<p>*Here is the scenario as I see it. Private colleges charge ridiculously high tuition, but no one pays sticker price. Almost everyone gets some sort of merit scholarship, just like they all got T-ball trophies when they were 5 years old. *</p>
<p>I’ve never had that view of college- was there perhaps a movie that I missed? ;)</p>
<p>*Just completed the FAFSA and our EFC is slightly more than 30 percent of our yearly income, so I feel like it was a complete waste of our time. *</p>
<p>It is usually 1/4 to 1/3 of before tax income. It may be a surprise if you have been thinking that the student and their family are not the ones primarily responsible for the costs of further education- but unless we choose to increase taxes- I don’t see where else the money would come from.</p>
<p>It isn’t a waste of time if your child attends a school that requires freshmen to apply for aid if their circumstances change in later years & they need more help. It also isnt a waste of time if you want your child to have buy-in by taking out loans to help pay for the cost of their education.</p>
<p>I agree with about that taking out full Stafford loan every year, is not a burden- or shouldn’t be compared with the trade off.
That would probably be more than $20,000 after 4 years- but often times it is at least partially subsidized while the student is in school .</p>
<p>When families view education as a priority, they start planning early to prepare for college costs. Our family did this, even though we had to use some of our savings ( it wasn’t in a 529) for living expenses after almost two years of buying groceries with money earned from mowing grass & babysitting.
Neither I nor my H had attended a 4 yr college & we knew that we wanted our kids to have that opportunity.
We bought savings bonds, we asked friends & relatives to do so in lieu of presents & we were very involved in their education.</p>
<p>When it came time to selecting a school, we were quite aware of costs and had researched public instate options as well as neighboring states that had an exchange agreement. Those are ways you can save quite a bit of money.</p>
<p>Another way to save on college expenses is by using AP tests scores for college credit- or even by using credit earned while in high school & taking classes at the community college.
My older daughter, while she received a generous aid package at her LAC which met 100% of need, also took community college courses during the summer to save money & also to allow her to take a slightly lighter course load during the school year.</p>
<p>Other students take the first two years of college at a community college then transfer- I have known students whose families did not qualify for financial aid do this.
They were able to save a great deal by attending the CC, and then could afford to be full pay at schools like UChicago & Oberlin.</p>
<p>I’ve also known students who have enrolled in honors colleges at their state flagships- saves lots of money when your higher education goals don’t stop with a B.A.</p>
<p>When you have a goal, in order to be successful, you have to have a plan- generally the plan doesn’t include throwing your hands up at the first obstacle but reevaluating a strategy.
Sounds like nows the time. :)</p>