Who the Fuck Can Afford College Anymore??

[Liquid]

In 17 YEARS my son will be getting ready to go to college. How much will it be then???? $100,000 a year?? This sucks.

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From http://www.campusgrotto.com - As expected, college tuition seems to go up just about every year now. Sure, part of the reason may be inflation, but still the increases in tuition seem to outpace inflation by two to three times its rate.

You would think the weak economy would have an effect on tuition prices, and maybe it does. Perhaps alumni donors are unable to give as much as they have in the past. States are cutting their funding for higher education, which is huge considering most colleges get the majority of their funds from two sources: the State and tuition. One thing is for certain though, regardless of the state of our economy, the demand for higher education will always be there.

We are reaching a point where the cost of one year of college education at some colleges is surpassing $50,000. Unless your parents are loaded, you can expect to have a HUGE amount of college debt after graduation. Even those that graduated five years ago will not feel the pain that today

[Lady Cop]

if my son hadn't had a pitching scholarship, i don't know how i would have put him through.

i still needed Pell grants and student loans. which MUST be repaid of course. and i made decent money, but i worry about all the young people who WANT to attend and have no resources.

[Liquid]

Reading stories like the one above is really disheartening. Who benefits from these rising costs? Not the student or the family that has to go into decades of debt to pay for an education.

How did the system get so out of wack? How many students in the next 10-15 years will have to completely skip going to college because there is just no way they can afford it? And getting loans will be unrealistic because it will take over 50 years to repay them. Like I said - it sucks.

[Lady Cop]

i was fortunate, he got through, but is the system castrating all the kids who are going to be ready soon?

i hope in the years before your son wants to go to college there will be solutions.

[Liquid]

And I wonder if we are paying the escalating costs because schools are forced to let in "the less fortunate" or minorities for free or at discounted tuition? The colleges then have to raise prices year after year to cover for these students.

[Lady Cop]

and yet...those kids need an education too.

[Zenith]

And I wonder if we are paying the escalating costs because schools are forced to let in "the less fortunate" or minorities for free or at discounted tuition? The colleges then have to raise prices year after year to cover for these students.

I can answer this one for you since my son just started college a couple of years ago. The escalating costs aren't a reflection of ANY minorities getting discounted tuition, grants, etc. They are rising because EVERYTHING ELSE IS. You don't have to worry that your kids college expenses will be exceedingly high,....they won't be.

There was a time when colleges passed out grants (backed by the government) to people who were smart enough to attend but couldn't afford the costs. Those days are gone and will never return.

People who are other than white are having an even tougher time getting into institutes of higher learning now more than ever before. The testing is becoming more competitive and the college selection is dwindling due to less money from the government. If you are white and have children, then your chances of getting into a good school will always be protected. Don't be frightened by the high costs because they are just on paper to "weed out" the free loading individuals who aren't really worthy of a college education.

Once your child physically goes into the university of their choice to apply, there will be a grand selection of scholarships available to him/her that will effectively reduce the costs instantly. Don't discuss this with anyone who you feel is the cause of rising tuition because then the colleges will be forced to comply and make some of those tuition "breaks" available.

No need to fear Liquid those stats and costs are NOT for white folks, you have built in immunity. [it's written into the fabric of this country and will NEVER change so don't think about it]

[Middle Finger]

I hear the pain, I have kids I am saving for as well. Check out the 529 plans if you haven't - I recommend Vanguard but the one in your State may offer State income tax deductions on your contributions. Also, check out Upromise.com - your spending can give them free dollars toward their 529 Plans and you can get family/friends to sign up and feed it with their credit card spending and such. They use Vanguard funds.

The cost of quality State colleges are far far lower and there are some good ones, so those can be looked at. Also, you can go to a lower cost school for a few years then transfer out to a better one, perhaps.

[Liquid]

I have a 529 set up which took a beating the past few months and went DOWN substantially, which sucks, but I am hopeful it will regain the lost value over time as the markets recover.
I also use Upromise as well and try to frequent any of the stores or businesses where my son's college account will benefit.

[Middle Finger]

Don't sweat market crashes if you are still a buyer and will be for a long time. They benefit you if anything.

Sidenote: in case you weren't aware, some give you choices to automatically adjust the asset allocation as they get older, making the holdings more conservative/stable as they approach college age.

[Duchess]

Liquid, I followed your link to see what it would cost to go to my old alma mater & I am blown away...I really had no idea the cost of tuition.

[Cynical Ninja]

Higher education should be available to everybody who is talented/well educated enough, regardless of their income or the income of their families.
The student loan system in the UK means anybody good enough can go to university or college and the loan is not paid back until the student in question has a high enough wage to pay it back in installments.

[Zenith]

Higher education should be available to everybody who is talented/well educated enough, regardless of their income or the income of their families.
[color="blue"]The student loan system in the UK means[/color] anybody good enough can go to university or college and the loan is not paid back until the student in question has a high enough wage to pay it back in installments.

OH FUCK!

Enough already Poopful! Why are you still under the delusion that anyone gives a flying sack of rat shit what your country has?

::nuts::

[Cynical Ninja]

Higher education should be available to everybody who is talented/well educated enough, regardless of their income or the income of their families.
[color="blue"]The student loan system in the UK means[/color] anybody good enough can go to university or college and the loan is not paid back until the student in question has a high enough wage to pay it back in installments.

OH FUCK!

Enough already Poopful! Why are you still under the delusion that anyone gives a flying sack of rat shit what your country has?

::nuts::

When I want your bullshit opinion I will rattle your fucking cage girlfriend.

Face it, our education system is better and fairer than yours is hoochie momma.

[Maggot]

I went to the school that made you work for your education. Todays colleges can be part time or full time. My sorority was:I wan u Cum pu ll My Fin Ger

[Zenith]

::bitchp::

::rotfl::
[user=32]Ordinary Peephole[/user] wrote:

When I want your bullshit opinion I will rattle your fucking cage girlfriend.

[Cynical Ninja]

::bitchp::

::rotfl::
[user=32]Ordinary Peephole[/user] wrote:

When I want your bullshit opinion I will rattle your fucking cage girlfriend.

You mean to tell me you can't feel the underlying love in every post?

[Zenith]

You mean to tell me you can't feel the underlying love in every post?

::blink::Erm....Poophole, are you feeling well? ::nuts:: we are supposed to be sinking our razor sharp teeth into one anothers black throats....stop trying to sooth me with satire







::bigg::

[AnonyMoose]

Not suggesting you pack up and move to Georgia, but if your child has a B average, public universities are 100% free irrespective of what the parent's income is. I'm not sure if the kid has to carry the B in high Schoolfor all 4 years as a GA resident to get that full scholarship - I believe it's just the senior year. Then once in College; the money gets disbursed every semester and the State looks at grades once per year to make sure the kid is keeping the B average.

I have 3 kids in college right now (all pre-med biology at West Georgia) and this past semester I think my total cost was like $400 for the 3 kids. There were some fees they would not cover that the school had - I think an athletic fee and a parking fee. The State paid the rest, including some of the books. In a way it kind of screws me, because I think that when the kids all graduate I have some huge federal tax to pay becuase I will still have a lot of cash in the kids 529 plan. Last year my CPA had me buy the kids a new SUV to drive to college with just to avoid some of the fees.

Here is the website, if you are interested.

http://www.georgia.org/Business/Educatio...arship.htm

[Zenith]

Hmmm,

I thought there might be some sort of tuition breaks available but not widely discussed. I wonder if other states might have that same sort of program.

::bigg::