Cost to get kids through college

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Earth Rider
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9:48p, 1/19/24
AG
Met with someone today through work who told me she gave 155k to her son to get through undergrad at A&M. She said he graduated with only 45k of student loans.

I guess I was surprised by the 200k she said it took to get her son a undergrad degree. In state tuition,

I have saved up for my 3, but I have a ways to go,

Just curious if parents recently sent their kids to college and have a good idea of the costs.

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AgOutsideAustin
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10:12p, 1/19/24
AG
Kid got out a year ago and tuition was $6,500 per semester I think, Rent was $650 per month plus $200 for utilities and internet. Plus food/ beer/ gas……. It's Texags so someone will always say scholarships, work, whatever, but I would figure at least $30K per year these days.
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AggieMD95
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12:30a, 1/20/24
AG
Have a freshman at A&M right now. Lives on campus. Has some small scholarships. First yr cost about $23k.

No reason a four yr A&M degree should go much over $100k unless u go crazy w living expenses
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Joseph in Cypress
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In reply to AgOutsideAustin • 1:39a, 1/20/24
AG
In the middle of it now with two kids. I would agree 100% with your tuition and housing cost. The rest is discretionary and will vary. Living expenses is the big cost that gets you to the 25-30k range.
Joseph George '92
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1Aggie99
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In reply to Earth Rider • 11:34a, 1/20/24
AG
$200k is wild and I would say probably not accurate. Our current FR is running about $15k per semester on campus all in. That number includes all the fun BS that comes with it.

Maybe OOS tuition but if in state that kid is living his best life to rack up $200k.
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bmks270
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In reply to AgOutsideAustin • 11:35a, 1/20/24
AG
AgOutsideAustin said:
Kid got out a year ago and tuition was $6,500 per semester I think, Rent was $650 per month plus $200 for utilities and internet. Plus food/ beer/ gas……. It's Texags so someone will always say scholarships, work, whatever, but I would figure at least $30K per year these days.


You need to add like 1-2k per semester in text books.

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aggiepaintrain
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12:27p, 1/20/24
AG
I have 2 at a&m right now

Here's what it costs for one of the beauties

$8k a semester in tuition and fees 12-13 hrs
Rent $750+ a month plus utilities
Food $500 a month
Gas $200 a month
Car ins $200 month
Fun $400 month

I guess if you track every cent you spend on your kid it could cost that much BUT a lot of those expenses would be spent even if your kid was not in school.

Blinn is 1/3 the cost so take that for what it's worth.



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Spaceship
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12:37p, 1/20/24
AG
This is helpful. My kids are still young - what rate of annual increase do you think is appropriate for planning?
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aggiepaintrain
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In reply to Spaceship • 12:40p, 1/20/24
AG
Spaceship said:
This is helpful. My kids are still young - what rate of annual increase do you think is appropriate for planning?


hard to say, went up 10% from one kid to the next and they started 2 years apart

I do not think the cost of tuition is sustainable… If you plan for 5% a year you're probably fine. But run the risk of over funding the 529
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uneedastraw
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4:20p, 1/20/24
Out of state here (CA) - A&M is ridiculous for out of state.

all I can comment on is private as that was our only good option for my son. It's my opinion that most try to be around $30-45k a year.
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10andBOUNCE
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In reply to aggiepaintrain • 4:24p, 1/20/24
AG
aggiepaintrain said:

Fun $400 month

I gotta hear more about what this is for
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Dill-Ag13
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In reply to Spaceship • 7:35p, 1/20/24
AG
Spaceship said:
This is helpful. My kids are still young - what rate of annual increase do you think is appropriate for planning?


I have a spreadsheet and have tracked A&M tuition since 2004 which is the furthest back data would go at the time.

3.5% is the average increase per year 2004 to 2023. The average since 2013 is about 2.2%.

As far as savings goes we have been saving about $250/month since our kids were born and are roughly on track.

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Spaceship
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In reply to Dill-Ag13 • 7:55p, 1/20/24
AG
Dill-Ag13 said:
Spaceship said:
This is helpful. My kids are still young - what rate of annual increase do you think is appropriate for planning?


I have a spreadsheet and have tracked A&M tuition since 2004 which is the furthest back data would go at the time.

3.5% is the average increase per year 2004 to 2023. The average since 2013 is about 2.2%.

As far as savings goes we have been saving about $250/month since our kids were born and are roughly on track.


Thanks! Is that rate based just on tuition or living expenses as well? I'm assuming the former.
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Bird Poo
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In reply to aggiepaintrain • 8:02p, 1/20/24
AG
aggiepaintrain said:
Spaceship said:
This is helpful. My kids are still young - what rate of annual increase do you think is appropriate for planning?


hard to say, went up 10% from one kid to the next and they started 2 years apart

I do not think the cost of tuition is sustainable… If you plan for 5% a year you're probably fine. But run the risk of over funding the 529
Can you just keep it in the account and transfer to grandkids?
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Dill-Ag13
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In reply to Spaceship • 8:39p, 1/20/24
AG
Just tuition. I quadruple the per semester tuition to get a rough estimate of 2-semesters inclusive of living expenses.
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drwong
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In reply to Bird Poo • 10:09a, 1/21/24
AG
Bird Poo said:
aggiepaintrain said:
Spaceship said:
This is helpful. My kids are still young - what rate of annual increase do you think is appropriate for planning?


hard to say, went up 10% from one kid to the next and they started 2 years apart

I do not think the cost of tuition is sustainable… If you plan for 5% a year you're probably fine. But run the risk of over funding the 529
Can you just keep it in the account and transfer to grandkids?
Yes or other siblings, yourself etc.

Starting this year, up to $35k lifetime can be rolled over to a Roth IRA. But the account has to be open for 15 years and is subject to annual Roth contribution limits (currently $7k/yr).
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northeastag
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In reply to aggiepaintrain • 10:31a, 1/21/24
AG
aggiepaintrain said:
I have 2 at a&m right now

Here's what it costs for one of the beauties

$8k a semester in tuition and fees 12-13 hrs
Rent $750+ a month plus utilities
Food $500 a month
Gas $200 a month
Car ins $200 month
Fun $400 month

I guess if you track every cent you spend on your kid it could cost that much BUT a lot of those expenses would be spent even if your kid was not in school.

Blinn is 1/3 the cost so take that for what it's worth.



Not trying to be snarky or anything, but 12-13 hours? Is that the norm today? I never took less than 15 in a semester and it still took me 4 1/2 years to finish (BSME).
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AggieDruggist89
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In reply to Earth Rider • 11:47a, 1/21/24
AG
$200,000 for Texas A&M undergrad? I hope ROI was there for the kid.

Here's my experience.

We put away $300 per month in 529 for each of our kids since they were 1 or so. Daughter started college in 2017 with about $110,000 in the 529 account. She went to UC Davis as we are CA residents. As we started to pay, the 529 continued to grow. I think about her 2nd year, I converted her account from index fund to cash. She graduated in 2021 with $35,000 left in her 529 account. She then went to Cornell Law School, $90,000 per year with some scholarship and she will graduate this May with about $150,000 in loans. She does have a corp Law job lined up and she shouldn't have issues paying back the loan.

Son has about $125,000 in his 529 account (all from $300 per month) and he will start college this fall. He's a much better student than the daughter. Our expectation is he'll go to a smaller liberal arts college with a full scholarship for 4 years and his 529 will be spent on his grad program.

Here's some additional comments and I know you didn't ask. I also know majority of people will disagree but here goes.

"Pursue happiness," "do what you love," "study what you're good at" are the biggest BS we can feed our kids. Because I know if that's what I did, I'd be a poor ass broke musician and a driving range pro giving golf lessons and I'd be very unhappy.

I grilled "Pursue Excellence" and "happiness will come and go" but look carefully at how you want to live your life in detail to where, what kind of house and choose a profession that can affords you the life. In that, you will find happiness, excellence, and will learn to love what you do. Whatever you love doing, keep it as a hobby unless you're Tom Cruise or Tiger Woods good.

Sorry...

TLDR, $200,000 for undergrad is too much.
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DannyDuberstein
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1:43p, 1/21/24
AG
If he spent $200k, he had a helluva good time.
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Dill-Ag13
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In reply to DannyDuberstein • 2:26p, 1/21/24
AG
No kidding. That's an absurd amount.
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DannyDuberstein
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In reply to Dill-Ag13 • 2:32p, 1/21/24
AG
Dill-Ag13 said:
No kidding. That's an absurd amount.


Absolutely. My daughter is a junior and thankfully was born just before the TTF closed. Her share of rent at nice places has been about $750-800/mo. So call that $35-40k for 4 years. I see what tuition/fees are and what the TTF pays A&M. I'd ballpark that at $7500/semester, so call that $60k if someone takes all 120ish hours there (most have enough AP and dual credit to take a big chunk out of this tho). So that's generously $100k to living and school. So the dude spent another $100k on food, gas, and beer money
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AggieDruggist89
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4:13p, 1/21/24
AG
Only undergrad I'm willing to spend $200k of my money are Harvard, Yale, Cal-Tech, MIT, and Stanford in hopes of networking opportunities. And not the quality of education.
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AggieDruggist89
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In reply to DannyDuberstein • 4:14p, 1/21/24
AG
DannyDuberstein said:
Dill-Ag13 said:
No kidding. That's an absurd amount.


Absolutely. My daughter is a junior and thankfully was born just before the TTF closed. Her share of rent at nice places has been about $750-800/mo. So call that $35-40k for 4 years. I see what tuition/fees are and what the TTF pays A&M. I'd ballpark that at $7500/semester, so call that $60k if someone takes all 120ish hours there (most have enough AP and dual credit to take a big chunk out of this tho). So that's generously $100k to living and school. So the dude spent another $100k on food, gas, and beer money


I'd allow expensive green fees
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aggiepaintrain
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In reply to northeastag • 6:31p, 1/21/24
AG
northeastag said:
aggiepaintrain said:
I have 2 at a&m right now

Here's what it costs for one of the beauties

$8k a semester in tuition and fees 12-13 hrs
Rent $750+ a month plus utilities
Food $500 a month
Gas $200 a month
Car ins $200 month
Fun $400 month

I guess if you track every cent you spend on your kid it could cost that much BUT a lot of those expenses would be spent even if your kid was not in school.

Blinn is 1/3 the cost so take that for what it's worth.



Not trying to be snarky or anything, but 12-13 hours? Is that the norm today? I never took less than 15 in a semester and it still took me 4 1/2 years to finish (BSME).


Summer school and mini-mesters make up the difference.

Every kid is different, your mileage may vary.

and glad I don't live in CA

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TMfrisco
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In reply to AggieDruggist89 • 7:05p, 1/21/24
AG
AggieDruggist89 said:
DannyDuberstein said:
Dill-Ag13 said:
No kidding. That's an absurd amount.


Absolutely. My daughter is a junior and thankfully was born just before the TTF closed. Her share of rent at nice places has been about $750-800/mo. So call that $35-40k for 4 years. I see what tuition/fees are and what the TTF pays A&M. I'd ballpark that at $7500/semester, so call that $60k if someone takes all 120ish hours there (most have enough AP and dual credit to take a big chunk out of this tho). So that's generously $100k to living and school. So the dude spent another $100k on food, gas, and beer money


I'd allow expensive green fees
I'm your age and I think a semester pass at the campus course was under $200. For that extra $100k I could have splurged and been a member at Briarcrest!
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DannyDuberstein
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7:11p, 1/21/24
AG
It was cheaper than that. Class of '96 here and it was $100 for unlimited weekday golf for a year when I was there.
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LOYAL AG
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In reply to uneedastraw • 10:35p, 1/21/24
AG
uneedastraw said:
Out of state here (CA) - A&M is ridiculous for out of state.

all I can comment on is private as that was our only good option for my son. It's my opinion that most try to be around $30-45k a year.


My daughter has a film degree from tu but we visited UCLA and USC 7 years ago and UCLA was going to be like $62k/year out-of-state. She loved both of the California schools but in the end tu won out when I told her I would pay the approximately $35k/year for Texas and she would have to carry the debt for the rest.
A fearful society is a compliant society. That's why Democrats and criminals prefer their victims to be unarmed. Gun Control is not about guns, it's about control.
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AggieDruggist89
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In reply to TMfrisco • 9:05a, 1/22/24
AG
TMfrisco said:
AggieDruggist89 said:
DannyDuberstein said:
Dill-Ag13 said:
No kidding. That's an absurd amount.


Absolutely. My daughter is a junior and thankfully was born just before the TTF closed. Her share of rent at nice places has been about $750-800/mo. So call that $35-40k for 4 years. I see what tuition/fees are and what the TTF pays A&M. I'd ballpark that at $7500/semester, so call that $60k if someone takes all 120ish hours there (most have enough AP and dual credit to take a big chunk out of this tho). So that's generously $100k to living and school. So the dude spent another $100k on food, gas, and beer money


I'd allow expensive green fees
I'm your age and I think a semester pass at the campus course was under $200. For that extra $100k I could have splurged and been a member at Briarcrest!
I think the semester pass was $25 my fish year... 1985
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TMfrisco
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In reply to AggieDruggist89 • 10:19a, 1/22/24
AG
AggieDruggist89 said:
TMfrisco said:
AggieDruggist89 said:
DannyDuberstein said:
Dill-Ag13 said:
No kidding. That's an absurd amount.


Absolutely. My daughter is a junior and thankfully was born just before the TTF closed. Her share of rent at nice places has been about $750-800/mo. So call that $35-40k for 4 years. I see what tuition/fees are and what the TTF pays A&M. I'd ballpark that at $7500/semester, so call that $60k if someone takes all 120ish hours there (most have enough AP and dual credit to take a big chunk out of this tho). So that's generously $100k to living and school. So the dude spent another $100k on food, gas, and beer money


I'd allow expensive green fees
I'm your age and I think a semester pass at the campus course was under $200. For that extra $100k I could have splurged and been a member at Briarcrest!
I think the semester pass was $25 my fish year... 1985
I don't remember the number, but know they lost money on me.
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Quinn
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In reply to Spaceship • 11:33a, 1/22/24
AG
Spaceship said:
This is helpful. My kids are still young - what rate of annual increase do you think is appropriate for planning?
My kids are 1st grade and younger. Whenever I've run the Schwab college savings calculator for A&M, it ends up around $200k - 215K for 4 years all in.
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rlb28
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11:36a, 1/22/24
AG
Whatever you have saved up, it's not enough!
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In reply to AggieDruggist89 • 11:36a, 1/22/24
AG
AggieDruggist89 said:
$200,000 for Texas A&M undergrad? I hope ROI was there for the kid.

Here's my experience.

We put away $300 per month in 529 for each of our kids since they were 1 or so. Daughter started college in 2017 with about $110,000 in the 529 account. She went to UC Davis as we are CA residents. As we started to pay, the 529 continued to grow. I think about her 2nd year, I converted her account from index fund to cash. She graduated in 2021 with $35,000 left in her 529 account. She then went to Cornell Law School, $90,000 per year with some scholarship and she will graduate this May with about $150,000 in loans. She does have a corp Law job lined up and she shouldn't have issues paying back the loan.

Son has about $125,000 in his 529 account (all from $300 per month) and he will start college this fall. He's a much better student than the daughter. Our expectation is he'll go to a smaller liberal arts college with a full scholarship for 4 years and his 529 will be spent on his grad program.

Here's some additional comments and I know you didn't ask. I also know majority of people will disagree but here goes.

"Pursue happiness," "do what you love," "study what you're good at" are the biggest BS we can feed our kids. Because I know if that's what I did, I'd be a poor ass broke musician and a driving range pro giving golf lessons and I'd be very unhappy.

I grilled "Pursue Excellence" and "happiness will come and go" but look carefully at how you want to live your life in detail to where, what kind of house and choose a profession that can affords you the life. In that, you will find happiness, excellence, and will learn to love what you do. Whatever you love doing, keep it as a hobby unless you're Tom Cruise or Tiger Woods good.

Sorry...

TLDR, $200,000 for undergrad is too much.
Hunblebrag is almost always used incorrectly, but this is how you humblebrag, folks.
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AggieDruggist89
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In reply to Quinn • 1:35p, 1/22/24
AG
Yes, I'm proud of them.

But it didn't happen by itself.

Parenting is pain in the ass with very little return and benefits for me. Nor are there guarantees the kids will turn out well. I was very strict. Kids hardly ever got toys but they could get unlimited books. Accelerated Reading program was great and my daughter set the record in 2nd grade or so.

We had to force the kids to quit reading and eat or go to bed etc. Everything else was easy academically mostly due to their reading, I believe.

Son has never made a B in his life. Weighted GPA of 4.8 and 1570 SAT. My daughter was a bit on the lazy side and had lower GPA and SAT.
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AggieDruggist89
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In reply to Quinn • 2:06p, 1/22/24
AG
Quinn said:
Spaceship said:
This is helpful. My kids are still young - what rate of annual increase do you think is appropriate for planning?
My kids are 1st grade and younger. Whenever I've run the Schwab college savings calculator for A&M, it ends up around $200k - 215K for 4 years all in.


When we ran the numbers in year 2000 for CA instate, it came up with $133k for undergrad. And $300 per month was the #. My buddy financial planner set it up for us. Before a golf outing, he called me and said AD, bring me a check for $300. I said what for. He said stfu and just bring me a. Check.

Worked out for us.
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FriskyGardenGnome
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In reply to AggieDruggist89 • 2:42p, 1/22/24
AG
AggieDruggist89 said:
Only undergrad I'm willing to spend $200k of my money are Harvard, Yale, Cal-Tech, MIT, and Stanford in hopes of networking opportunities. And not the quality of education.
Except those will run you over $300k if you're near full pay.
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