RL129 - How to Lower the Cost of Education
Today on the Retirement Lifestyle Show, Roshan Loungani, Erik Olson, and Adrian Nicholson go through easy-to-implement strategies to lower the cost of college. They talk about the current cost of attending college, how to pay for college without breaking the bank, and whether the price of attending an elite school is really worth it.
[01:02] A Strategic Look at Paying For Your Kid's College Education
[06:30] Stanford University Research on the Burden of Student Loans
[09:21] Do Your Kids Really Need College?
[13:42] How to Pay for Your Kid's College: What Parents Need to Know
[15:55] Work-Study Programs Eligibility
[17:10] The Current Cost of Attending College
[20:20] The Most Expensive College in the World
[21:25] Developing a College Search Strategy
[29:09] Ways to Reduce the Cost of College
[32:15] Understanding Federal Financial Aid
[35:45] How Does the FAFSA Determine Who Will Receive Aid and How Much?
[37:50] All You Need to Know About Student Aid
[44:40] The 529 Plan Rules and Contribution Limits
[49:25] When and When Not to Put Assets in Your Children's Names
[53:00] Tips on Spending Money in College Savings Accounts
[55:28] How the National Guard Helps Pay For College
[58:20] Parting Thoughts
For more links and the full show notes keep scrolling down!
Roshan Loungani can be reached at roshan.loungani@aretewealth.com or at 202-536-4468.
Erik Olson can be reached at erik.olson@aretewealth.com or 815-940-4652.
Adrian Nicholson can be reached at adrian.nicholson@aretewealth.com or at 703-915-8905.
For links to your favorite platform like Spotify, iTunes and so on go here:
Select episodes, like this one, can be found on YouTube:
Follow Us At:
Podcast Website: https://www.retirementlifestyleshow.com https://www.retirewithroshan.com https://youtu.be/hKVzI87v0tA https://twitter.com/RoshanLoungani https://www.linkedin.com/in/roshanloungani/ https://www.facebook.com/retirewithroshan/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/financialerik/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/adrian-nicholson-74b82b13b/ #retirementlifestylepodcast #fire #podcast #FI #Retire #retirewithroshan
Full Show Notes:
Is an Expensive College Worth It?
Does attending a super expensive college translate to having the best education? Probably not. Education quality often depends on how passionate a person is about learning a particular topic.
Stanford University published a paper in 2018 where they tackled the pros and cons of taking your kids to an ultra-elite school. What they found was something super interesting. First, people grossly overestimate how much advantage a child will have from a career standpoint by attending a super expensive elite school versus another school. In some cases, going to a school that's too challenging for them or where they're not well prepared academically might actually do more harm than good. Yes, they'll have social connections, but they might wind up either demoralized, dropping out, or looking at themselves differently as perhaps less successful than their peer groups. This often happens because they surround themselves with the ultra-elite peer group of hyper performers. And on that basis, they don't develop a sense of confidence and determination that they might otherwise have had.
Reasons Why College is Not For Everyone
As a parent, you naturally want your kids to grow into successful and productive adults. For most parents, the path to success for their children often goes down the college education route. But here's the thing, college might be a good option for many people, but it isn't for everyone. And not attending a four-year college doesn't mean you won't have a meaningful professional life.
The bottom line is that college isn't for everyone. Employers also realize that some skills just can't be obtained by attending a degree program. However, specific jobs like engineering or medicine definitely require a college degree. But if you want to pursue art or culinary skills, maybe you just need hands-on experience for that.
Links and Resources:
Other resources from the Stanford researchers' work: https://challengesuccess.org/
The distribution of GPA and test scores for each college, plus a discussion of their costs: https://www.collegeboard.org/
National Center for Education Statistics “College Navigator:” https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/
More on college matches:
https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/college-search https://Cappex.com/college-match http://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator
FAFSA vs CSS Profile: https://www.bankrate.com/loans/student-loans/css-profile-vs-fafsa/
College Board, Trends in Student Aid: https://research.collegeboard.org/trends/student-aid Net cost: https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/pay-for-college/calculate-your-cost
All opinions expressed by podcast hosts and guests are solely their own. While based on information that they believe is reliable, neither Arete Wealth nor its affiliates warrant its completeness or accuracy, nor do their opinions reflect the opinion of Arete Wealth. This podcast is for general informational purposes only, and should not be regarded as specific advice or recommendations for any individual. Before making any decisions, consult a professional.