Whats the best way to pay for college tuition

[QueenIsabella]

I know that, back in the Stone Age when I attended, Worcester Polytechnic Institute had a semester abroad program where you went to Germany. I have no idea if they still offer this. It's an engineering school, so it might be worthwhile for AlohaNow's kid to look into.

I know the HS that DD15 attends has a special program for First Generation college kids, that starts freshman year. Basically, it's to help them navigate the college selection process, burnishing your transcript, etc. Unfortunately, the rest of us schlubs are on our own. Although I have two older kids, it's been 8 years, and my oldest was super independent, #2 went the community college route, and we moved to a different state so I feel like I'm starting over.

 

[Kellydelly]

The best thing we did was to encourage our kids to take the Sat and ACT tests early and often. Study for them, attend prep courses, take on line sample tests.

The higher the scores, the more merit scholarships colleges offer.

3 kids have completed a total of 11 years of college and no debt due to substantial scholarships based on their scores. 2 boys got $back from their colleges. Other son is in an expensive program. We've paid out of pocket $1000 the last 2 years per semester for him. His first 2 years, he got $ back in his pocket.

Dd is a junior and has earned higher scores now than her brothers. So we are researching the best schools for her based on merit $.

I would love to know how you managed to get through 11 years of college with only $4,000 out of pocket. Does that mean your kids got Pell grants? Work study? Did your kids go to community college? Did your kids go to lesser ranked schools which gave them tons of merit money for their stats? Did your kids commute and therefore didn't have any housing costs? Can you quantify how you actually managed to do that? It looks like you have four kids, so did that put your EFC really low? Your situation does not sound typical so if you have more information to share to the rest of us that would be great. If your kids are actually getting everything paid and money back in their pockets I want to know that secret. I have four kids to put through college too.

 

[Southernmiss]

I would love to know how you managed to get through 11 years of college with only $4,000 out of pocket. Does that mean your kids got Pell grants? Work study? Did your kids go to community college? Did your kids go to lesser ranked schools which gave them tons of merit money for their stats? Did your kids commute and therefore didn't have any housing costs? Can you quantify how you actually managed to do that? It looks like you have four kids, so did that put your EFC really low? Your situation does not sound typical so if you have more information to share to the rest of us that would be great. If your kids are actually getting everything paid and money back in their pockets I want to know that secret. I have four kids to put through college too.

No pell Grant's. No work study. No community college. No EFC breaks.

All lived on campus for 1st year. Closest college attended was an hour away-not a daily commute. 2 sons are 5 hours away. Dd is a high school junior and her ACT and Psat are higher than her brother's. No idea where she's going yet.

Their Act scores have been above 32. Their colleges , not Ivies, but not inferior either-just good state schools, give good scholarships based on merit.

They have or will have good degrees and fields of study that will get them gainfully employed when they graduate.

Oldest did an internship and was offered an accounting job at one of the 3 big International firms upon completion of his Master's.

Yes, we have felt like we won the lottery. But it really is a matter of looking at state schools with programs with good reputations and not 'big names'. I know other families who have done similarly.

 

[barkley]

Last, don't take out a private consolidation loan to pay off your Federal loans. Those Fed loans have so may benefits like deferments and income based repay that you just shouldn't give up.

so true and i think many people just assume they will get a better deal with a private consolidation lender interest and 'hassle' wise before they look to the ease of using the fed loan site to set up payments and consider the value those benefits can provide during difficult periods of time (and w/the exception of a credit union loan i've never encountered a private lender who like the fed loans offers a discount on your interest rate for simply setting up auto pay).

 

[mentos]

Hello! UC grad here (and my brother went to Sac State), here's my $0.02 on paying for school. I think some of the replies above don't fully understand that a) University of California in-state/resident fees are $15,000 a year and b) scholarships (aside from the big ones like Regents) don't come close to touching the costs.

Also, it's a bit late for the 529 lecture

Community colleges are fine, but a) the OP indicated this is not the likely pathway and b) impacted enrollment/full classes means spending 2-4 years before being able to fully transfer. This was my brother prior to his transferring to Sac State. Time is money, and delaying entry into

1) Max out loans under your daughter's name (I think $5500 total).

1a) NEVER let the student him or herself take out a private loan due to the lack of flexibility inherent to those loans.​

2) Consider a private student loan in place of a federal Parent PLUS loan, especially if you have excellent credit.

2a) The origination fees + interest rates on the federal Parent PLUS loans are not great, but might be your best option if there's challenges in your credit file​

3) As for HELOC, I'm not a fan of further encumbering your property with debt to pay for higher education. You'll get good pricing, but I just don't like doing it.

Extra comment: Parent PLUS loans DO have more lenient repayment terms in case things ever happen, but if you're stable in your career and finances, these aren't as important as your absolute borrowing costs (origination and interest rates). It's also why I advocate federal loans for students as new grads face a myriad of challenges at the outset of their careers, so flexible terms are useful.

Extra comment 2: If you're a teacher or work in the government/non-profit sector and anticipate borrowing a TON of money, I believe parent PLUS loans can be consolidated into the Direct Loan program, thus making them eligible for Public Service Loan Forgiveness. This is a 10 year process and you'd have to have a really high loan balance relative to your income to make it work.

Is your college-bound daughter open to commuting to UCD or Sac State? Or are they bent on getting out of town like I was? That will literally double your costs. I had a great experience in dorms my first year, but if it's cost-prohibitive, she'll just have to work harder to find a social circle as a commuter.