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@blackbird: I think it's sad that someone (my husband, your friend) has the resolve, academic abilities and brains for schools like that, but have to pass because of the cost. It's a travesty.
I also think it's backwards how anyone is supposed to be able to be anything here in America - but the truth is the cost of getting there is oftentimes just too much.
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@MsLipGloss: That's our goal too. We joke around and say that our LO's job is to get into Stanford and our job as parents is to be able to afford it
My education was relatively inexpensive. My undergrad was probably around $30k total. I worked throughout and was able to pay for everything except the first year which my parents paid for.
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@blackbird: yes to this! I want my kid(s) to go to a school that makes sense for them. I'm not paying out of state tuition or for private school when they can get something comparable for cheaper at a state school.
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Undergrad was around 120k...my parents paid for all but my last year, and I took out loans for that. Grad school was around 75k and I took out loans...everything has been repaid! That was a happy day
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@LovelyPlum: @Mrs. Pen: That's not always the case! Wagon Sr. has an english (concentrating in creative writing, specifically poetry) degree from a private ivy league school. He applied for and received scholarships and grants, and had a workstudy job all 4 years. He has a miniscule (compared to mine!) amount of debt from undergrad AND it has paid for itself in opportunities, since he is in academia. In academia, especially top tier schools, it's all about the name/legacy. He doesn't like showing off his alma mater but it has catapulted his career.
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Over 200k if you count my JD and LLM. Those two I was on a full scholarship from the school. My parents paid for my undergrad so no loans were ever taken. I am thankful daily for that!
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I went to a private university that cost about $35k/year but I had generous scholarships/grants and loans and a bit of parental help and ended up with about $25k of debt after graduation, which I paid off this summer. I did a non degree program a few years later that cost $5000.
I just hope my kids take advantage of being dual nationals and decide to go to school in Europe where it is basically free. The cost of higher education in the US is just insane now, and I can't even imagine what it will be like in the next 15-20 years. When DH and I first met and he found out about my student loans, he just couldn't believe that massive student debt is normal for the US.
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@MamaMoose: phew, your private school was expensive!! We're looking at about $6000/yr for M's schooling. Starting with Kindergarten. Kill me now.
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@mrs. wagon: go big red!
My undergrad (4 years) at a top tier public school was $25k plus books, materials, room & board per year. My parents paid it all. Thanks M&D!
My grad (2 years) ivy league was $42k plus books, room & board per year. I took out loans for everything. Paid it off in four years by not spending any money that wasn't necessary.
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I went to a private university that cost $40k a year.
My parents gave me 20k for the first year, I took out 20k in loans. My final three years I was on a full-ride academic scholarship, so I graduated with 24k in loans....without the scholarship I would have had around $110k in loans.
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I don't really know how much my undergrad cost. I know total of tuition was somewhere around 40k for 3 years (I went year round to do a BA in 3). But for undergrad my parents paid for some of it and I was working 30 hours/week so we were sort of paying as we went. I ended up with about 9k in loans.
Law school cost about 100K if you count living expenses. I took 70k in loans for a grand total of 80K in loans when I graduated... fml. lol
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Haha I never commented for myself.
I went to a private university that cost almost $40k/year. Never qualified for any financial aid so everything is in private loans in my name. Sorry, Wagon Sr. ...!! He married in to a lot of debt. Thankfully I have very low rates for all of it. But I will basically be paying it off until I'm well past 40 years old.
I don't regret it, but I will definitely be pushing my kids to take any merit based scholarships. I was offered almost full rides at two different schools and when I asked my parents what I should do, they said I should pick the school I liked best. I picked my school and I really did love my experience there (and will be enjoying the benefits of the alumni network for the rest of my career, I'm sure) but I was naive and young and thought they'd pay for much of it. Fast forward to now, my parents aren't nearly as well off as they were back then (which is why I didn't qualify for financial aid, duh) so I'm paying for it all!
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80K
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I think it was around $30K a year for tuition. My parents paid some while I was in school and I paid about $40K in loans and the rest was scholarships.
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@oliviaoblivia: 40k in four years is AMAZING. You are my new hero. And seriously just gave me hope that we can (WILL) pay off DH's in less than 10 years.
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@MsLipGloss: Ditto on the paying for lawschool. ~$100K isn't fun.
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@Mrs. Pen: I wish it was just $40k. At the end of the day it was $120k plus interest for the year after graduation that I was unemployed. (84 in tuition, 24 in board, and another 12 for books, travel, food). The job market post 2008 for MBAs in real estate was rough.
We put as much of my salary as we could towards the loan. My interest rates were 7.5% so paying them off quickly was in our best interests.
Now that we don't have those payments we are use to living on less and just put it straight into savings.Good luck paying off your loans. It was a great feeling sending off that final check!
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I went to a private college that was $35k per year at the time. My parents paid for almost all of it (I had a very small loan at the end)...so thankful for that!
I took out a $25k loan for graduate school and am still paying it back (graduated in 2010). I'll get there, someday...
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Private university ~$42k/year - I had really good academic and outside scholarships and financial aid, so ended up out of pocket paying nothing, and graduated with a $25k federal loan. Not too shabby!
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@mrs. pen, It really is!
School's just kind of a gamble sometimes. You can spend big and end up with great opportunities. You really can. But sometimes, you don't and you end up with a very expensive degree making only enough to make ends meet because you're drowning in loans. And you just kind of...hope it works out. I hope education is feasible by the time our kids are graduating high school
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Private college- $42k a year. I applied for and maintained scholarships, got some financial aid, put every cent I made or was gifted toward my education, and took out a total of $20k in loans.
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150K. I have been out of school for 9 years and have less than 20K left. (And that includes 3 years of deferrment while in residency... so really only 6 years of payment).
I was not scared to take out the debt because:
1) I was ready to change my standing in life.
2) I knew I picked a field that would never make me wealthy but would always have a steady income.
3) That I could particiapte in primary care and care in underserved areas or participate in a researcher loan repayment program so that I would not have to pay all the debt. -
@mrskc: @Mrs. Pen: @mrs. wagon: I agree that your alumni network can be worth a lot. My "door" gets knocked upon to see if I'm interested in new opportunities on a bi-monthly basis because of where I went to school. Both from fellow alumnae and from recruiters who know about my school.
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$65K + more after interest. Paid $90% on my own.
I don't regret it one bit. I would not be where I'm at without my education.
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My parents paid for it all....I only took out a $10k loan my last year.
LO's grandparents started a fund for her. They want to completely pay for her education (I love them!). They plan on doing the same for any subsequent LOs we may have.
Honestly, paying for college is the best gift ever!
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~$40K for 5 yrs out of state tuition and fees - but between scholarships, working and money from my parents, I graduated with no loans.
Since both DH and I are engineers, we obviously hope that our LO will be STEM focused, but will support her in whatever she wants. (But it would be a big relief if she prefers STEM majors, they are much easier to get financial help - DH got paid to get his PhD.)
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I received financial aid grants, a work study job and merit tuition waivers. I also received free housing for on campus employment. Books and food were my only expenses during undergrad. I also earned a professional diploma in teaching right after my bachelor's so I ended up taking out about $5000 which I paid off within 8 months of graduation.
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