Bogleheads

[LH]

http://money.cnn.com/galleries....index.html

Note: Total cost includes tuition, fees, room and board. Data collected by the College Board.

[Puakinekine]

Three years ago, when my daughter was accepted at U Chicago, their total estimate for what we would be paying the first year was $52,000--they included transportation and other expenses. Columbia was over $50,000 as well. I imagine the cost is higher now. All these schools come to about the same price. What's a thousand or two either way, if you can afford this sort of thing. We and she did not feel that we could, so she is at an excellent public, extremely happy and thinking about where to go and how to pay for graduate school/professional school. She is looking at her choices debt free, and as we did not break the bank for her undergrad, we may be able to help smooth over some of the rough edges.

[Eureka]

I had never even heard of Bates College (though I imagine there are some great word plays on the name, i.e. I got my master's at Bates).

If my parents -- or me -- had plopped down change like that, it would have been Pressure City. Glad I went to juco for two years and then to Illinois State, which the New York Times Guide to Colleges once described as "a large Midwestern college full of large Midwestern kids."

[livesoft]

Why not go to u of Mich or U of Wisc as an out-of-state student? Guess how much it would cost?

Also a survey here showed that most folks don't pay list price for college.

[Tom_T]

One of my friends spent a lot of money to send his kids to Duke and to Boston College. None of them currently have jobs that require an expensive degree. In fact, one is now a stay-at-home mom.

I often think the reason many parents send their kids to expensive schools is simply so that they can tell people "my son/daughter is going to Pricey University."

[nisiprius]

I believe Sarah Lawrence has long been a traditional leader in this dubious competition. I know it was in the sixties. It's probably part of their branding strategy or something.

As others have noted, it's not that much more expensive than other "good" private schools. And, Eureka, I have heard of Bates--I keep getting it mixed up with Bowdoin--probably a regional thing. I think it and many of the schools on the "most expensive" list seem to fall in the category of "good small liberal-arts colleges."*

If my kid wanted to go to a "good private university" and I could afford it, if Sarah Lawrence took his or her fancy (I guess it's coed now) I wouldn't begrudge an extra five thousand. I certainly wouldn't force her to attend Harvard just to save money.

*P. S. I know what was nagging at me. Three of the colleges on that "most expensive" list--Bates, Wesleyan, and Trinity--are Little Ivies, small venerable well-regarded schools, with historic WASP associations, located in the Northeast.
_________________
Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen nineteen and six, result happiness; Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery.

[Tramper Al]

[cubedbee]

[Tom_T]

[JordanIB]

[TJAJ9]

Unless you were born with a silver spoon in your mouth, it's usually a waste of money for someone to attend "the most expensive college." There are plenty of great alternatives.

[AzRunner]

In our case, our son graduated from Northwestern in 2001. It was pricey, but we could afford it since we only had one child. The thing that swayed it was that he attended classes for a day while a senior in high school and found a program that really matched his interests. In his case it was, Mathematical Methods in the Social Sciences.

As others have pointed out, when it came to looking for a job, firms went to Northwestern that did not recruit at other schools, including U of Illinois. I think down the road, it is your work experience that dictates your career, but a prestigious school does open up some doors early on.

Regarding U of Michigan, my undergraduate alma mater, as implied by another poster, as an out of state student, U of M was basically the same price as Northwestern.

Norm

[simplesimon]

Out-of-state anywhere is going to be like paying for a private school.

Paying in-state for the University of California costs an arm and a leg as well.

From what I've seen, a prestigious school does help on the resume as a college grad, especially if you're applying across the country. Local/state schools are still great for those that intend to work in the region.

[Fbone]

A community college graduate here. And proud of it

Hey, the $16/credit was all I could afford.

[jegallup]

A degree from a prestigious school is probably of considerable value in getting the first job--lands at the top of the pile of résumés. After that the kid is on his/her own. If the first job is at Goldman Sachs....well, there are still a number of possible outcomes.
_________________
John

[alec]

[nisiprius]

[simplesimon]

What about the competitiveness of peers? Do you think there are a larger proportion of them at more prestigious schools than not? That could be one motivating factor in helping a student work hard. You can say that that's up to the student, but you can say that about anything.

[Cherokee8215]

As someone who grew up and went to high school in one of the wealthiest communities in his state - yet as the son of blue collar folks who attended a small unknown college on scholarships - I can verify that in the late 1990s, the ultimate status symbol among 50-year old moms was a Mercedes E320 with stickers reading "Sarah Lawrence College," "Princeton University, "New York University," or "Columbia University" in the rear window.

[Rodc]

If you look back on your college career decades later and just which college you attended sticks out as a super important thing in your life, you didn't do much with the intervening years.

It has been 30 years for me and most of my friends, many from one state school or another, many from MIT, Harvard etc.

It does not seem to be of much importance any more.

It reminds me of young parents who act like the quality of life for their beloved young children hangs on every little decision. It doesn't, life is built from thousands of experiences big and small and few of them have that big an impact in and of themselves.

It is what you do with your education that matters most, not where you went.

If you can afford private college nothing wrong with that, but if you can't or don't want to in the end it won't matter much if at all.

IMHO.
_________________
"all standard caveats apply"

[Rodc]

[Eureka]

When I look back at my college education (1971-76), I am struck by the fact that the two most important classes I took in all of those years of undergraduate and graduate education were English Composition 101 and 102 my freshman year at a junior college across the river from LaSalle, Illinois.

The teacher made us write each and every day. We had small groups in which we critiqued each others' writing. That's where I learned to write, and that skill paid great dividends in grad school and in the newspaper business. Thank you, Mr. Publow.

Neither of those two classes had more than 25 students, and they cost a grand total of $24.

[renter]

[Eureka]

[jsnbrnd]

[simplesimon]

[Petrocelli]

Haven't we had this discussion about 15 times already?

I'll summarize:

People who went to expensive schools think it is worth it.

Those that didn't, don't.

Most of the people who don't know someone who did, and that person doesn't do diddley.

On a related note, how many posters here have Ivy League degrees besides me and Jack Bogle?
_________________
Petrocelli (not the real Rico, but just a fan)

[Eureka]

[nisiprius]

[alec]

From personal experience (me) a higher ranked school was not the best school for me. I started at UVA, but it was not a good learning environment for me, and then transferred to LaSalle (in philly). I suppose it boils down to the best learning environment for the student. Unfortunately, how many 17 year olds know the best learning environment for them? So, instead of "what's the best school" it should be "what's the best school for my child".[/b]
_________________
"You will never correct by logic a man's error, if that error did not get into his mind by logic" - Mark Twain

[Gekko]

$56K a year??????????

As Bogle would say -

"This is madness!"

[Rodc]

[peter71]

[peter71]

Hi All,

A couple possible reasons why the schools on this particular list are even more expensive than the norm:

1) Really expensive locations -- New York / DC vs., say, Williamstown, Mass.

2) Not huge school spirit / future donations inculcators . . . e.g., even though none of the Ivies is a real sports powerhouse, Columbia has to be the least sporty of the lot . . . I don't know how closely alumni donations track sports enthusiasm but Columbia's could be relatively low . . . could also simply be a political / other interests besides promoting one's own uni thing . . . anyway, Vassar and Sarah Lawrence grads would certainly be entitled to answer the alumni fundraiser with "no thanks, I paid up front!"

All best,
Pete

[Gekko]

College tuition cost rising again this fall
By JUSTIN POPE, AP Education Writer Justin Pope, Ap Education Writer Tue Oct 20, 11:03 am ET

Average tuition prices rose sharply again this fall as colleges passed much of the burden of their own financial problems on to recession-battered students and parents.

Average tuition at four-year public colleges rose 6.5 percent, or $429, to $7,020 this fall, according to the College Board's annual "Trends in College Pricing" report, released Tuesday. At private colleges, the average list price for a year of coursework rose 4.4 percent to $26,273.

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Annual Cost Over 4 Years
Sarah Lawrence $55,788 $223,152
Average State School $7,020 $28,080
Difference $48,768 $195,072

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Investment Calculator
Start Amount $195,072
Annual Contribution $0
Rate 10.40%
Years 40
End Amount $10,208,405

[Rodc]

[Petrocelli]

[Rodc]

[gkaplan]

[Gekko]

[Gekko]

i've never been overly impressed with academic credentials.

[Opponent Process]

[chuck h]

Petrocelli wrote:

[Puakinekine]

[Rodc]

[wbond]

[jsnbrnd]

[jsnbrnd]

[LH]

[Gekko]

Thurston Howell was the best.

Sits a native down in front of a formal dinner.

"If he starts with the outer fork, he's displaying Harvard etiquette, but if he picks up the inner, he's been cultured at Oxford".

Native slams his head down and eats off the plate.

"Good Grief, a Yale man!"