Paying For College: How do folks do it these days?

On a national average, tuition rates have inflated much faster than the rest of the market out there. Translation: it's not nearly as reasonable to pay for college "out of pocket" as it used to be.

How do college age kids pay for things these days? The way I see it, as a graduating high school senior, if you want to go to college in this day and age you virtually MUST have one of these three things happen:

1) Get a scholarship.

2) Take out student loans.

3) Have parents pay for college.

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An example, as a senior in high school, I originally wanted to go to the University of Cincinnati for college. My dad is a UC grad. He went to engineering school there from fall 1966 through spring 1972. The year he graduated, he was paying $550 a semester in tuition.

[TABLE=class: grid, width: 500]

[TR]

[TD=align: center]UC TUITION[/TD]

[TD=align: center]1971[/TD]

[TD=align: center]1999[/TD]

[TD=align: center]% INCREASE[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]TUITION PER SEMESTER[/TD]

[TD=align: center]$550.00[/TD]

[TD=align: center]$6,100.00[/TD]

[TD=align: center]1,009.09%[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]US DOLLAR[/TD]

[TD=align: center]$550.00[/TD]

[TD=align: center]$2,262.47[/TD]

[TD=align: center]311.1%[/TD]

[/TR]

[/TABLE]

When I attended NKU, my first semester of college cost me $1,116.00 - I remember because at the time, the check I wrote out for tuition was the largest check I had ever written. I paid for college completely on my own, working full time during the day and taking a full semester load of night classes. Nowadays, I'm not very confident that that's doable.

[TABLE=class: grid, width: 500]

[TR]

[TD=align: center]NKU TUITION[/TD]

[TD=align: center]1999[/TD]

[TD=align: center]2017[/TD]

[TD=align: center]% INCREASE[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]TUITION PER SEMESTER[/TD]

[TD=align: center]$1,116.00[/TD]

[TD=align: center]$4,680.00[/TD]

[TD=align: center]319.35%[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]US DOLLAR[/TD]

[TD=align: center]$1,116.00[/TD]

[TD=align: center]$1,641.98[/TD]

[TD=align: center]47.1%[/TD]

[/TR]

[/TABLE]

When I attended NKU, my first semester of college cost me $1,116.00 - I remember because at the time, the check I wrote out for tuition was the largest check I had ever written. I paid for college completely on my own, working full time during the day and taking a full semester load of night classes. Nowadays, I'm not very confident that that's doable.

 

[TABLE=class: grid, width: 500]

[TR]

[TD=align: center]NKU TUITION[/TD]

[TD=align: center]1999[/TD]

[TD=align: center]2017[/TD]

[TD=align: center]% INCREASE[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]TUITION PER SEMESTER[/TD]

[TD=align: center]$1,116.00[/TD]

[TD=align: center]$4,680.00[/TD]

[TD=align: center]319.35%[/TD]

[/TR]

[TR]

[TD]US DOLLAR[/TD]

[TD=align: center]$1,116.00[/TD]

[TD=align: center]$1,641.98[/TD]

[TD=align: center]47.1%[/TD]

[/TR]

[/TABLE]

CWB, you and I are the same age. I went to UK in the fall of 1999, working part time and going to school. I'm scared to think how much it has increased there, but I'd imagine it is probably larger than NKU. I'm nervous about how to pay for my first grade son's college 10+ years from now.

CWB, you and I are the same age. I went to UK in the fall of 1999, working part time and going to school. I'm scared to think how much it has increased there, but I'd imagine it is probably larger than NKU. I'm nervous about how to pay for my first grade son's college 10+ years from now.

Start contributing to a 529 plan...

CWB, you and I are the same age. I went to UK in the fall of 1999, working part time and going to school. I'm scared to think how much it has increased there, but I'd imagine it is probably larger than NKU. I'm nervous about how to pay for my first grade son's college 10+ years from now.

For me it's simple, I won't pay for it. I will help as much as I can but coming up with $80K x 2 kids in addition to trying to plan for our own future just isn't realistic.

$80K!?!?! Where you planning on them going? Ivy League?

WKU in mid 70's

Tuition 210

Dorm 180

Food plan 240

books $10-12 per book

I could work all summer for about $2.40/hour and pay for all of school for the year with just a little bit of overtime. I was living large when I got a job as a hod carrier at $4 an hour.

$80K!?!?! Where you planning on them going? Ivy League?

Tuition and fees alone at UK are $11,500. That's not counting anything else. Living on campus doubles that.

Transy is 35,000 tuition, Harvard tuition is $45,000 a year. Again, that's just tuition.

Tuition and fees alone at UK are $11,500. That's not counting anything else. Living on campus doubles that.

 

Transy is 35,000 tuition, Harvard tuition is $45,000 a year. Again, that's just tuition.

Lots of really expensive schools. Also a lot of quality cheaper options out there too.

$80K!?!?! Where you planning on them going? Ivy League?

UK = $28,000/year

WKU = $22,000/year

NKU = $22,000/year

USI is popular choice around here because is cheaper and close = $16,600/year

Are their cheaper ways to do it, of course. They could go to KCTCS for 2 years then transfer. But the cost of the 2 extra years for a bachelors is still going to cost $40K-$50K. Combine that with the $11K-$12K it will cost for the associates and you still at $50k-$60k.

UK = $28,000/year

WKU = $22,000/year

NKU = $22,000/year

USI is popular choice around here because is cheaper and close = $16,600/year

 

Are their cheaper ways to do it, of course. They could go to KCTCS for 2 years then transfer. But the cost of the 2 extra years for a bachelors is still going to cost $40K-$50K. Combine that with the $11K-$12K it will cost for the associates and you still at $50k-$60k.

NKU is currently $4680 per semester, that would be $9360 for a year.

NKU is currently $4680 per semester, that would be $9360 for a year.

I think it's roughly another $10K to dorm at NKU. Add in books, meal plan, parking pass, fees, and any other miscellaneous junk...$22,000 seems about right.

NKU is currently $4680 per semester, that would be $9360 for a year.

Is tuition the only cost associated with attending a school?

Is tuition the only cost associated with attending a school?

At NKU it likely is for a lot of students, but that’s definitely not the case at the majority of universities.

At NKU it likely is for a lot of students, but that’s definitely not the case at the majority of universities.

Well I don't live anywhere close to NKU so for my kids the $9400 doesn't apply which was the point.

Lots of really expensive schools. Also a lot of quality cheaper options out there too.

With two kids currently in school, and a third going, I haven’t seen any options that are much cheaper. Fortunately my two older kids got academic money (Louisville and Eastern). My youngest will be going to Bellarmine which is $52k/year. Fortunately he’s getting academic and athletic money that will cover everything. Working your way through college is much tougher than it used to be. College costs are way out of hand.