How much are you socking away for retirement each month?

Not true. Her “state” school, which isn’t even great, gave her only $2000 per year in merit. So total cost still would’ve been about $27,000 per year including R&B plus books. We are lower than that, & she is at a great private school w 10 or 15-1 teacher student ratios, so she is already “known.” Has landed a research opportunity for the summer that she actually wants, her top choice. It would be no better at an Ivy or a state school.

But nobody cares about this. What I’m trying to say, as part of a constructive retirement plan, is that there’s plenty of money out there for merit, if the financial aid isn’t there. Plus, there’s zero reason to pay $80,000+ per year when you can pay $25,000.

I asumed based on your post that she had credentials to be accepted to an Ivy. That is why I made the comment. Any kid with a 36 ACT and 4.0 with AP classes is going to get a huge discount at a state school.

I know a few who had impeccable credentials yet didn't get discounts at Michigan, Texas, or Virginia.

NOPE! If I told you the name of the school, you'd know it, and you would know it as an elite university.

Been saving 15% of my gross income each month since I graduated college. So $1500/month now plus my employer match so technically $1800/month. Nothing wild.

I couldn't care less if someone has saved more money than I have. Good for him. Also, he makes too much to get the deal I got when my daughter attended an elite college...My household income was only at about $125,000 or so when my daughter began college. He's making $180,000. I also don't buy that his kids decided to not go to an Ivy League school and instead went to some state school. That's what people say when their kids couldn't get into an Ivy League school.

Your experience is CORRECT! There are many state schools (obviously the more prestigious ones) that don't give squat even for incoming students with incredible academic records. Big academic money at many of these schools is outrageously competitive with only a handful or fewer getting any significant money. William and Mary is another one.

but you won't say the name of the school. so I don't believe you

That's funny. $180k today is likely less than $125k when your daughter started. Even if not, it is so close that it wouldn't impact the expected contribution by more than a few bucks. Come on. You know this. And you don't believe that many of the elite runners in the NCAA got recruited by Ivies? That doesn't even make sense. Of course they did. What are you basing your statement on that people who say their kids rejected offers from Ivies, are actually lying?

Flagpole is basing it on jealousy that he or his offspring were not accepted to any Ivy

He does seem to envy those who made better decisions than him early in their careers and thus have been living a better life. He seems very bitter.

Schools account for retirement savings also, in my experience

he's very unsatisfied with his life and has to do everything to make himself feel better

I can’t specifically contradict what you are saying here, because I discouraged my daughter from applying to Ivies as I knew she would get no money. However, she did apply to Vanderbilt, along with several other prestigious schools, and she was accepted to all of them. Vandy’s regular decision acceptance rate was 4.7% for the class of 2026, so it stands to reason that she would’ve been accepted to an Ivy with an early decision application, but I obviously can’t prove it. She was also offered a full ride at a private, southern school. In the end, she took not quite full tuition at another highly regarded southern school.

So, I absolutely believe people who say their kids turned down Ivies for more local or higher-paying schools. Remember the kid from AL who got accepted to every Ivy but decided to enroll at the U of AL Honors college? Also, it is pretty well known that schools like a UNC Chapel Hill, a very good school, will offer a ridiculous amount of money to “poach” otherwise Ivy or Duke-bound kids. An exceptional strategy if you ask me. Again, why anyone would pay $80-85k per year, all in, for an Ivy or any brand as part of a reasonable retirement plan is beyond me. I guess for bragging rights and maybe Wall Street access. Many of these schools have huge endowments, so families don’t need to be paying full go.

Nobody is going to care that you went to Brown or Penn many years on, especially if you are a high achiever who went to a Tulane or Emory. Seriously, no one cares.

ranker.com

Southern Colleges Ranked: Best Colleges & Universities

AdmiralCrunch

A ranking of top Southern schools comparable to the Ivies, Little Ivies and other elite schools based on fewer variables/more transparency than US News or Forbes. This list considers schools in Virginia, the Carolinas, Georgi...

Open link

Here you go. Perhaps your daughter attended one of these. While I don’t personally agree with this entire list, the top 20, and, especially the top 10 are going to serve any kid well throughout life. So, if a kid can pull a full ride or full tuition from one of these schools, why would you choose an Ivy over that?

Future value cost savings of $60,000-85,000 per year for four years over a 10-20 year time horizon with a 7% assumed interest rate. That’s the math we are talking about on this thread. That is part of the retirement savings plan, the cost of college and the opportunity cost of saving that money. When you at it this way, a good state school makes a lot of sense for people, especially if you live in CA, MI, VA, TX, NC, FL or WA or have some form of reciprocity with them.

1) Regarding financial aid based on need, you are INCORRECT! The Ivies and other elite colleges haven't significantly (if at all) upped their financial aid based on need since my daughter started college.

2) I didn't say that Ivies didn't recruit athletes...BOTH of my student athlete kids were recruited by at least a couple of Ivy League school (one of my kids was recruited by almost all of them) to run for them. I said they don't give them academic or athletic scholarships. You need help with reading comprehension.

Ha!

I was not a good enough student in high school (nor good enough athletically with just 9:48 and 15:48 HS PRs) to get into an Ivy League School, so I didn't even apply. I do not mind admitting that.

Both of my kids were recruited athletes by multiple Ivy League schools, and they both had the grades and the test scores to be admitted. I will tell you that ONE of my kids decided not to go the Ivy League route because THAT kid wanted to compete at a higher level (former HS All-American). My other kid may or may not have gone to an Ivy League school, but regardless, it WAS and IS an elite university.

You did say that because you stated that anyone who says they got admitted to an Ivy and chose not to attend is lying. By saying that you acknowledge that many athletes get admitted but choose a school that provides them a scholarship, you are contradicting yourself. In fact, you must be lying based on your own logic.

What does it mean to be elite anyway? The University of Illinois might not be considered an elite university to most of the people on this board but its computer science department is elite. The University of Texas has an accounting program that is elite. I can go on and on with other examples. Applying to an ivy league school with an interest in sociology and sustainability might not be as hard as getting into some engineering programs at very good state schools.