https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Tue, 28 Apr 2026 02:49:23 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/whats-up-with-the-price-of-college/page/2#post-454493 Tue, 18 Dec 2012 21:28:06 +0000 Freckles 454493@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@hergreenapples: Really! I know UBC and UT (DH's and my alma mater) has it, and i think McGill, but I don't believe it's as common across Canadian universities as many think. DH is at a big 5 research school and it's not offered to faculty/staff. Not that i want to restrict our kids to the university DH is at, but I'm just hoping it'll be a key issue in bargaining down the road. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/whats-up-with-the-price-of-college/page/2#post-454281 Tue, 18 Dec 2012 18:29:02 +0000 lomom 454281@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I expect my child(ren) to have scholarships to cover a large portion. That was the route I went and my 5 year degree (accounting requires 150 hours in order to sit for the CPA exam) cost about $10,000 out of pocket, the majority of which was covered by a 529 plan (my grandfather left money to me when he passed, specifically for my education). Books were paid for by some scholarship money but I always bought used from other students or traded. I also didn't live on campus... So I'm hoping to use some of these strategies when my kiddo(s) head off to college. We plan on opening a 529 plan as soon as LO is born, and funding maybe $40,000 over 18 years, but I really expect LO to cover a portion through scholarships and student loans. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/whats-up-with-the-price-of-college/page/2#post-454215 Tue, 18 Dec 2012 17:27:36 +0000 kml636 454215@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@duckduckkristen: I'm also in MD and I was seriously trying to figure out how to do the $40k option! That's awesome you could do it. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/whats-up-with-the-price-of-college/page/2#post-454108 Tue, 18 Dec 2012 16:18:45 +0000 duckduckkristen 454108@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Thehistoryofus: Maryland has a prepaid program and we just did it for our LO. Basically we paid what the average tuition is of the state universities here this year, so then no matter how much tuition goes up, we won't have to pay any more. It only covers tuition though, so we have a separate college fund to cover room and board, etc. And if LO decides to go to a private college, then they will give him whatever the average MD state tuition is the year he starts college. </p> <p>There are a few options for how you pay it. You can either pay the full lump sum ($40k for four years), which we did, or you can pay it over 5, 10, or however many years, but you wind up paying less if you just pay it all up front. </p> <p>But yeah, college is crazy expensive and I wish I went to less expensive school! Art school was not worth the crazy amount of loans. I also think for certain professions college is going to wind up not being necessary. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/whats-up-with-the-price-of-college/page/2#post-454057 Tue, 18 Dec 2012 16:00:18 +0000 kml636 454057@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Very disturbing... Both DH and I had our parents pay 100% and if costs keep going up it will be impossible. We did start a 529 for LO, and so did my parents. We are both putting in $2500 a year so hopefully that will make a large dent! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/whats-up-with-the-price-of-college/page/2#post-453753 Tue, 18 Dec 2012 14:01:18 +0000 heartonastring 453753@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@caffeinated: I work in higher ed in Canada and most universities that I know of offer free or discounted tuition to children of staff and faculty. At my workplace, our children would receive a 50% discount. At another local campus, their policy is to pay 100% of tuition for dependents of faculty/staff, and if the dependent goes to school at another institution, they will give them the equivalent of their tuition to put toward the other institution's fees. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/whats-up-with-the-price-of-college#post-453740 Tue, 18 Dec 2012 13:55:56 +0000 T.H.O.U. 453740@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@caffeinated: The Florida postsecondary system actually has a program that if you get your AA from a florida college you are guaranteed admission to a florida university. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/whats-up-with-the-price-of-college#post-453696 Tue, 18 Dec 2012 13:34:49 +0000 luckypenny 453696@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Crumbs: let's all move to Sweden! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/whats-up-with-the-price-of-college#post-453599 Tue, 18 Dec 2012 12:43:50 +0000 Freckles 453599@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@mrs. wagon: That is really good, especially since those are great colleges. Only a couple of universities offer it here in Canada. I told DH he has 18 more years to bring this up with during collective agreement bargaining! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/whats-up-with-the-price-of-college#post-453543 Tue, 18 Dec 2012 12:17:23 +0000 SugarplumsMom 453543@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>College is tuition free in Sweden. But kids usually take out a student loan for living costs (food, rent, books, transportation).</p> <p>But if DD chooses to study in the US (if we stay here), we'll have a problem because essentially, we pay into her education here, and it's evident by the comparably low salary (after all the deductions). So if she studies there, it's like we'd be paying more than twice! Not only would be we paying taxes into her education here but the low salary (partly) because of it will make it difficult to pay the high price of tuition in the States (especially if it's out of state tuition)! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/whats-up-with-the-price-of-college#post-453522 Tue, 18 Dec 2012 12:06:43 +0000 mrs. wagon 453522@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@caffeinated: oh!! again, I have no idea and I'm pretty sure it differs from school to school, but the three schools Wagon Sr. has worked for (BU, Harvard, and Tufts) have offered free or highly discounted tuition for classes for everyone in his family (himself, his spouse, and his children) as part of his benefits! Of course this doesn't include things like dorm rooms and meal plans, but obviously a discount or free tuition is huge!!</p> <p>My school (Boston College) definitely offered this because a friend of mine's mom got a full time job in the dining hall and he went for free (and lived at home off campus). </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/whats-up-with-the-price-of-college#post-453505 Tue, 18 Dec 2012 12:03:17 +0000 Freckles 453505@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@mrs. wagon: Oops, this is me NOT providing context in my posts once again. Do all universities provide free tuition for children of employees? (But i have to really commend your family friend for doing this...that is so smart!) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/whats-up-with-the-price-of-college#post-453501 Tue, 18 Dec 2012 12:02:53 +0000 yoursilverlining 453501@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@mrs. wagon: Yeah, it is scary! They really prey on people who feel like college is a good idea with the promise of a quick-finish education and then a great career. I think they also prey on young adults who don’t really have any concept of money (which was/is most of us at 18!) and downplay the ramifications of taking out $40k+ in loans; and what that means as a monthly repayment for 20 years.</p> <p>What your friend’s son did is so, so smart (and something I wish I had done!). My LO can attend my husband's college for free; but we don’t want to push her decision for college based on that fact. I would though, push her to take core courses there and then transfer to her college of choice!!! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/whats-up-with-the-price-of-college#post-453486 Tue, 18 Dec 2012 11:58:02 +0000 mrs. wagon 453486@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@caffeinated: I think it differs from school to school. I've only heard of people doing this at private universities. But someone could also just go to a state school and apply to schools as a sophomore... they would just have to make sure their credits transferred. He was able to guarantee that all of his credits would transfer and he was able to start in on his major program immediately without having to spend the money on his core classes. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/whats-up-with-the-price-of-college#post-453475 Tue, 18 Dec 2012 11:54:31 +0000 Freckles 453475@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We are motivated to start saving now since the Canadian government will grant $500 if you deposit $2500 (per year) into a Registered Education Savings Plan. I'll happily set that aside for a 20% return, way better than what my investments are giving me. Our plan is to have our kids pay into the RESP when they are old enough to work, but at least we gave them a head start (the power of compounded interest!). By the time they are ready to go college, the amount saved should cover their tuition/boarding but i'm sure it would cover only one year's worth at an American college. :(</p> <p>DH did his Phd at a UC school, but with scholarships, stipends, grants, etc. he only had an $8,000 loan by the time he graduated, which is amazing since he was an international student. He was really lucky because in his 2nd year, the student union lobbied in order for tuition to be waived in non-coursework years. </p> <p>@mrs. wagon: Do all US universities offer that? Unfortunately, it's not the same in Canadian universities, even at the top ones. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/whats-up-with-the-price-of-college#post-453457 Tue, 18 Dec 2012 11:49:42 +0000 lavender 453457@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Tuiton is crazy expensive and I just hope LO will get a big ole' scholarship :) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/whats-up-with-the-price-of-college#post-453453 Tue, 18 Dec 2012 11:48:49 +0000 mrs. wagon 453453@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@yoursilverlining: wow, that is seriously scary. </p> <p>someone we know has a son who got into his top choice (an ivy league school) and deferred his acceptance one year. He then spent his freshman year at a state school and took every course of his core requirements, then transferred to the other school, to save money. I thought this was such a great idea. Of course he missed out on his freshman year experience, but what a mature, smart kid to do so. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/whats-up-with-the-price-of-college#post-453402 Tue, 18 Dec 2012 11:38:13 +0000 yoursilverlining 453402@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@mrs. wagon: Here’s a link that is a pretty quick summary read, although there is a lot of good info out there: <a href="http://online.barrons.com/article/SB50001424053111904857404577333971078578982.html" rel="nofollow">http://online.barrons.com/article/SB50001424053111904857404577333971078578982.html</a></p> <p>Yes, in general only-online schools are all pretty sketchy. The sketch extends to places billed as “career schools” – like U. Phoenix, ITT Tech, Kaplan U., DeVry, Everest, Concorde, National University, etc. Most of their credits are NOT transferrable to your standard colleges/univ. </p> <p>Most of these schools will run you about $40k or more for an *AA* degree. If you don’t finish, you have nothing except debt. The rate of loan default for for-profit schools like those I mentioned above is wayyyyyy higher (like double, and more in some cases) compared to the average non-profit college/univ. Because of this, it’s harder for everyone across the board to get access to student loan funding.</p> <p>Many of the positions these school cater to do not require specialized degrees (or any degree at all) and their per credit hour cost is about 3x the per credit hour cost at a community college (and at a CC, your credits are much more likely to transfer to a 4-year degree school). </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/whats-up-with-the-price-of-college#post-453399 Tue, 18 Dec 2012 11:37:16 +0000 blackbird 453399@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>It is a concern, but I think it will be manageable, along with our retirement. College is very expensive. But it's a priority. We both went to college and have good paying jobs. There is no reason why we can't set aside some of our salary to pay it forward. I want my kids to go to college and not be heavily burdened by debt. I'm all for in-state public schools...someone who went to MIT does not make that much more than I do! BUT if my kid wants to go to college for something fluffy, I definitely want to educate them on the issues with obtaining a degree that won't actually pay the bills any more than a non-degreed job would. </p> <p>I think a big issue is that people don't pick and choose colleges or majors wisely. They're 18 so it's hard to...but I think that's our responsibility as parents. They just go...I think there needs to be more counseling on the financial burdens of college. If you go to a school that is 60K a year and you get out making 30K a year...that's a bad investment, in my opinion. And college is an investment. </p> <p>DH had his education 100% funded for by the military. There are options out there, but a lot of parents may not want to entertain them. </p> <p>While my alma mater's cost has gone up, it is still about 20K a year. I consider that an affordable option nowadays. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/whats-up-with-the-price-of-college#post-453367 Tue, 18 Dec 2012 11:26:18 +0000 T.H.O.U. 453367@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@MrsSCB: Yup, that is pretty much what this is. Plus you lock in the current tuition rates of 2012 rather than 2030 when she would enter college. Plus you can pick for a 4 year University degree, 2 year community college degree (AA/AS) or a 2+2 degree (2 at a CC and 2 at a university). </p> <p>The disadvantage of this is there is no investment growth on the money like you would get from a 529. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/whats-up-with-the-price-of-college#post-453299 Tue, 18 Dec 2012 10:59:22 +0000 MrsSCB 453299@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Thehistoryofus: My husband's parents did something like that in Virginia. He and his twin sister both ended up going to in-state, public schools and it completely paid for their college degree. I think they're definitely worth looking into! I'm not sure if this is the same thing you're talking about, but I think for them it entailed putting money into a special account over time, so you're basically paying for college gradually rather than all in the span of four years. Hope that makes sense! :-) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/whats-up-with-the-price-of-college#post-453291 Tue, 18 Dec 2012 10:57:43 +0000 MrsSCB 453291@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I'm very worried. It seems unfair that in order to get a good salary, you almost have to go to college, and yet it is so expensive that it can put you into debt for decades. You're basically putting young workers at a disadvantage from the start and keeping them from being able to really start their lives off on a good foot. I went to a public, in-state school so my tuition was much lower than many people's, but I still have a lot of student loan debt to pay off. To be perfectly honest, I am a bit resentful every time I have to pay that loan bill and can't put that money to a house instead. Thank goodness my husband's parents were able to pay for his college and he has no debt. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/whats-up-with-the-price-of-college#post-453277 Tue, 18 Dec 2012 10:52:19 +0000 Mrs. Blue 453277@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>This is a huge concern in our household. DH and I want to pay for most of our kids' college education, and the cost of it is literally what makes us question how many kids we can have and it is the reason I will probably never be a SAHM. </p> <p>DH went to Baylor and when his sister was considering it last year, it had literally doubled in cost from the time he was there (about 6 years from when he graduated to when she would have attended). Salaries for college graduates have definitely not doubled in that time. Generally, there is more money still for prospective students who come from extremely low-income families, but I know many assume that they won't be able to get funding because they just don't know about the options. Personally, I worry most about the middle-class students whose parents make to much for them to qualify for all the assistance but don't make nearly enough to pay for their children's colleges without taking out an astronomical amount of loans. </p> <p>Just typing this has literally made my stomach hurt to think about how we're going to afford to put two through school at the same time. Our kiddos are definitely going to get a lot of talks about earning scholarships!</p> <p>ETA: I paid for college myself by working full-time and taking out loans, so I know that it is possible, but I really don't want my kids to be burdened the same way I was. I missed a lot of the "college experience" and have a ton of debt now. I do think that kids should be responsible for part of their education though because it's for their benefit and I think it makes them take it more seriously. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/whats-up-with-the-price-of-college#post-453274 Tue, 18 Dec 2012 10:49:00 +0000 T.H.O.U. 453274@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I worry about it a lot. </p> <p>Has anyone looked into the pre-paid programs? I know Florida has one that locks in the rates of tuition right now. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/whats-up-with-the-price-of-college#post-453267 Tue, 18 Dec 2012 10:46:10 +0000 Bookish 453267@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Yes, it worries me a lot. In 18 years when LO is going to school, will I be able to help out? My parents were able to help out a bit, and I still have 26k in loans. Do I start saving for college, knowing that the 10-15K i might be able to save will pay for very little? Do I encourage LO to follow non-college avenues? It weighs pretty heavily on me, and although I will start a college fund, I will also be very realistic with LO and make sure they know the pros and cons of college vs. technical school/junior college/military, etc. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/whats-up-with-the-price-of-college#post-453255 Tue, 18 Dec 2012 10:40:12 +0000 prettylizy 453255@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Higher education doesn't cost nearly as much in Canada, so I don't worry as much as some of you. Average cost is between $5000 and $8000/ year. While I'm sure that will go up, I feel it will be managable for us to help our future kiddos. I am more concerned about having enough save to retire than to send kids to school. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/whats-up-with-the-price-of-college#post-453251 Tue, 18 Dec 2012 10:37:51 +0000 mrs. wagon 453251@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@sorrycharlie: @Mrs. Pen: I'm also more worried about retirement. I'm seeing so many people in my parents' generation approaching retirement with zero. They worked hard to be able to afford their life and gifted their kids with huge sums of money for school, weddings, and down payments, and now they are 60+ with no investments and still a big mortgage they're paying for. It's scary because as a 22 year old college grad, you can go out there and make money, but as a 60 year old, if anything happens to your job, you can't make nearly the same amount. No one would even want to employ you, let alone pay you as much as they'd pay a 22 year old energetic, motivated fresh college grad.</p> <p>I guess this is why I have personally adopted the belief that college and grad school fall on the individual's shoulders rather than their parents! My dad made six figures for decades and after everything he gave to my brother and myself, there's no way he'd have been able to pay off both of our student loans. He got laid off years ago and has been struggling ever since. I can make money for 40 more years but he doesn't have that many working years left in him. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/whats-up-with-the-price-of-college#post-453240 Tue, 18 Dec 2012 10:34:52 +0000 brownie 453240@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>By the time the little ones go to college, it will change, it has to. This model is unsustainable. More will be taught at the community college level and I think two year degrees will become useful again. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/whats-up-with-the-price-of-college#post-453239 Tue, 18 Dec 2012 10:34:46 +0000 mediagirl 453239@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Yeah. College - state college - is probably going to be out of our price range when lo goes. We figure she can go to community for a couple of years and then hopefully find a job? I'm worried sick about it. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/whats-up-with-the-price-of-college#post-453238 Tue, 18 Dec 2012 10:34:34 +0000 mrs. wagon 453238@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@yoursilverlining: those new for-profit schools sound scary. What schools are they? Do they include all these new online universities?</p> <p>I do understand planning ahead and preparing to pay for things that will come up in the future, but for me personally, college is a thing that happens when someone becomes an adult, and therefore it's their choice 1) whether they want to go or not, 2) what kind of school they want to go to, and 3) how it will be paid for. I hope I'm financially at a point where my kids won't have to worry about money until they are comfortably making enough for themselves, but I would consider that a gift to my kids instead of something that I have to prepare for myself. If I wanted to send my kids to a private school before college then I would definitely begin planning on how to pay for that now, but as for college and grad school, I don't plan on starting to prepare for that until my kids have entered high school. And I will prepare side by side with my kids instead of planning on my own. I was very uneducated about college and costs of everything when I decided where to go, and if I were more educated about what I'd have to deal with in the future, I may have made some different choices. </p>