Myth #13
“That big name college is too expensive for me; I just can’t afford it.”
This is one of the trickiest and most important myths in the entire admissions process. Because it is so involved, I could spend several hours just on this particular misconception. Relax . . . I said I could spend hours not that I would spend hours discussing it! But it is important to review a few of the basics. Let’s take Harvard as an example. Everyone has heard of it and everyone knows that it’s expensive. How expensive. Well, just the tuition portion of the bill is about $30,000. By comparison back in 1975 it was about $3,000. It’s not just that the percentage increase is substantial, about a ten fold increase, but the impact of the real dollars is dramatic. The total bill to attend Harvard back then including room, board, fees, books etc was about $5,000 . . . on paper anyway the total bill is now about $50,000 per year. If the number had been $500 back in the 70’s then a tenfold increase wouldn’t be too tough to swallow . . . but $50,000 is a lot. Not even giving up a daily Starbucks will help much!
So why should anyone who has a couple of kids and isn’t very wealthy even consider a school as expensive as Harvard? Because it doesn’t cost $50,000 to go to Harvard . . . regardless of what is says on the web and in all of those brochures and books. At least it doesn’t cost $50,000 unless you can comfortably afford it! Harvard, and many of America’s top schools, give out enormous amounts of financial aid. And financial aid today isn’t what you remember it to be. How different is it? Averaged across the entire class, a typical Harvard student pays just 40% of the sticker price. What does that mean in the real world? The math is pretty simple. The mythical “average” student at Harvard next year won’t be paying the $50,000 published on the web site . . . more likely, he or she will be paying about $20,000. At that price, cut out the Starbucks and maybe you’ve got a deal!
The good news at big name colleges doesn’t stop there. Let’s continue with our Harvard example. As you explore the details of their financial aid program, the news gets even better. At this Ivy League icon, students who have a family income less than $60,000 pay no tuition . . . zero, nada, zilch! In fact, students who have a family income between $60,000 and $180,000 will pay a maximum of 10% of their income to attend Harvard. That’s right, if your family earns $180,000 per year, you’ll only be expected to pay $18,000 per year to attend Harvard.
While the Harvard financial aid guidelines are among the most generous in the country, many other wealthy colleges offer similar programs. Emory, MIT, Yale, Princeton, Rice and more than a dozen others offer exceptional financial aid and support to students. To review the colleges with the largest endowments, read this article http://uraccepted.com/fanfour.html from the “You Need To Know” section of uraccepted.
Many of the biggest name and most expensive schools also have the biggest endowments. They’re terrified of becoming or even being labeled as an economically elite school . . . so they put their money where their mouth is and fund enormous amounts of financial aid. I know this seems crazy but for the average family, many of America’s most expensive schools will be their best bargain and cheapest tuition!
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