets will receive grant aid to cover full tuition if they earn up to $130,000 per year, and half tuition for families earning between $130,001-$200,000.” https://financialaid.rice.edu/thericeinvestment
We had no college savings either, but committed to squeezing $500 out of the budget every month starting January of our kid’s senior year of high school. The goal was to have tuition and fees for the fall semester at the community college all saved up in time for fall registration. She got lucky and was awarded a full tuition and fees scholarship at the CC, so we just kept on saving that $500 each month and put it toward her expenses when she transferred.
Look at your budget. What can you squeeze out of it? How long does it normally take for your husband to find a job again? Can you send some of your savings into an only-for-college account of some kind (not necessarily a 529, but maybe laddered CDs that come available in August and December when the tuition bills will hit)? And if there is a chance that your kids might end up at a community college for the first two years then transferring within the Ohio public system, go ahead and look at the articulation agreements for their potential majors and at scholarships that your commuting distance CCs might offer.
We took out a HELOC. I know, not ideal, but it works for us. With two kids in college at the same time (our middle kid took two and a half gap years), it’s the only way we could pay for them. A year from now, we’ll be done with tuition and can start chipping way at the debt.
I forgot to mention many students will do a campus change to Columbus after freshman year.
"Complete a degree or campus-change to Columbus
At a regional campus in Lima, Mansfield, Marion or Newark, you can:
Complete your entire degree program in up to 10 majors
Complete first- and second-year course work for many of Ohio State’s 14 engineering degree programs
Complete one to three years (depending on the major) worth of course work toward one of Ohio State’s 200+ bachelor’s degree programs before transitioning to Columbus to finish your degree
At ATI in Wooster, you can complete one of 33 career-focused associate degree and certificate programs that can be combined to match specific career goals."
@BuckeyeMWDSG Believe it or not, I have not tried Rice University NPC. Thank you so much for the information.
I know how expensive Rice is and since we have very little money for college we have completely took it of consideration.
Of course this part of your story jumps out. Is there no solution for his? No life coach? No other options, such as working for himself? My FIL had Aspergers (known after the fact) and he had to work for himself. He never would have lasted working for others. He became an independent insurance agent. His wife, (My MIL) was really the “face” of the agency, but he was the one with the license who took care of the details. She was the public interface.
Maybe have your oldest take the SAT this spring. It won’t count for college. This will give him some practice and you a baseline of his strengths. Make sure he signs up for the PSAT in 9th sand 10th grade. Sign up for SAT and ACT questions of the day and vocabulary word of the day apps. Those are free and sent to your phone. Big money is offered for high GPA’s and test scores.
@mom2collegekids There are help for his condition. Like you mentioned, life coach or therapy or maybe even medication. BUT he doesn’t even consider the thought of help or taking medications. His ego is so big. He doesn’t think there’s something wrong with him but the people around him instead. So yeah, that is another factor, actually a huge factor in planning and preparing for my kids college education.
I attended a “mini” freshman orientation. One of information shared was high school classes. What is the difference between AP classes vs honors classes vs college prep classes? Just an FYI, I was born and raised in Asia and went to school there. So these are all new to me.
Make sure your kid signs up for the PSAT in 11th grade for sure. That is the one used to determine National Merit status. It would be good to take the PSAT in 10th grade to get a sense of what the test is all about. I personally see no reason to take the PSAT as a ninth grader…at all.
Yes, the usual standardized test schedule (other than AP tests for associated AP courses) would be:
10th: optional PSAT
11th: PSAT to try for National Merit; SAT and ACT in spring, SAT subject tests at the end of the year for associated courses if the student is aiming for colleges that want SAT subject tests
12th: SAT or ACT retry (of whichever one is initially higher) if desired.
re: AP classes vs honors classes vs college prep classes
If there are three levels of classes offered, “college prep” will be the more basic version and “honors” will be a bit more difficult. Both of those will cover the material that is required by your state of residence for a high school diploma. Depending on the grading system that the school uses, the honors class might have a weighted GPA (an A = 5 points instead of the standard 4). If honors classes are weighted, normally AP classes are weighted too.
AP classes follow curricula defined by the College Board, and students who complete them can take nationally standardized exams. Depending on the results of the exams, some colleges will award college credit once a student has enrolled. Some high schools will require that a student complete the college prep or honors version of a class before enrolling in the AP version, but other high schools will allow students to enroll directly in the AP course without any previous exposure to that subject.
@2boysmom84 If you’re interested, there is a thread here on CC just for parents of kids who are starting HS next year. Since it’s your first time through the process, it might be helpful to interact with other parents who will be going through the same thing.
