Hey everybody (especially Flu!) I’ve been following this thread with interest as I have a 12th, 10th, and 6th grader. Please post to the group as there is a lot of interest. I suspect there are a lot of lurkers like me that don’t bother to post political or cultural comments. We are just interested in useful info!
I have 529s (and Educational IRAs) via Vanguard. I’m not advocating this. It was just a painless path for me. The 529 is actually through Nevada and given that none of my kids have even a remote interest in moving to Nevada (can’t say I blame them 🙂 ) this seems sort of silly. If there are 529s that people like that give me some sort of cost advantage for Californian schools I’d like to know.
My own limited research is that for somebody like me (~240K/yr income) there is not a chance in hell of getting financial aid so I should max out on things like 529s. I mention this because I have heard arguments that the 529s will be counted against you for purposes of financial aid. That might be a concern for some. If folks have other tips to save for college, please share.
Finally, I’m particularly curious how folks with older kids (FLU, I’m talking to you!) got on with trying to get residency in other states to lower their tuition. Back in my day when dinosaurs roamed the earth, one could establish California residency (for example) after 1 year and thereby lower the tuition for UC Berkeley. You basically just had to get a driver’s license and maybe live with your aunt for the summer or have a part time job. My understanding is that it’s much, much harder now in every state but I’d like to be corrected by those who know. All of my kids are interested in California schools but one of them is also interested in University of Hawaii* and maybe University of Oregon. Turns out that University of Hawaii non-resident total cost is roughly the same as a University of California school resident cost. The resident cost of University of Hawaii is dirt cheap so hence my interest in what it takes to become a resident. Heck, it might even be worth buying a studio condo to get her residency. But again, I think most states have clamped down and make rules like “must have been there 3 years prior”.
Thanks!
*Yes, I’m well aware that University of Hawaii is not as prestigious as UC Berkeley or Santa Barbara. Whether one gets more out of a prestigious school or whether your results come from what you put into it yourself is a (long) topic for another thread!
