While agree that college funding is completely broken - facing a kid in college and annual costs hitting 6 figures at some schools. A situation that exists in no other country…
This seems like it could have some ripples from it.
That is mind boggling.
6 figures a year - better be planning for a job that pays 7 figures. Simple math, don’t go to an expensive school if you don’t have a realistic plan to pay. No different than buying a car, house, bike, etc…
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I would argue it’s very different. There are few 18 year olds being given a seemingly endless pot of money to buy a Porsche.
My take … the school and the student should share the burden equally. That might encourage the institutions to demonstrate a modicum of financial responsibility for their students. Good effing god, the universities babysit the kids in their charge in every other way.
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I decided to ask the Google how much tuition is at Michigan vs Michigan State.
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University of Michigan (Ann Arbor):
- In-state tuition and fees (undergraduate): $18,848 (2024-25)
- Out-of-state tuition and fees (undergraduate): $63,081 (2024-25)
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Michigan State University:
- In-state tuition and fees (undergraduate): $16,522 (2024-25)
- Out-of-state tuition and fees (undergraduate): $44,726 (2024-25)
So… go to a school in your state.
Here’s York University vs University of Toronto.
University of Toronto:
- Domestic Students: $6,093 - $6,939
- International Students: $31,610 - $31,610
York University:
- Domestic Students: $6,118
- International Students: $34,067 - $34,067
Or get into an apprenticeship program in the trades. Little to no out of pocket expense. Making $100k/year in 4 years with no debt.
Advance through the ranks to become a superintendent or project manager making upwards of $200k/year.
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Someone needs to be involved who has:
- A realistic understanding of the job market
- A realistic understanding of the abilities of the child
- Some degree of financial savvy
It is unrealistic to expect 18 year olds to have these things.
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You can save a lot by going to one of the regional campuses and living at home in Ohio too. Personally I would definitely not wanted to live at home then but if cost is your driver it is a way. You save $3750 on tuition and room and board of $14,738. (Ohio State requires you to live on campus the first two years.)
It would also be cheaper to live in Soviet Bloc apartment building style dorms and not have the world’s fanciest recreation center. But people don’t want to do that either.
More interesting, Michigan has gone the way that elite private schools have.
Michigan residents with family income under $125k and less than $125k in assets are charged zero tuition.
If that existed in the 90s, I wouldn’t have any student loans…
I went to a military college and experienced the spartan dorms. It was fine.
I now build student housing and, holy crap, they are crazy. Coffee bars, sound studios, fitness centers. They are nicer than my first apartment after I graduated.
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Nuts, right? I live in a college town (Colorado State University). The student amenities are ridiculous. I can’t imagine what they are like at an elite school.
I went to a state school in Kansas in the early to mid 90s. Amenities were, shall we say, spartan. But I also paid for college myself and had very little debt at graduation … maybe $10k total, and truth be told, I didn’t need that but when the fed gov dangles $$ in front of a 20 year old, he takes it. I’m glad tuition was cheap in those days and I wasn’t offered more. My liver wouldn’t absorb it and I would probably still be paying it off.
Our son, who graduated in 2020, went to a state university, lived at home, worked, and still ended up with about $20K in student debt. That’s with us having a 529 plan that originally was expected to fully pay for college but costs escalated far more than predicted. If he had gone to his original choice, still in state, but where he would have lived in a dorm, the debt would be far more. It’s insane!
Our grandson graduated in 2021 from the same school as our son with about the same debt. He’s a school teacher. Not a high salary job. Students are being punished with these insane costs.
Do they have an endless pot for school without their parent co-signing the student loan for 400k over 4 years? That’s an honest question. My kids went to state schools and I just paid the bill. (not even close to 100k per year)
When I first started college in 1985 room and board was $900/quarter so $2700 for the year. Adjust for inflation that is $7973 today. So around $7000/year less in adjusted dollars than what kids are paying today. Just under $30,000 if you lived in the dorms for all 4 +/- years.
I’m not even sure I would have noticed it being that much nicer. I didn’t take full advantage of the stuff that was there any way. But every college has it now.
And I doubt you could get parents and students to go to Bare Bones State. Even if objectively the teaching was the same or better.
I’m in California. My kids went out-of-state in Colorado. While there was a significant difference in tuition, the merit scholarships offered to out-of-state students (based on a combination of GPA and SAT/ACT score) came close to equalizing the total costs. If I remember correctly, the merit scholarships for out-of-state were twice that offered to in-state students with the same GPA/test score combo.
Edit: Just looked up the current tuition, costs, and scholarships at Fort Lewis College (yes, it’s no Michoacan).
- In-state. Tuition. fees, room and board: $23,638. (merit scholarship up to $5000).
- Out-of-state. Tuition, fees, room and board: $35,206. (merit scholarship up to $10,000).
I like just_jack’s idea of having the school sharing the burden in the event of a default. I don’t quite know how that would work, but I find it interesting.
They are nicer than any apartment I ever lived in
You’re old.
Actually, we started college the same year. My 2nd bowl game was my childhood team, Ohio State, vs my college, A&M.
Oh, to be so young. I started in '83.
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Started in 83 as well, didn’t finish until 2013.
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