When my son announced that he wanted to attend Wabash College, a small private college in Crawfordsville, Indiana, my initial thought was: “We’ll never be able to afford that!” At the time, room, board, and tuition cost a little over $30,000 per year. I suggested that maybe he apply to a couple state universities as backups – Purdue or Indiana University, for example. He insisted that he was going to Wabash.
If your kid wants to go to a private college, don’t automatically assume that you can’t afford it. It may end up costing you less money!
He applied, marked the early decision option, and was accepted. While he celebrated his accomplishment, my wife and I were in shock – sticker shock – $30K?!
We took the next step in the application process, filing the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid ) – the financial aid form required by most colleges and universities. We then had to submit some financial records, including tax returns, and we scheduled a meeting with the financial aid director.
When we met with the financial aid director, he handed us a single sheet of paper that broke down the numbers for us. What a relief! Although attendance was still priced at over $30,000, we would be expected to pay only a little over $15,000! Our son would borrow about $5,000 per year, so we, his parents, were only going to have to pay a little over $10,000 annually. This was very comparable to what we would have had to pay for him to attend a state university.
Now, four years later, our daughter is going through the same process. Now, the situation is reversed: She is leaning heavily toward attending a state college, and we’re trying to convince her to consider smaller, private colleges, which are actually going to cost us less!
She was accepted into five schools – Purdue, Indiana University, DePauw, Manchester, and Hanover. So far, she has received four of her five financial aid statements. Here’s how they break down from most to least CtP (Cost to Parents – an unofficial designation I made up):
(The total financial aid offered by each school listed includes a $3,500 Stafford loan that our daughter would be responsible for paying.)
DePauw University
| Tuition & Fees | $31,825 |
| Room & Board | $8,400 |
| Total Cost | $40,225 |
| Total Financial Aid | $25,284 |
| CtP | $14,941 |
Purdue University
| Tuition & Fees | $7,750 |
| Room & Board | $7,930 |
| Total Cost | $15,680 |
| Total Financial Aid | $3,500 (loan) |
| CtP | $12,180 |
Indiana University
| Tuition & Fees (lower estimate) | $7,837 |
| Room & Board | $6,138 |
| Total Cost | $13,975 |
| Total Financial Aid | $3,500 (loan) |
| CtP | $10,475 |
Manchester College
| Tuition & Fees | $22,720 |
| Room & Board | $8100 |
| Total Cost | $30,820 |
| Total Financial Aid | $20,722 |
| CtP | $10,098 |
Hanover College
| Tuition & Fees | $24,700 |
| Room, Board, & Fees | $8,020 |
| Total Cost | $32,720 |
| Total Financial Aid | $24,203 |
| CtP | $8,517 |
The take home message here is this: If your kid wants to go to a private college, don’t automatically assume that you can’t afford it. If your “child” does relatively well in school and is willing to take on a moderate amount of debt, he or she may well be able to attend the college of his or her choice. Not only that, but it may end up costing you less money!
