As a parent who is in the midst of college apps with a high school (soon to be) senior, and another one in college, I generally agree with the theme of the article, which is a very popular sentiment these days.
However, especially for those of us in CA, there CAN be financial deals out there at private schools, especially those further away. For example, with several private schools on the east coast, for child #1, we found it cost about the same as a UC (which is currently approx 30-32k/year inc room and board) taking merit aid/grants into account (private school full cost without aid is 50k-ish). The difference is that private schools value having a mix of students, not only ethnically but geographically and based on skills, talents, socio-economic background, etc. They look more closely at the individual, and if your child fits a piece of the puzzle they’re looking for or find valuable, then some aid will come his/her way. Doesn’t always happen, but if your child applies to a range of schools, and has a unique characteristic or two, there are bound to be one or two that will hit.
The community college route (ideally with a later transfer in to a UC) is of course the best financial deal going. Sometimes, though, a community college environment is not at all the right fit for an 18-yr-old, and I’ve heard countless stories of very unsuccessful academic experiences at CCs when the kid becomes completey derailed, and then you’re wasting 100% of your tuition and ending up with a kid who usually ends up in a dead-end job and has wasted a lot of time so no bargain there. For many kids, this time of life is an important fork in the road, and like it or not, the maturity, self-motivation, self-discipline, decision-making skills and judgment may not be sufficiently developed for such a young person to take advantage of all that a CC offers. Yes, we can all comment on how these kids “should” be and the skills that they “should” have at this stage, but each kid matures differently. It all just depends on the individual.
