<p>Daughter had a full ride at a small LAC. It was not her top choice. We are paying 100% at an Ivy.</p>
<p>Paying 75% of COA at an LAC. Am looking forward to having no kids in college when we can direct that money to retirement.</p>
<p>DD : we paid 100% at top private LAC</p>
<p>DS : we paid 100% at Ivy</p>
<p>Paid 100% for both even though they had 2 years overlap at college.</p>
<p>Both kids were accepted at our state’s flagship university, Berkeley, but chose to attend the more expensive options.
No regrets.
Currently, DD is attending top 10 MBA program with 66% tuition scholarship.</p>
<p>when our S graduates from college hopefully in 4 years, he will owe about 20K in loans. The balance is being paid for by us Mom and Dad. He attends a private top 15 college.</p>
<p>I’m feeling low income around here. We paid about 35% at a private LAC for D1. The rest was need based aid – mostly grants, but also included Stafford loans.</p>
<p>We’re paying 75% of son’s public U costs.
He is paying/borrowing the other 25%.
He’ll have about $17,000 in Stafford loans at graduation. We may choose to pay them if he pursues graduate degree right after (on his dime).</p>
<p>S is attending a small, private LAC that has no financial aid other than work study–which we did not appy for. The total cost (tuition/fees/room/board) is $27,000/year. We are paying 90% and making S pay 10% from his high school and summer earnings. Though his school is a “great value” for a private school, it still hurts. We let him turn down full rides at all his other schools–Ouch. He’s a sophomore and my regret is increasing. . . Kid #2 assured me that if she gets a big scholarship, she’ll take it.</p>
<p>Paid 100% for oldest at private U. Paid about 90% at a private LAC for middle child. Paid 100% at private U. for 2 years and now 100% at state U. for youngest.</p>
<p>Currently paying 95% for DS at top ten LAC, up from 50% from last year with 2 in college.</p>
<p>We’re paying 100% at an Ivy. </p>
<p>Or. to put it another way, DS has a 95% athletic scholarship (parentally funded – and grandparently backed) and is earning about 5% of the cost himself during the summers.</p>
<p>D1: Paid 100% at Ivy.</p>
<p>D2: Full merit scholarship at a good private school, plus National Merit & Robert Byrd scholarships that take care of about 40% of room & board - so we wind up paying about 60% of room & board.</p>
<p>MOWC - LOL on the 100+%…</p>
<p>Do winter clothes for a previously Californian kid count in this?</p>
<p>We paid 100% out-of-state tuition for the first two, 100% Ivy tuition for our older S and about to pay 100% tuition for our younger S. </p>
<p>I’ll settle for a thank-you from any one of the four as a reward.</p>
<p>We pay 40% at a private womens college for DD. I consider that a bargain. Yes, we got very, very lucky as we pleaded for a retabulation of income based on some very complicated things (like NCP stuff). </p>
<p>My suggestion to anyone who feels their EFC isn’t calculated properly is to contest. You might just get lucky.</p>
<p>We’re now working on the next kid who is a current senior and looking at the same sort of private school situation as his sister. I’m hoping that by having my kids back to back (yeah, Irish twins), it might actually finally pay off in the split EFC thing. I’m waiting to see how this whole thing turns out.</p>
<p>We basically paid 50% of the total COA (cost of attendance) 3 for private educations. </p>
<p>S-1 attended a fine LAC with a big endowment that met l00% of EFC. He brought in a Robert Byrd Scholarship and a performing arts scholarship from his high school, took a modest student loan, and worked campus jobs for 4 years. He turned down a private university that would have taken his outside scholarships and subtracted them from his need-based aid. The one he attended met l00% of need and considered anything he brought in himself as “gravy.” </p>
<p>Two years later, D entered another fine LAC that didn’t quite meet l00% of EFC. She was eligible for, and took out a modest federal student loan and worked summers for 4 years.</p>
<p>S-2 attends a midsized private university which funded 25% based on need and another 25% for merit. He was eligible for, and took out a student federal loan so the repayment is slow and manageable. He’ll begin his student job in second semester of freshman year, because we wanted him to gain a solid footing academically before starting work. </p>
<p>For S-3 we have cross-country travel expenses but since he attends college in California we just sold all of his sweaters to pay for the plane trips. ;)</p>
<p>Sore point for parents - could have paid 100% at a private, son ended up at a public U, guess we’ll have extra for retirement with the money saved.</p>
<p>I’m sleep deprived so this whole thing is not very scientific …but here’s how it breaks down as far as the percentages being paid toward the COA by either parents, students, or a combination thereof.<br>
100% 21 respondents
95% 6 respondents
80% 2 respondents
75% 5 respondents
60% 2 respondents
50% 6 respondents
40% 3 respondents
20% 7 respondents
0% 2 (very lucky) repondents
51 out of the 56 responses thus far have mentioned the percentage they were paying. A little over 40% are paying 100% But… take heart, about 36% are paying 50% or less.</p>
<p>100% at private top 20 university. We decided to have daughter apply ED because we were afraid she wouldn’t get in RD. After she was accepted ED she got very nice merit aid at a few other good schools but we think the school she’s attending is the best fit for her.</p>
<p>Paying the money hurts but she deserves it because we moved her a lot for my husband’s career so she kind of earned the money.</p>
<p>We’re paying the full OOS tuition at a wonderful public for S #1&ONLY. Like many of the children of parents on this thread, there were other schools he could have attended for free or for substantially less, but he fell in love.</p>
<p>Our EFC was/is highly amusing, but not in a good way.</p>
<p>I’m paying 0% of son’s OOS private LAC tuition, room, board, fees, travel. 100% need-based aid to the point of the usual freshman loan and workstudy, then another need-based “Presidential Scholar” award to fill in that. In October he got the federal ACG money, which puts him within about $300.00 of COA + incidentals. </p>
<p>So far I have paid for transporting son and his stuff to campus in August, Ikea room decor, 5 dozen cupcakes on his birthday, a haircut during his recent 24 hour visit and a several pounds of beef jerky. (No, really.)</p>