@Schadret Where is that $$ going to come from bc it is a matter of perspective just how much $$ that is and just how much of an impact it will have on a family’s financial security. It also depends on the student and their ultimate goals. When I read CC, I always have to keep in mind that the majority of posters on CC live a completely different lifestyle with very different life goals than our family’s.
It makes a difference for our family and our kids’ options bc for us, it isn’t just that amt for 1 child. It is that amt times all of our kids. If you have a solid income and 1 or 2 kids, that amt may be doable, but maybe you have several younger kids or your financial situation may already stretched to the max and that amt is a tipping pt toward financial instability.
Fwiw, our older kids have all followed merit $$ to state flagships or state tech schools. It has not impacted their careers negatively. They have great jobs in their fields. Our current college sr is in the waiting stage for grad school admissions, so we’ll see if his flagship vs elite UG impacted him negatively.
For our college freshman who is majoring in international business, she has no desire to go into banking or live in NYC pursuing a high-powered career. Her personal goals are very different. So the perspectives of not being employable without an elite degree has to be filtered by “employed by whom where doing what”?
(Fwiw, I am the youngest of a large family. None of my siblings attended “elite schools.” We all attended our state’s flagships or lower ranked schools. As adults, our careers/lifestyles are far more reflective of personal goals/personalities/life choices than anything else. I would never opt for my wealthy brother’s life over mine. His lifestyle is not how I want to live *at all. *Equally, my staying-at-home mom of a very large family is not for others. My adult children’s lives equally reflect that sort of outcome. IOW, what is the view from your child’s life goal prism?)