I'm thinking $44000 for tuition and $40000 for room & board plus other 529 eligible costs. I personal worked while I went to college and took out student loans to cover tuition. I'm guessing I make too much for my kids to have the option to get much financial aid and I don't want them to start post-college life deeply in debt but I think it's okay if they need to work some while they're in college to make ends meet. I plan to gift the money to them if they spend less than the amount I've allocated for them, though a degree or significant evidence or financial independence potential (e.g. if they go to some specialty school that doesn't award a standard degree) is required to get the unspent funds. My hope is that they'll go to a public university or get a AA at a community college before finishing the last 2 years at a public university to maximize the funds but if they want to go out of state or a private school then they'll pretty much need to win scholarships to afford it. Does this seem reasonable? Too much? Too little? I look forward to hearing your thoughts. Thanks
I think $250k per kid will be necessary
That seems bonkers but I guess that's the amount for out of state tuition plus room & board. I saw that you only need 1 year of residency to qualify for in state tuition. If a student enrolls with in state status then their parents move out of state the next year, the student still qualifies for in state tuition since that's where they live most of the year, right? Seems cheaper to move for a year before each kid starts their freshman year. Then again, that assumes they get in to the college they apply for. Geez, I sure hope $250k is not the norm for most college students.
This is the correct answer if you want your kids to be upper middle class and upwardly mobile
Child in top college in Boston. Cost is about $50K/year. UW is good, but not a life changing experience. I'm quite surprised some top people in large companies allow their kids to settle for the comfort of in-state tuition for something as important as what will define their career. Being someone coming from abroad and having only attended public schools, I'm quite surprised by how weak are the standards in public schools in the US. People with a degree in CS who barely can code a function and explain its complexity. People with a degree in business declaring bankruptcy. And some claim to be A+ students: go figure!
I went to public schools including university and feel like I've been successful, hence my hope that it should be good enough for my kids. Is the difference between UW and top Boston worth more than double the price? Will my kid earn more than twice as much on average? That seems unlikely to me.
Math, Physics, Music and any other knowledge domain are the same at undergrad level anywhere. But you don't go to undergrad school to learn that. You go there for the life experiences and the connections. Unhappily, there is a problem I see in several people around here: they think success is just having money, not friendships or experiences. Multimillionaires here proudly know just one language, some don't have a passport and consider experiencing 3 kinds of wine as knowing enough about French culture. No wonder they are depressed at 45, having wasted life saving for a bleak future, since several are sick by then.
I wish my parents had had your plan.
Screw it. I want my kid to be an Instagram star.
lil pump v2
My kids will go to an European university. 0$
Are you a EU citizen? Do you expect your kid to study in English? Will your kid be ok with doing that? My kiddo said no to all ideas to study in Europe. Mostly because it makes getting internships in the US harder, cannot work on campus (not a EU citizen), all friends/connections stay in Europe after kiddo graduates and moves back to the US etc. Also hard for parents to help if anything happens, just too far and too expensive to travel.
Yes, I'm eu citizen and intend to go back when they will be in high school or something. I figured out it doesn't make sense for us to have them study here because of how easy it is to study in really good universities (northern Europe, etc). I guess that would also depend on how good their level is. If they can make it into an ivy league uni then why not. Anything below is not worth it. I personally paid 5 eur / year for a 5 years engineering masters degré.
I'm pegging about $100k+ some also. My out of state at UW was about that much for tuition and some living expenses
A few years ago we bought an investment condo in downtown Seattle for $250k - borrowed most of it from the bank at ridiculous low rate 15/year fix. Rented it to cover the mortgage for now. We hoped it would double in 18 years to find college. It’s now at $400k with many years to go!
0. I am GTFO back to civilization (Europe) when my kids are ready for college.
You'll see how it goes when the time comes. I talked with my kiddo (born and grown in the US) about studying in Europe. In English. Kiddo looked at colleges, thought about social life, having network of friends post graduation etc and now kiddo does not want to study in Europe except for something like a semester abroad.
My kiddo will go to study in Europe and if kiddo does not like it, kiddo will have to work in McDonald's. Kiddo's parents take no bullshit from kiddo.
44k tuition? So what, just paying for the first 2 years for one kid?
UW tuition is $11000/year
Today. 15 years from now?