Why chooses a more expensive college?

[corn18]

I have been reading through the threads on how to afford college. My youngest DD chose community college and then finish at their affiliated state school. Total cost for a 4 year degree will be $29,200. She will end up with a business/marketing degree from a good school (Northern Kentucky University). She is currently working in that field and looking to move up as she goes through college. I am covering all her college costs as long as she maintains a 2.0 GPA. If this all works, she should be in great shape when she finishes. I am delighted for her, and hopeful she stays on the path.

For my second daughter, she has chosen a more traditional route to go to a four year college and live there. We are looking at schools that range from $22,000 a year to $60,000 a year, without scholarships. She is wicked smart, so we know she will qualify for merit scholarships, so we expect that range to drop to $20,000 - $45,000 / year after scholarships. I currently am on plan to afford up to $50,000 / year with no loans. So all of them are in play. She is planning to get a business degree but that is not final. Could change.

Some data:

$20,000 = Ohio State: great school, good business program, diverse offering of majors, great campus
$25,000 = Miami University (in Ohio): same but smaller selection of majors (no real engineering school)
$37,000 = Indiana University: All the benefits of OSU but a world renowned Kelly business school with a great placement program
$50,000 = Any other out of state public or private school (including ivy league schools)

Her current choice is between IU and Miami. I save $48k total if she goes to Miami. If she goes to OSU (my choice), I save $68,000.

So here'e my question: what justifies sending her to a $37,000 school vs. a $20,000 school (assuming I have enough saved for either one)?

Tom

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Personally as someone who went on married to someone who went on. Bachelor's are inconsequential. Go where it's cheapest and save it for graduate/professional school. My DH and I went to public undergrads and top 5 programs graduate schools in our fields (both have name recognition and he worked for a nobel laureate). His one regret is not doing his MBA at a top 5 school he probably should have and easily got in. It wasn't meant to be. But for our kids we are currently saving $2k/year right now and will pay for the equivalent of a public school undergrad and they can figure out the rest. Of course if we hit the lotto...well then all bets are off!

[MonkeyMama]

People are not logical in the slightest with their college choices. I think that's what it comes down to.

[disneysteve]

College is not just about the education that happens in the classroom. If that's all you want, sure, go for the cheapest option.

I'm of the opinion that college is a huge life experience that teaches you all kinds of lessons about being an adult, living independently, learning to live and work with others, getting involved in activities, etc.

We told our daughter from a young age that she would live away from home for college. My wife (who commuted for college) and I (who lived on campus) both agreed that college is an entirely different experience for resident students than it is for commuting students. The education is the same but the experience is dramatically different.

Another factor is that every child is different. Despite what I just said, for some kids, moving away from home is not the right choice at all. You need to know your kid and they need to know themselves. This applies to the education aspect too. Some kids need the smaller classes of 20-25 and more personal attention that you're more likely to find at a small private school. Others do just fine in the 200+ student lecture halls of the state schools. Our daughter would have gotten lost (in more ways than one) at the local state school with 35,000 students but she's thriving at a nearby private school with 4,500 students.

Extracurricular activities are a big part of college life. While it is certainly possible for commuters to be involved, it is more difficult. For example, I was in theater in college. It wasn't unusual for us to be working on the set until 1 or 2am some nights. I wouldn't have wanted to be driving home after that. My daughter was recently inducted into a co-ed fraternity. They had almost nightly meetings that started at 10pm. Again, I wouldn't have wanted her driving home at midnight every night.

Another thing to consider is where you live. Around here (NJ) state schools aren't that much cheaper than private schools when financial aid is factored in. The state school would run about $26,000/year. We're paying, after scholarship, a little over $30,000. That's not a huge differential considering all of the differences between the schools.

Here in NJ, there is also an imbalance between the number of graduating high school seniors and the number of available slots at the state schools. About 30,000 students per year go out of state because of this. Not everyone can go to a local school. Those schools simply don't have the capacity to accommodate everyone.

[MonkeyMama]

& someone like DisneySteve has put infinitely more thought into college choice than *anyone* I know.

Seriously, I think the default is just "more expensive is better". I watched all my high school friends pay for premium degrees, with lots of debt, and then be stuck with no choice but to go back to State for useful degrees. It's not that they couldn't have gotten useful degrees anywhere else, but the money had run out and they didn't put any thought into the practicality of their college choices. (I got the practical State degree for pennies, in comparison. So did my bff and my spouse. Different colleges, but the same kind of outcome).

It's also good to dig under the hood. I went to a large State University but the vast majority of my classes were 30 students or less. I was horrified when I sat in classes at some more prestigious colleges my friends went to where lecture halls had 100s of people and TAs taught. I ended up with a more private school type experience for mere pennies.

[Drake3287]

Your comments about picking colleges is right on. I have a friend who makes the same money as I do and we both have 3 college age kids. My 3 picked very good public universities in our state (which has MANY good ones to pick from!) and he allowed his kids to pick expensive colleges thousands of miles away for no real reason.

He's now in debt because of it and will be paying for it for many years to come. He can't even afford to fly his kids back and forth without going into deeper debt. They could of received the same great education within driving distance of home.

Paying for college is still doable if you plan ahead and use a little common sense. Allowing teenagers to make life changing financial decisions by themselves is craziness.

[sandrark]

I work at a large, prestigious public university, and I am also an alumna. Friends and family frequently ask my advice about attending my university, and this is my answer:

- Go to a decent university where the net cost of attendance is reasonable.
- Go to a decent university where the size of the student body is reasonable.
- Go to a decent university where the UG class sizes are reasonable.
- Go to a decent university where the placement statistics for a 4 year graduate are good.

IF your child is thinking graduate school could be in the future, save the expensive name brands for graduate school, and focus more on access to faculty and access to home for the holidays as an undergraduate.

If have seen WAY TOO MANY really brilliant undergrads flame out and fade away at the four year college, when they realize that what made them "top dog" in high school means they're a "regular dog" in college. Many can't handle the competition, and crumble. So I'd focus more on a college that has a supportive infrastructure and reasonable cost and class size over the name brand.

[disneysteve]

& someone like DisneySteve has put infinitely more thought into college choice than *anyone* I know.

Almost everyone I know has done pretty much the same thing we did. Only a handful based the decision on cost and it was because they couldn't afford anything more than community college. Everyone else searched for a school that was the best fit for their kid taking into account all of the types of things I mentioned and more. I don't know anyone who purposely chose a school just because it was more expensive, better known, or more prestigious.

- Go to a decent university where the net cost of attendance is reasonable.

This is SO important. Focus on net cost. Many schools that seem very expensive at first can turn out to be about the same or even less than schools with a much lower "list" price. My daughter receives an academic scholarship that covers about 40% of her costs, bringing the net cost down pretty close to what the state school would have cost us (where she wouldn't have gotten that kind of gift).

If have seen WAY TOO MANY really brilliant undergrads flame out and fade away at the four year college

Definitely. This is usually the result of choosing poorly and not taking into account what's right for the student: big or small school, close to home or far away, student to faculty ratio, overall environment, city campus or suburban campus, etc.

[KBworthsaving]

Depends on the Kid

I have twins and from their different personalities the dollar difference wasn't the most important. Their sense of responsibility, study habits and a few other things were.

When your talking out of state costs are you considering their housing, food and transportation in the dollar amount? The airfare for them to come home for holidays would be a wallet buster.

[cooliemae]

My wife and I are great examples of the need for students to really look at college cost versus college name. I went to a state college in NM, never took out a loan and walked away with a BS. My wife went to DePaul University in Chicago, she always wanted to go there, and walked away with a BA and better than $30k in debt.

In between then, we both got the same Master's degree, both paid for by our employer, and both earn the same salary, yet we're still working on paying off her loans!

[natasha.cornelius]

Private v public v community college

I think for a 4-year Bachelor's degree, college is college and as long as you have the 4-year on your resume it doesn't matter too much where it's from. The real point of having a 4-year degree is showing that you have ambition and can stick to something and finish it.

Grad school, going onto masters, doctorates, etc... that is where you should be picky about the college.

Starting at a community college and finishing at any accredited college/university for your 4-year should be just fine.

My sister thought going to a community college wasn't "good enough" and started at a very expensive private university but never finished and ended up having thousands of debt with nothing to show for it.

College shouldn't be considered lightly, but don't overthink where you go either.

That's my two cents.

[sblatner]

I think the key for us was being comfortable at the school. If she is comfortable at all the schools, maybe tell her that you will pay for up to Miami and if she wants to go to IU, she has to take out loans to pay the rest.

Our son wanted a big school - didn't want to look at small schools. He also thought he would hate an urban environment but decided when we toured the school, it was where he wanted to be. If you force her to attend a school and she ends up hating it, she will drop out and come home!

Also, our son was in a dorm the first year and joined a fraternity the second. Living in a fraternity is saving us $10k per year. We got a raise!

[rennigade]

People are not logical in the slightest with their college choices. I think that's what it comes down to.

Imagine that...we expect 18 year olds to make a decision as to what they are going to do the rest of their lives. Im sure most have seen students change majors, switch schools. Then cost goes up, they have to go to school longer, they find out they hate college, party too much, etc etc. Heck my MIL changed careers 3 times until she found one she loved and has been with for the past 20 years. At 18 years old...yeah, they're going to make poor choices. Parents can only do so much.

[corn18]

WRT picking a college, I have told both my kids that you don't have to be right, just don't be wrong. Picking an Ivy League school just because it is prestigious and envious is the wrong answer. Picking a school that has a great business program but no engineering at all may unnecessarily put you in a box that will cost a lot to fix. Another wrong answer.

Picking a community college to figure out if college is for you is not wrong, but ultimately may not be the final answer. Picking an affordable college with a diverse offering of programs will allow you to figure things out as you go along without bankrupting the family. That is a good answer.

[disneysteve]

we expect 18 year olds to make a decision as to what they are going to do the rest of their lives.

At 18 years old...yeah, they're going to make poor choices. Parents can only do so much.

The system really is kind of stacked against them to some extent but I think this is gradually changing. Several of the schools we visited really de-emphasized choosing a major early on. They don't require declaring a major until second semester sophomore year. The curriculum is designed with that in mind. First and second years are broad and general so that students are fulfilling basic requirements that will count toward whatever major they ultimately choose. My daughter is finishing her freshman year. She has a declared major but changing it is as simple as filling out and submitting a change form. It takes less than 5 minutes. She could change today and change again tomorrow with no consequences or cost. Every credit she has earned this year will apply toward any major she ends up with next year. At least this way, you don't have 17-18 year olds making those decisions but rather 19-20 year olds who have a bit more life and college experience.

Picking an affordable college with a diverse offering of programs will allow you to figure things out as you go along without bankrupting the family. That is a good answer.

I agree. I'm a firm believer in a liberal arts education. I graduated from a small liberal arts school in PA and I'm very happy that our daughter is attending a liberal arts school. While she hates having math and foreign language requirements, the fact that she has so many options open to her is a good thing.