<p>Please re-read my post… There’s no anger. We’re happy our kid got accepted. </p>
<p>Just trying to find a rational reason to pay the bill</p>
<p>Once you add the cost of “everything” at 55k per year (which it will be as the price inflates) and the opportunity cost of that money, the family-student group will be easily 250k poorer than we would have been without university, and 250k
poorer than other seemingly pretty good options</p>
<p>I’m not rich, 13 years in the military (thus relatively little savings) but got out transition ed to a very decent mid management job. Extravagance is not my style I’ve purchased 1 new car in my life. A Honda…
So there is some income— I must be exactly on the edge in terms of income. But if you look at last year, paying for princeton will require a contribution equal to 38 percent of my takehome pay from 2012</p>
<p>But with 3 kids inconveniently spaced 4 year apart, ensuring I will never receive any financial aid from anyone (if princeton didn’t, I know no one will). 38 percent of your takehome for over a decade makes you consider other options…because that’s not a bill it’s a criminal sentence!!. At some point it makes you have to consider UCL or the full rides in the USA. </p>
<p>Anyway, no one walks in anyone else’s shoes. I just think of you have the luxury of thinking of princeton or MIT, don’t worry you can’t go wrong. If I was making 30k a year of course the decision is easy. If I made 350k a year of course thei decision is easy. I’m just sitting at the inflection point of the maximum take home % contribution required by princeton. </p>
<p>I think I’m in a situation where i could go wrong… Either by choosing princeton and blowing an enormous hole in the family’s finances for years to come, or by choosing against and limiting the kids options (although I must say, I’ve seen no objective evidence that the p degree is worth a marginal 250k npv in 2017 dollars). </p>
<p>So, I hope you can see its not impossible to be in my situation. Seems real to me anyway. The education system in the USA is actually my largest tax as a middle class taxpayer… One no one talks about. O</p>