how much will DDs college actually cost?

[GoodLiving]

And you wonder why this country is divided.

I sure hope you're also going to be just as upset about the forgiven loans for the PPP. https://www.pandemicoversight.gov/da...ection-program

[moneybags]

We ideally don't want her to take out any loans. I agree about the 'value' of a given school depends on the focus and interests of the student, the advantage of their particular program, etc. She is good student, she's not laser focused on As all the time but understands they are needed as much as possible (she finished with a 3.6 GPA as a freshman). We shall see what this year brings.

Let's say her first choice school is private and 80K a year. Given our financial situation, can I expect zero aid of any kind and that I would be have to pay that entire amount?

Check the websites of the schools she is interested in. They should have a calculator that will give you an estimated cost based on your financial info and her GPA. Many private schools will give scholarships to students with varying ranges of GPAs. I'm not a fan of the random scholarships that are out there; the competition is too steep for many of them. First choice for scholarship is from the college, after that, check your local area for scholarships. Our high school had a list of them; your competition for them is much smaller.

[Snicks]

We have 3 kids. 2 of them are graduated and DD is in her Jr yr of undergrad and then got early med school acceptance so she will be then doing that. Our oldest went to a 2 yr trade school. Middle went to State University for Engineering and now DD is at a small State school. As for "aid", if you have assets and a decent income, you aren't going to get much of that. At least not in my state. Our sons got ZERO aid. They only thing they were eligible for was the basic Stafford loan which literally was only $5500 per year and in PA that didnt' even cover any the cost of one semester let alone books and housing. So, yes pretty much paid the sticker price.

For DD, she did get scholarships and the small school was less expensive as well. She got over $25K in scholarship money. So, that was a nice help. But, she is not eligible for grants, etc because those are income based.

And, now kind of kicking myself because we didnt' bother with any loans for our sons. They graduated debt free. They would have been eligible for the 10k forgiveness. But, is what it is.

Basically my advice is to shop the schools and find the most affordable school that helps launch her in her desired major. Our son could not attend the smaller, less expensive state school because they do not offer engineering. I told my kids, first you choose your major, then we go and look at and choose schools. And no you don't get to anywhere you want, this is going to be a reasoned, rational decision with your future in mind.

[Snydley]

Basically my advice is to shop the schools and find the most affordable school that helps launch her in her desired major. Our son could not attend the smaller, less expensive state school because they do not offer engineering. I told my kids, first you choose your major, then we go and look at and choose schools. And no you don't get to anywhere you want, this is going to be a reasoned, rational decision with your future in mind.

Well said. This is my thinking as well. Also, I would be willing to pay a bit more for her be in the right environment for her (where she feels comfortable, a part of the community even).

[crazyliblady]

"At most schools, fewer than 5% of students pay sticker price. Almost everyone gets some degree of aid"

Count me in on that 5%! And that's with my wife and I both making that same $180k between the two of us. Because of our income we pretty much got squat and our 3 kids got a couple of nickel and dime scholarship checks which paid for a few books. Everything else I wrote a check for, including housing and food. Luckily we had saved for nearly 25 years so I had the money thank goodness. It's still a bitter pill for me to swallow, the vast majority of other kids received government help but because I actually worked for a living, we got nothing.

Agree about the unknown college costs, all depends on which type of college. For us, it was pretty much $100k for each kid by the time the dust settled. And don't get me started on Biden forgiving that $10k to $20k on student loans. And you wonder why this country is divided.

As much as I empathize with those who have student loans and have trouble paying them back, because I did have a student loan, I totally disagree with Biden's plan. When I borrowed, I borrowed the smallest amount of money that I thought would carry me through. It still took me 7 years to pay it off. I was not naive, as I knew with my profession that expect a big paycheck to be able to pay it off was not possible and I was not about to ask for family assistance. I did have 7 scholarships as an undergraduate and about 5 as a graduate student. I did not qualify for any foregiveness programs, but I did refinance once, which helped a lot. So, what did I do once I had to begin repaying? I made a budget and stuck to it for the most part and paid it off as agreed. My advice to anyone thinking about getting a student loan is to do the math. You know the amount and the interest rate, so figure out the monthly payment? Can you afford it? If not, take out a smaller amount, get a part-time job, get a scholarship (or more than one), or join the military for the GI Bill benefits.

[Drake3287]

I sure hope you're also going to be just as upset about the forgiven loans for the PPP. https://www.pandemicoversight.gov/da...ection-program

I will but not to the level of these student loans which we literally saved tooth and nail for 25 years. Just so we could send our kids to college without student loans. You know all those Wildland fires you see on TV in California, I spent many 2 week assignments on these fires and nearly every penny of my overtime went towards my kids college education. And with a swipe of pen it was fall forgiven to everyone else. Yes call me bitter.

[james.hendrickson]

Folks - locking this thread to keep the peace.