OT - How much more would you pay for your kid to to to Michigan?
My parents both went to Michigan and my brothers and i all went there. None of our kids have gone to Michigan and my son, a senior in HS, is the youngest of the generation.
He has been admitted to (in alphabetical order): Maryland (in-state), Michigan, North Carolina, Southern California, Tulane and Wisconsin. Maryland and Wisconsin are definitely out of the picture. Here is the cost of one year's tuition and fees and room and board at each of the schools.
Tulane - $29,000 (after scholarship offer)
North Carolina - $34,000
Michigan - $46, 000 (fincreases for third and fourth years)
Southern California - $52,000
He isn't sure about major but thinking of History with a minor in marketing.
We can afford to cover UNC without him incurring any student loans for undergrad and without me taking on any debt. Michigan would probably require taking on some debt and perhaps delaying retirement for a year for me.
North Carolina is closest to home - about 4.5 hour drive. MIchigan 8.5 hours. New Orleans and Southern Cal - no realistic driving option. (Maryland is about 15 minutes from home, which is why it is out of the picture.)
(There are emotional ties to UNC as well; my wife and I met there during grad school. She went to UC Santa Cruz undergrad.)
How much more would you be willing to pay for your kid to go to Michigan in these circumstances. Assume he really likes Michigan, but really likes the other three options as well.
Agreed. I didn't do that, but my brother in the music school did that and they essentially found a way to match his offers from other universities.
March 31st, 2011 at 12:12 AM ^
LOANS LOANS LOANS LOANS LOANS. Try to visit some places, and have him go wherever he feels most comfortable.
Also, if he's really interested in Marketing, I'd advise him to make that his major and minor if History if that's what he wants to do. Unless he's planning to sell stuff at a museum gift shop (or get a PhD and become a prof as has been mentioned), a marketing degree is worth a lot more. Nothing wrong with taking some history classes, but it's just not a degree that's in high demand in the work force... (Getting a decent job helps out if he has to take on some debt.)
March 31st, 2011 at 12:45 AM ^
UNC. Hell, fuck it. It's undergrad. I'd make him go to Maryland if I was footing the bill. I'm a little bitter though since I have $45K on my shoulders. Save as much as possible and if you can, pay for it. Grad school student loans will be a bitch (if he's even considering that option). I'm not trying to sound like a dick (Poli Sci major/History minor) but a liberal arts degree isn't really worth the OOS at Michigan.
34 k :|. You gotta treat school like an investment and putting that money in a history degree...idk it doesnt seem like a smart move to me. I dont want to sound like a hater, but for undergrad stay at home....unless your paid.
My kids are native american (meaning they have a tuition waiver to any in-state public school). They can go anywhere they're heart desires for grad school, but they both know they are going to UM for undergrad, just that much more spending money in their pockets....and in mine.
It all comes down to whether or not he gets redshirted the first year. If he does, you're screwed, you need him done in four years.
Michigan education is priceless! So any amount is worth it.
$1,999.95 interest-free for twelve months . . . and if you call now we'll throw in a free spot in West Quad!
As the goverment keeps getting involved in helping to reduce the costs? Coincidinky? I don't think so.
One trick, not always popular but less expensive by a long margin, is to go to a good JC for two years then transfer to a 4 year. Financially, you'll be saving a boat load and the attention and education at a good JC rivals if not exceeds that of the first two years at a major uni being stuck in a 300+ class with a prof that would rather not be teaching.
Just an idea...
Excellent work as always, Hoken!
Shouldn't you be making triple digits right about now instead?
...on oil today! :)
Hmmm, 184k in debt for a history degree. What is the income potential when he graduates to help pay some of that off? Of couse, the 184k is assuming he graduates in 4 years, might take longer.
a History degree from Michigan is FAR SUPERIOR than any other history degree because it's Michigan!
Go IN DEBT!
You might want to update your signature line, because our women's softball team is also in the top ten. I believe they were ranked #4 last time I checked, behind Alabama and two other warm-weather schools. Just a helpful update.
March 31st, 2011 at 10:38 AM ^
$48k in debt. OP said he could afford North Carolina, but would need to take on debt or put off retirement for the incremental $12k/year at UM.
I woke up this morning, poured myself a cup of coffee, and began to read this thread. It immediately became clear that...............I have no time to read this shit. I gotta go sell something. Good God I need to ratchet things up.
March 31st, 2011 at 10:01 AM ^
Echoing others here, I'm curious as to why Maryland isn't in the picture. Offhand, it seems like an obvious choice. If he tears it up there and smokes the appropriate test (MCAT/LSAT/whatever) he'll have plenty of good options.
As for the rest of the list, I'm tempted to say "Go in order of increasing financial distress."
I don't know too much about 2011 Tulane (post-hurricane and all that), but its reputation was pretty good when I last checked. It's on the small side and the student body composition is somewhat odd (with a remarkable number of East Coast types that you might see at UMich).
I'd feel very comfortable with UNC on multiple levels. That is a full-service school.
We all know the deal with UMich. Go Blue.
USC? On the rise academically, but your son would have to be comfortable hanging around with a lot of "OC" types. SoCal people can correct me as appropriate, but USC has long seemed like a finishing school for moneyed Rancho Palos Verdes / Orange Country types. Great if you're of that mold, but maybe not the best place for everyone.
March 31st, 2011 at 11:13 AM ^
he wants to go away to school, rather than 15 minutes from home.
March 31st, 2011 at 11:33 AM ^
I can certainly understand that, and AFAIK there aren't any other (Maryland) state schools worth mentioning.
Was UVa ever in the picture? I'm assuming so. Public Ivy, away but not too far, etc. ...
March 31st, 2011 at 10:07 AM ^
Personally I wouldn't pay anything more just for the "Michigan" name on the degree.
In fact, for undergrad I would probably recommend going to school abroad somewhere. Tuition (even for foreigners) is often much less. It's an excellent opportunity for picking up a new language and the cultural experience would likely look excellent should the student later apply to graduate schools.
March 31st, 2011 at 10:20 AM ^
michigan can go sewk fungus ridden walnuts for all i care.
i just like the football team. the rest of it can burn in a fire.
March 31st, 2011 at 10:37 AM ^
$12,000/yr difference vs UNC.
30 year federal student loan, 5% interest
Back of the envelope calc is that each $12,000/year costs you $64 per month in payments.
It'll end up being a bit more unless the loans are subsidized, because interest will accrue during each year of school and payments don't start until 6 months after graduation.
Ballpark, $64*4=$256/month, or a littlle more than $3000 per year.
Each 1% reduction in rate lowers monthly payments by about $7.
March 31st, 2011 at 11:10 AM ^
Just a couple of thoughts:
-I have undergrad and law degrees from U of M. I've been fortunate to find employment in different markets (and at different points in the economic cycle) in the ten years since I graduated, but I think that has more to do with the law degree than with the undergrad degree. If you want to pay the premium to attend Michigan, I'd save for grad school. You get more value since most of the grad programs are ranked higher than the undergrad program as a whole. Tougher to get in, of course, but your child sounds like a self-starter.
-As you probably know, student loans, whether incurred by a parent or a child, have good and bad attributes. The interest is tax deductible up to a certain income amount (I want to say it's $80K, but I forget). But they are close to impossible to get rid of in a bankruptcy. Hopefully neither you nor your child is contemplating a BKY filing anytime soon, but if you are risk adverse, I'd at least think about the possibility. A bad job market, a bad housing purchase, a medical emergency, a nasty divorce - these could all precipitate a BKY filing after college. Knowing that you can't get rid of student loans in that situation can limit your options.
-Also, student loans force you to take the "higher-paying-but-soul-sucking" job over the "what-I-really-want-to-do-with-my-life job" everytime. I think most U of M alums will vouch for the University, Ann Arbor and the overall experience, but you have to think about what your child wants to do afteward (and what kind of income or expenses your child will face based on that job choice). Walking out of Michigan will massive student loan debt limits your options (but so can going to a "bad" school).
-Avoid Tulane, or at least visit before you go. Good school, but NO is a crazy party town. Not sure how anyone goes to Tulane and does not fail out in the first year. I know I would!
March 31st, 2011 at 11:26 AM ^
I would agree with the people that say "tell your kid what you can afford, and if he chooses a more expensive place, he can take out the loans."
I would also agree with those that say you should have a pragmatic conversation about the value of the specific degree vs. the price - I'm the proud owner of a Michigan History degree, and I'd agree with the "why the hell did you pay all that for that?" crowd.