One caveat to @Mom2aphysicsgeek’s comment about grad school. Professional schools (law, medicine) charge tuition and there is little funding. For business school many I know used to have funding from employers but I don’t know if that is still true. Many PhD programs, excluding public health, have funding and tuition waivers so cost is minimal to none.
Simply not true. Employers in this country do place a lot of emphasis on what you studied and how well you did
I get it @britboyny , it is a cultural shift for you. A couple of things:
Are you now expats or green card local? This will make a difference in options. And is the student a citizen (we cannot assume the student is not).
Did you get any FA from Princeton at all? If your cost is $35k after FA, that is different than having to cash flow or borrow all $70k. Sorry if some of this seems invasive, or if some folks seem to be questioning your situation. But if the fact are all out, people can try to help.
Depending on what your student wants to study, where they go to school may not matter. But for some majors, you are right that P will open more doors.
If your kid accepted the Princeton offer then the Bing one us off the table.
You already know…you will need to pay Princeton any billed amount not covered by need based aid.
Since it’s May 12, clearly your decision was already made regarding the college choice.
The bravery is when you squarely deal with a common attitude, “Have your cake and eat it, too.” There have always been parents on CC who want to send their kids to pricey colleges. And posters who will tell you your kids must or they’re doomed. Lol, they’ll spend your money. If you can’t afford it, if you have other spending priorities, the solution isn’t huge loans.
The bravery is in the wisdom.
We live in NYS. Binghamton is a well respected school. You could send your child there then help them attend a more expensive grad school. If their undergrad is at Princeton and they decide to attend grad school, I think employers will pay more attention to the higher degree. That would mean paying out an enormous sum for a school as elite as Princeton or, if your ability to borrow runs out, getting the advanced degree at a Binghamton equivalent. I’d take the affordable school for undergrad and investigate what additional degrees, if any, your child needs after they get their degree and have a couple years of work experience.
I’m waiting to hear whether op applied for financial aid at Princeton. If they truly have a 250k income and only one house they should have received aid from Princeton - if they applied. The question about loans and local scholarships plus no mention of the May 1 deadline seem to indicate that the family isn’t well versed in the application process. In other words, op may well be able to afford Princeton once the financials are orteenout +which may require a gap year).
NYU 73k, UCLA 63k, P 67k.
Splitting hairs to call P a much better deal, if the money isn’t available.
And if 20k/ month isn’t rich, it’s certainly on the “way far side” of poor or struggling. It’s about top 4%.
What can you afford to pay?
@MYOS1634, Would they receive aid from Princeton if they earn $250k and own a business or other assets? OP has stayed they don’t qualify for aid, so it sounds like they applied for it. I don’t know what else might drive an EFC up – certain types of investment accounts? It seems like there must be something.
If they own a second home, have investments or a business.
If they have any of the above they have ways to increase cash flow to pay for college (rent second home, sell some shares…)
They could own the building the family business is located in as well.
We also don’t know if the parents take business deductions if self employed.
All we do know is…the date to choose college for matriculation was May 1. I just can’t imagine why this subject of cost is coming up ten days later.
No way is UCLA more expensive than Princeton.
Princeton tuition 47k… COA 67k
OOS UCLA tuition 41k … COA 63k
might just be an east cost finance thing (i ve consulted in finance for 20 years). theres an application list pile for ivys, and then for others. Theres intern programs for ivys and then for others. Im guessing the education between the top 50 universities is similar. Access to opportunities not so much.
Finance is different than other careers. I’ve read that some finance companies are leery of grads with high debt. What good is a degree from in Ivy if nobody dares to hire you?
Does your family own a business? If so, that may be why you’re not qualifying for much aid. Families in that position sometimes choose less expensive colleges to avoid racking up large amounts of debt.
Did your son pick P for the finance internships ? Is that his path or other interests drive him? He’s been focused on this through high school, his ECs and experiences match up? Or you and he think he can happily morph?
It’s very clear you want him at P. Not clear how you’ll pay without massive loans. As a finance person, you know various elements need be weighed. I think this is about *your perception * of ROI.
And you have 3 kids to get through college. Not just one.
Run the numbers.
I think your mind is set.
There are no separate “intern programs” for Ivy students. Lots of colleges in NJ and NY send kidson internships. So I wonder how much this is about prestige.
What does THIS mean? And what does itmhave to do with your ability to pay for Princeton.
And as noted above, with you income only…you should have received some need based aid from Princeton.
Look…it’s May 13. Your matriculation decision was supposed to be made to ONE college by May 1.
Did you commit to Princeton and send a deposit?
So…could you answer these questions…
- Did you complete all of the Princeton Financial aid application requirements ON TIME.
- Were you selected for verfication and did you complete that process if yes.
- Are you self employed? It sounds like you are as a consultant. Is your wife? Do either of you take business deductions for your business on your taxes...because if so, some of these might have been added back in as income.
- Did you contribute to a tax deferred retirement account in 2016? Is THAT amount included in the $250,000 you are saying is your income? The amount of your tax deferred contributions to retirement accounts in 2016 would be added back in as income for 2016 for financial aid calculations.
You kid will have access to opportunity no matter where he goes to college.
He will have far less ability to take some opportunities if he has $3000 plus per month loan payments to make when he graduates.
Like i said…if you think it’s going to be hard for YOU to pay his bills on $250,000 a year income…think about how hard it will be for him to pay $3000 plus a month in any entry level job.
When 18 year olds say they want a biz career and plan to borrow 100k to pay for college, we say…“That’s not business savvy, not the sort of thinking that successful finance folks cultivate.”
I can’t imagine an advisor suggesting families go into hock this way, this amount, with 2 more kids to go. Not the amount it seems you may borrow.
So what’s really the rest of this story? You have massive assets that preclude fin aid, but won’t or can’t tap them? Your other kids will go to SUNY or likely aren’t college bound?
On CC, we often aren’t comfortable with half a story.
A few thoughts here:
It’s May 13… Why this discussion now? Did your son choose Princeton? At this point you can either choose to take out loans… Or have the student take a gap year and apply to schools that would give merit. Binghamton would have been a great choice- I assume he made the scholars program and the school of management?
Worth noting that Princeton actually have their own loan program for parents with more attractive interest rates than Parent Plus or private loans. It doesn’t seem to be widely known.