<p>College help…are you a parent or a student? You sound like you are very biased and misinformed. There are plenty of very smart students at public universities around this country. Most public universities have honors colleges as well. </p>
<p>You make it sound like public university students are all slackers and private university students are all stars. Sorry, but this is simply not true.</p>
<p>If your family can afford to send you to a private university, or are willing to go into debt so you can, fine. But this is not what many people feel is necessary to get a good college education.</p>
<p>There is a fascination you seem to have for select, elite schools. There are a ton of very successful folks out there who did not go into debt to attend a select school.</p>
<p>The notion that you MUST attend a top 30 school to have a successful and rewarding life is just plain poppycock!</p>
<p>I’m thinking OP is in a “can afford it” situation. Perhaps able to pay full freight and wondering why thse messy folks outside the castle gates just don’t eat cake.</p>
<p>And if he is not financially able and thinks it’s this simple, whoa…</p>
<p>A family that has not been able to sock away adequate savings for expensive college can ill afford to be taking out loans so close to retirement.</p>
<p>Assuming the OP is being honest and is a parent, I feel our biggest obligation is to be sure that WE have our financial futures secure so we won’t be a burden on them. This can mean different things to different families. Borrowing significant amounts of money for the education of children can be a very poor choice if there are other reasonable choices and not something to lightly or blithely agree to. </p>
<p>I am like many posters here and am not in the position to even realistically consider taking out any 30 year loan. It’s too long a time frame for me and H. Taking a large principal amount over a shorter time period would result in MUCH higher monthly payments. </p>
<p>There are many who are being forced out of the workforce before they intend to retire for reasons beyond their control. It is not a good time, in my mind, for folks to load themselves with debt.</p>
<p>OP, $340 is 6.8% of 5,000,(.068<em>5000) not .67% (.0067</em>5000). </p>
<p>Why am I not borrowing $80k per kid for college? So my kids don’t have to support me in my old age. I could use another $340/mo in my 401(k). </p>
<p>Besides, $80k amortized over 30 years at 6.41% (current Parent Plus loan rate) is $500.93 per month. Multiply that times 30 years and you are paying $180,334.80.</p>
<p>Despite the 6000 plus posts…I will say this thread is trolling for responses. This poster has more than 5000 of his posts on the college search and selection forum where he has posted extensively about the same topic…select school or bust.</p>
<p>I’m not agreeing with the OP, but will say this…</p>
<p>Many middle class families don’t have enough money to fund their kids’ college educations with just savings and current income and may need to borrow SOME of the costs, just like they borrow money to buy a house and car. I know that was our situation and we did take out Parent Plus Loans, as we want the obligation to be on us, as parents, rather than our kids, to pay for college (though we don’t believe in supporting the kids once they graduate college). Where I differ from the OP is that this is my general stance, and NOT in order to afford a more “elite” college, but merely ANY college. We didn’t take out loans in order for the kids to go to a “better” college, but would have for them to attend any school. Actually, some of the more elite schools even have better financial aid (my kids qualified for need based aid). Anyway, I think for many people, they don’t have enough funds to pay for college out of pocket and savings for all their kids and do have to borrow some money. But I don’t think this should be tied to WHAT school they attend, but merely being able to provide a college education, period.</p>
<p>correction: $340/mo is actually 6.8% of $60K annual income…sorry</p>
<p>Why would you want to saddle your children with college debt when you can take on the debt? Parents should do everything they can to get their kids off to a good start in life. </p>
<p>Some of you missed the part about selective privates actually being LESS expensive than publics for middle and low income families…</p>
<p>As I said before, I am not talking about families who would go into financial ruin by incurring debt because of unemployment or underemployment. On the other hand, private school give more aid to such families. I’m more concerned about parents who are unwilling to make some sacrifices and adjustments so their child can attend a better school. It is the parents, many times, who have the sense of entitlement. </p>
<p>I think I would do just about anything to get my child off to a good start. Some parents make their kids sound like villains who are trying to rob them of their worldly comforts.</p>
<p>mmmm—$60,000/yr. You’re figuring $5,000/month income. Minus $340/month for the loan and you say that leave $4,660 left to cover everything.</p>
<p>Lot’s of flaws in the above scenario. Take out taxes and FICA, you’re not left with the $5,000/month actual take home income. Don’t forget to shell out thousands of dollars/yr. for property taxes. Don’t forget to shell out big bucks for medical insurance. Don’t forget to figure in costs of electricity, cable TV, internet, cell phone, GROCERIES TO FEED A FAMILY/month, Car insurance, Homeowners insurance, Life insurance, Gas for the car/cars, a haircut for each member of the family every 6 weeks or so, throw in the cost of eyeglasses, car repairs, dentists, unexpected illnesses, etc. Do you really have a clue how much it costs to live/month? Now, add on to that the $340/month for 30 friggin years just so you can say you attended an “elite private” college. Heck, if you want to do it, fine for you, but not everyone sees an “elite private” college education as a need. There is a big difference between a need and a want.</p>
<p>Selective privates are not really less than instate publics unless you are attending a school that gives you enough merit aid.
Generally merit aid reduces need so even if you are lucky, it is a wash.
If you are an attractive student & are offered enough merit to reduce your EFC, it is also likely that the public school will find merit aid for you as well.
However it’s possible that the merit award may be tied to GPA which can be difficult to maintain & which some schools count on.
If a school doesn’t meet 100% of need, they may offer a package to freshmen that they don’t repeat in subsequent years.</p>
<p>My kids did have a good start. It came in the years birth - 19.
That prepared them to make the most of their path as a young adult, and by paying my EFC and no more, gave me the flexibility to absorb the bumps in the road.</p>
<p>OP: Most parents would love to be able to send their children to the school of their dreams. But reality is that many of us started out paying back student loans of our own, perhaps then paid for grad school, bought a decent house in a nice neighborhood with good schools so you, our children, would get a great education. That came (at least on the east coast) at a fairly high cost of property taxes, commuting. Then add in the cost of raising you, our precious children - everything from clothes to sports fees to summer camp and music lessons. Vacations that will build family memories. The money doesn’t go that far.</p>
<p>We are also trying to save for our retirement. Personally, I am not planning to sacrifice comfort in my old age to a “name” college. I agree that if parents can, help a child get an education at a good college. But not at the expense of retirement money.</p>
<p>Life is not fair. You might as well figure it out now. Hopefully, you will be financially successful enough to send your child to a top school without having to worry about the cost. Many of us are not in that position.</p>
<p>Well, you can quibble about the details, but…</p>
<p>I just had dinner with my wife and daughter (recent grad of top 50 University.) I saved for my three kids’ college educations while they were children, paid while they were in college, and will in a few months have paid off all the loans taken out in their (and our) names to pay the bills for their educations during those years. (D is the youngest.) I’m currently eligible to receive social security but am still working.</p>
<p>We were talking about her friend who graduated from the same U a couple of years ago. Parents: doctor with six figure income, Mom with six figure alimony. They stuck him with the college loans. (Said they’d pay them off, didn’t.) Who here has a sense of “entitlement?” While acknowledging that I haven’t walked in their shoes, I question the decisions made by these parents.</p>
<p>The difference in cost between a top school and a second- or third-tier one isn’t that great. College is a crapshoot in every case: not every kid graduates, not every one who graduates takes full advantage, etc. But investing in a better school tends to pay off. What else are you saving your money for? A condo in Boca? A fifth cruise to Cozumel? A new car even though the old one still works OK? Every spending decision is an exercise in value judgment. While spending $100,000 more to move “up” from rank 35 to rank 25 is a decision I’d question, if a kid has the option to attend a top tier school instead of Podunk State and the “extra” cost is less that than $10,000 per year (and the family has enough resources that the difference isn’t covered by financial aid) I’d say the OP has a point.</p>
<p>This has to be a joke. If you think three decades of debt is worth it, YOU take out the loans and stop waiting for your parents. They raised you and now you are 18 and can enter your own contracts with sallie mae. Don’t worry, you’ll only be 50,when you pay them off!</p>
<p>College help…not every student is going to even get accepted at those generous schools where the costs MIGHT be less than a public university. These schools accept 15% or less of those who apply. The first hurdle would be getting accepted. The generous aid does you no good if you are in the 85% or more who are rejected from these colleges. So…let’s get real about that too.</p>
<p>We flatly refused to take out loans for our kids to go to college. They took out the maximum Direct Loans. The debt was theirs.</p>
<p>A “better” school does not necessarily mean more expensive.
Lots of variables that go into college choice.
For instance one of Ds friends attended Barnard for a few years, but it just wasn’t a good fit, she transferred to our state flagship where she was much happier & just as hard working.
I’ve actually known quite a few students who have started out at a small east coast university, and transferred to a larger, often public school to finish.
Not money related, although they did often realize that there wasn’t as much difference as they thought.</p>
<p>If the elite school is cheaper after financial aid grants, then why are you framing the question in terms of taking $80,000 more loans for the student to attend the elite school, which implies that the elite school is that much more expensive?</p>
<p>You have participated at this site since 2005, and you still find a need to ask this question? Surely you should have learned something about parents and money in the past eight years!</p>