The current average tuition for a private four-year college is estimated about $26,000 and it is estimated about $ 7,000 for public four year schools (Collegeborad.com). Based on the The New York times College cost calculator, it is even more expensive. If the cost for now is $37,390 for private four- year (on-campus) and then a fifteen years from now, it would be $150,481 yearly. For public 4-year schools, if it is $7,000 now and, it will be $ 28,172. This projection is calculated with a 3% inflation rate. Some websites even use 7% inflation rate for tuition increase, and the numbers for sure are unbelievable big.
I was stunned after I learnt these significant numbers. I was aware that the college is expensive but with this kind of rising rate, how can any family with median income pay for two kids to attend college at the same time? Are the numbers projected correctly? What kind of estimation will Ben Bernanke or Alan Greenspan have if they have toddler kids? The increase in tuition is much faster than the increase in my salary. How will people afford going to college? I cannot dream about the college grants, scholarships and student loans that my kids will have many years from now to significantly reduce the tuition. It is too far ahead to predict all of these.
I do not have a strategy to save so much money since our employers do not pay us extra for college planning and they are not going to pay 7% pay increase annually. The main income will still need to go mortgage, food and utility. We will try to save dollars here and there as we could and put them in their college saving accounts. Right now, there are three types of accounts available for minors. One is Education account, the maximum contribution is $2,000 per year. The money in education account can be used for any education expense. Second, it is a state government sponsored 529 education plan. The total contribution limit to 529 accounts is $310,000, and it can be only used for college expense among family members. Both education and 529 accounts invest tax-free for college and the beneficiaries can be changed. However, there are penalties for nonqualified withdrawals; they are federal income tax plus 10% penalty tax, and state penalties. The third is custodial account, under the uniform gifts to minors act. The money can be used for any purpose that benefits the child, and it is controlled by custodian, until the child is of legal age.
My plan is to save some money if we can now. No new car purchase for the parents, no luxurious toys for the twins, and everyone will need to share… Some universities and companies have employer tuition assistance programs, so I will start to look for a new job with such benefits soon. Fifteen years later, either we can take a home equity loan or we can downsize, sell our current house and move to a small one, money from either one can be used for their tuitions. Or I can quit my job, so it will be easier for them to get financial aids. It becomes more and more complicated as I think it more. My husband told me to relax. In the future, maybe there is e-University, and the cost will not be so high. So every kid can learn whatever they desire for and they can learn them all from home computer with a click.
I had better teach my children ABC first and deal with the college crisis later.
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2009 2008 Rank School Name Country
1 1 HARVARD University United States
2 3 University of CAMBRIDGE United Kingdom
3 2 YALE University United States
4 7 UCL (University College London) United Kingdom
5 6 IMPERIAL College London United Kingdom
5 4 University of OXFORD United Kingdom
7 8 University of CHICAGO United States
8 12 PRINCETON University United States
9 9 MASSACHUSETTS Institute of Technology (MIT) United States
10 5 CALIFORNIA Institute of Technology (Caltech) United States
11 10 COLUMBIA University United States
12 11 University of PENNSYLVANIA United States
13 13 JOHNS HOPKINS University United States
14 13 DUKE University United States
15 15 CORNELL University United States
16 17 STANFORD University United States
17 16 AUSTRALIAN National University Australia
18 20 MCGILL University Canada
19 18 University of MICHIGAN United States
20 24 ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology) Switzerland
20 23 University of EDINBURGH United Kingdom
22 19 University of TOKYO Japan
23 22 KING'S College London United Kingdom
24 26 University of HONGKONG Hong Kong
25 25 KYOTO University Japan
26 29 University of MANCHESTER United Kingdom
27 21 CARNEGIE MELLON University United States
28 28 École normale supérieure, PARIS France
29 41 University of TORONTO Canada
30 30 National University of Singapore (NUS) Singapore
31 27 BROWN University United States
32 33 NORTHWESTERN University United States
32 30 University of CALIFORNIA, Los Angeles (UCLA) United States
34 32 University of BRISTOL United Kingdom
35 39 HONG KONG University of Science and Technology Hong Kong
36 34 ÉCOLE POLYTECHNIQUE France
36 38 University of MELBOURNE Australia
36 37 University of SYDNEY Australia
39 36 University of California, BERKELEY United States
40 34 University of BRITISH COLUMBIA Canada
41 43 University of QUEENSLAND Australia
42 50 École Polytechnique Fédérale de LAUSANNE Switzerland
43 44 OSAKA University Japan
43 49 TRINITY College Dublin Ireland
45 47 MONASH University Australia
46 42 The CHINESE University of Hong Kong Hong Kong
47 50 SEOUL National University Korea, South
47 45 University of NEWSOUTH WALES Australia
49 56 TSINGHUA University China
49 53 University of AMSTERDAM Netherlands
51 48 University of COPENHAGEN Denmark
52 40 NEW YORK University(NYU) United States
52 50 PEKING University China
54 46 BOSTON University United States
55 78 Technische Universitaet Muenchen (TUM) Germany
55 61 TOKYO Institute of Technology Japan
57 57 HEIDELBERG University Germany
58 69 University of WARWICK United Kingdom
59 74 University of ALBERTA Canada
60 64 LEIDEN University Netherlands
61 65 The University of AUCKLAND New Zealand
61 55 University of WISCONSIN-Madison United States
63 81 AARHUS University Denmark
63 71 University of ILLINOIS, Chicago (UIC) United States
65 72 Katholieke Universiteit LEUVEN Belgium
66 75 University of BIRMINGHAM United Kingdom
67 66 LONDON School of Economics and Political Science United Kingdom
67 88 LUND University Sweden
69 95 KAIST – Korea Advanced Institute of Science Korea, South
70 81 University of YORK United Kingdom
70 67 UTRECHT University Netherlands
72 68 University of GENEVA Switzerland
73 77 Nanyang Technological University (NTU) Singapore
73 60 WASHINGTON University in St. Louis United States
75 63 UPPSALA University Sweden
76 58 University of CALIFORNIA, San Diego United States
76 70 University of TEXAS at Austin United States
78 102 University of NORTH CAROLINA, Chapel Hill United States
79 73 University of GLASGOW United Kingdom
80 59 University of WASHINGTON United States
81 106 University of ADELAIDE Australia
82 76 University of SHEFFIELD United Kingdom
83 78 DELFT University of Technology Netherlands
84 83 University of WESTERN AUSTRALIA Australia
85 54 DARTMOUTH College United States
86 83 GEORGIA Institute of Technology United States
87 99 PURDUE University United States
87 83 University of STANDREWS United Kingdom
89 108 University College DUBLIN Ireland
90 62 EMORY University United States
91 86 University of NOTTINGHAM United Kingdom
92 120 NAGOYA University Japan
92 106 University of ZURICH Switzerland
94 137 Freie Universität BERLIN Germany
95 124 National TAIWAN University Taiwan
95 99 University of SOUTHAMPTON United Kingdom
97 112 TOHOKU University Japan
98 93 Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München Germany
99 104 University of LEEDS United Kingdom
100 78 RICE University United States
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