Penn State worth 46K per year?

cptofthehouse
Mon, 08 Apr 2013 10:11:14 +0000

What we did is place a limit on what we were willing to spend and then let our kids pick. If it were going after the lowest cost, most of my kids could have gone for free and commuted to local schools, and, yes, still gotten a good solid education and most likely have been viewed the same by graduate schools. The one in college now who put his nose up to the local option and now knows a number of kids who went that route sees that it was a pretty good deal and kids are doing well and enjoying their lives with this choice. He picked differently. He also turned down SUNY Albany, and frankly from a major and career standpoint he would have been better off there or at the local school. He picked an OOS public because he liked that whole experience package that he could see getting there. So did his brother. So, yes, I am paying $35K for an OOS public and did the same for some privates for my other kids because I gave them that choice and they took it. How any family wants to deal with this is really a personal matter. It’s a bit tough on a kid when he thinks he has full choice and then all of a sudden parents are throwing the money aspect in the face when it wasn’t an issue up front. My kids had not trouble throwing out the schools that were $60K; those they knew were not affordable. But when they met the $35K mark that we had set out there, they just figured we’d keep our end of the deal. We did not say we were going to weigh the prices once we saw them. We said we’d pay $35K.

Clearly if my son had gone to Albany, we would have paid the whole thing, and anything he made summers and part time would be pure gravy. He could even get a car. We’d be able to pay for a lot f extras with the difference in cost. Had he commuted, he would have definitely gotten a car paid for by us, gladly and an allowance. He’d be one of the rich kids on campus. Instead, he scrimps, and is working part time during the year, looking at a cheap off campus place next year, and will be working this summer getting as many hours as he can, and his bank account is still going to be at low levels. We pay what we agree to do so, (and a little more, it always comes to more when you visit and pick up things for them) and he had to make up the difference. He took out some loans last year, but has paid 1/3 of them off and expects to do so by the end of the summer. He learned very quickly last year how things happen and you can end up needing more money than planned. He did not expect to have to borrow, but did when a combination of events struck. So far, fingers crossed, things are better this year.