Full pay is not average. Full pay means that your OOP costs are going to be around 70k for high end privates and around 30k for in state public schools. If you want to pay less, lots of good merit options outside of the top schools. There are even some lottery odds merit deals at some of the top schools.
Sorry…full pay could very well BE average for this family…if their income is in the $200,000 a year range…and they have one kid in college.
It completely depends on things we do not know. If you are very affluent then you might get zero financial help at many “top” schools. If your student is very qualified, in that case you may get significant merit at many schools. If your student is not highly qualified, then you may be “full pay” (either private or public) at most schools.
If your means are less, then the “tippy top” schools may give you significant financial aid so that your OOP is less than at publics. But only if your student is very qualified. There are many many variables. Many affluent (not rich) families choose to be full pay at privates. Many do not. There is no “average.”
Perhaps the correct question is what are families in this situation with multiple children willing to pay or do you feel is wise to pay per year for undergrad? She didn’t apply to Ivies, and she is a Psychology/Neuropsych major.
The schools and COA up for debate are as follows:
Tulane (with Merit) = $43,364/yr
UF OOS (without merit) = $43,408/yr
UGA in state (with Zell scholarship) = $18884/yr she doesn’t like UGA at all and we don’t either
Ohio State OOS Scholars program (with merit) = $29284/yr
University of Alabama Honors program (with merit) = $17532/yr
Troy State (full ride) = $6895/yr doesn’t offer a BS in her desired major- problematic for grad school
And if by some miracle she is accepted to UNC Chapel Hill later this month it would be $53100/yr
She is the oldest of our 6 children. We are not “rich”, but we do earn income that makes the EFC above the full COA at all of these schools. The only debt we carry is our home (purchased in late 2016 with 20% equity). As parents, we are not willing to take out loans for college, but we will have her utilize Stafford loans so that she has “some skin in the game”. If she maintains an agreed upon GPA and graduates on time, we intend to pay these off for her as a graduation present.
Our 2nd child is positive that he is enlisting in the Army after graduation, and the next child (currently in the 8th grade) will enter college the year after oldest D graduates from college (assuming she graduates in 4 years as planned). The other kids are toddler through elementary aged. We are young parents (35), and retirement is presumably at least 30 years out.
What would you do in this scenario?
it’s too bad you guys don’t like UGA. it would definitely be my choice.
tuitiontracker.org is another tool to track averages. very easy to use. it’s graphics show the trend year over year so you can extrapolate (esp since the data is a little old).
you may be interested in this post. it probably is the kind of discussion you’re after based on your last post:
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/1956080-to-parents-of-full-pay-private-college-students-p1.html
I know other parents are different, but I would try to offer the same total amount of financial support to each kid (including the one going to the army, with his education money saved up until he is done with the military). So how much can/do you have to spend in total? Can you count on secure future cash flow?
Even if you would be paying the average price at any of these schools, that’s not the best for your family. With 6 kids, I think it is time to decide that you will not have $200k for each of them for college. That is not reasonable or average or any other label you want - it is just not going to work. I only have two kids and it wasn’t reasonable for them to expect more than instate tuition level help from me. That’s where we set the budget and both live within the budget even though one attends a private school (COA $58k) and the other an OOS public (COA $27k). They receive merit aid, financial aid, take out loans, work, etc. to be able to go to the schools they wanted to attend. My budget didn’t (couldn’t) change.
@twoinanddone What do you think would be best then? These are the final COA from each school. Being a parent that has BTDT, what would you recommend?
If your daughter is looking at grad school, that is more money to consider. In our house it would be hard to justify $43-45k per year plus annual increases if there was grad school and other children. We offered to pay around highest instate rates for first child plus help with masters. She knew this going in and didn’t apply to schools that would be out of range after merit scholarships. For my son, he will be looking at different ranges of schools. He does not think he will be looking at masters and grad school. We may be willing to pay more for him.
Each family is different. A friend we know is willing to pay the higher costs for their child, but only at what they consider the top schools in the field their child wants to go into. They know they could be working for several years past retirement due to multiple children. It isn’t something our family would consider. In your specific case, we wouldn’t be considering anything above $30k, but that is our family. Good luck in your decision!
@jcmom716
That’s actually what we have discussed as well. $30k is an amount we feel comfortable paying without making lifestyle adjustments and/or changes.
Our D really likes Ohio State, which is just a hare under $30k OOS with her merit scholarship. I guess I am just finding myself second guessing Ohio for the higher end options of Tulane (will it be a vastly better experience for her at a smaller private?) or UNC-CH if she gets accepted (her long time dream school and one that is fairly prestigious for a public).
And I also second guess it Ohio vs. the cheapest option (that would still allow for grad school options) - U of Alabama (saves $10k/yr over Ohio, but Ohio is ranked #54 and Alabama is ranked #102. I would presume the quality of the education is better at Ohio, but I do not know if it’s $40k better over 4 years). Does anyone have any opinions there? Would you pay more for a state school ranked significantly better than another state school? And if so, how much more?
“I would presume the quality of the education is better at Ohio”
Don’t presume.
BTW, Ohio is the university in Athens, OH. Nobody (beside Brady Hoke) refers to OSU as “Ohio”.
In any case, are you comfortable spending $120K X 6 = $720K on the education of all 6 kids?
If you spend more, what do you tell your younger kids who get in to their dream school or something better than Tulane? “Sorry, kiddo, you’ll have to give up your acceptance to HYPSM; we blew all our savings on big sis’s college education, so it’ll have to an in-state public for you.”
Think that would sit well?
I apologize - I meant Ohio State.
Do you feel that there is a vastly different quality of education at the University of Alabama vs. The Ohio State University - specifically in the Psychology major?
On a child that is self-motivated, high achieving, and has worked very hard in school, we would be willing to move heaven and earth to help them attend the school of their choice. Not all of our children are that type of child. We will determine “fit” on a case by case basis. For example: 2 of our kids would be thrilled with our in-state schools and have no desire to go OOS.
Everyone is entitled to their own parenting philosophies, but we don’t think that every child’s situation is the same or will be equal. Some children’s education may cost vastly more. Some children may choose the cheapest option. Some may be fiercely independent and have no desire for parental assistance (my husband did this). Some may be eligible for full rides. Some may opt for living at home and attending community college. Some may choose a 30k/yr school, a 10k/yr school, or a 60k/yr school. No one has a crystal ball, so we will access on a case by case basis.
Large family dynamics are vastly different than that of 2-3 child households.
People with more direct experience of those two schools can answer, but IMO, no. Also, it’s honors at 'Bama but not OSU, right?
@GAcollegemom6 understand the predicament…second guessing comes with the territory! Would your daughter be happier at any of the schools besides UNC? That is extremely high price to pay and agree with @PurpleTitan to some degree as at the UNC rate, it will be hard for the younger ones if they know there is a huge discrepancy. Not all kids know/compare costs but how would you as a parent feel if you leave that much less for each child?
Has she visited all schools? To me this might come down to fit after finances. If you set the budget and are willing, let her decide what is best fit and she could pay you back for the difference. This may be an option with my son in year. You then have to decide the budget, and stick to it :).
Yes, she would be in Honors at Alabama and she would be in the Scholars program at OSU.
indeed…do not make assumptions.
Ohio State is a very good research flagship university. Very good.
What is she planning to study?
@thumper1 Psychology or Neuroscience. She also plans to double major in biology.
Honestly…she can major in psychology or biology anywhere. And many schools have neuroscience courses to take.
Any of the research universities you have posted about would be fine.
Did she apply to your instate flagship also?
She did, and was accepted EA to UGA.
She disliked UGA strongly after both the junior year visit and the accepted student day visit this spring (her dad and I didn’t like it either). The atmosphere of bars and heavy emphasis on drinking really put her off. The bus system was a mess and she felt that the campus was too spread out to walk everywhere. She doesn’t like the “vibe” of Athens. Several of her friends that are current students told us that had they had the option/financial means to go elsewhere they absolutely would have - their parents just wouldn’t/couldn’t let them pass up free tuition with Zell. Generally the only thing any of us liked about it was that it would save some money (though not as much as you’d think considering the fact that she would rush a sorority if she went there). I value fit over cost - I don’t have any desire to send her to a school where she doesn’t want to go and doesn’t think that she would be successful or enjoy. Also, I appreciated the fact that she spoke up about it feeling like an environment that felt unsafe/unhealthy for her.
I definitely have heard the reputation that UGA has a party school and I’m not trying to bait you, but I’m genuinely curious - wouldn’t Alabama be the same atmosphere of heavy drinking? It seems like it attracts the same demographic that UGA does.