- This topic has 533 replies, 25 voices, and was last updated 9 years, 10 months ago by
scaredyclassic.
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March 17, 2015 at 7:47 AM #783878March 17, 2015 at 9:03 AM #783879
scaredyclassic
ParticipantWhen I worked at a large law firm…everyone I knew had degrees from fancy undergrad…
When I worked at a public interest firm …lawyers came from schools I never even heard of…
So….
We can’t really gather our stats based on the neighbors we hang with …
Grunts in the trenches
March 17, 2015 at 9:38 AM #783883an
Participant[quote=scaredyclassic]The reality is the avg. Kid going to Cal state is not going to maintain a near 4.0 GPA and a kick as MCAT score.
But that’s not Cal state. That’s the kid
Given the size of Cal state LA 27 is a tiny no. Of apps esp. Since I vies produce 100 plus apps a year…but a Yale student transferring to Cal state could do it.
Csu to med school thread…
Of course it can be done…[/quote]base on that forum, some CSU student got in to medical school from CSU with a 3.6 GPA and a MCAT of 30. Considering max MCAT score is 45, it doesn’t seem to earth shattering high requirement just because you went to CSU. It seems like the data points to, if you want to get into medical school, get great GPA and high MCAT score and a lot of volunteer/experience. That sound just like undergrad.
March 17, 2015 at 11:33 AM #783889ParticipantMcat of 30 is 80th percentile. High. Not easy.
March 17, 2015 at 11:38 AM #783890Participant[quote=scaredyclassic]Mcat of 30 is 80th percentile. High. Not easy.[/quote]that’s a B-
March 17, 2015 at 12:24 PM #783891ParticipantAhh.. no.
The group of mcat takers are all hard core students who want to get into med. School. I suspect virtually all Mcat takers do fairly serious prep before taking it.
So to be in the top 1/5 of that group is difficult. It’s a brutal curve. Everyone in Chem 101 can get a b-. Only 1 in 5 can get a 30 on the mcat. Also apparently ivy league colleges produce a disproportionate number of applicanta. So the competition is stiff
March 17, 2015 at 12:42 PM #783898UCGal
ParticipantAll I know is that my 529 savings accounts will NOT be enough to pay for Ivy. But I’m hoping it will be enough to pay for UC. They can go to grad school on my dime if there’s money left over.
If my kids get accepted to Ivy and don’t get financial aid – then it’s an issue…
Truthfully, I doubt my kids will be accepted to Ivy schools – I’m hoping for acceptance to UC schools – which is much harder now than when I was accepted to UCB several decades ago. FWIW – my engineering degree from SDSU was good enough for me to support myself, sock away some money, and retire at age 52. I was not going to keep working just in case my kids wanted to go to Harvard instead of UCSD, UCLA, UCI, etc…
March 17, 2015 at 12:54 PM #783899
CoronitaParticipant[quote=UCGal] FWIW – my engineering degree from SDSU was good enough for me to support myself, sock away some money, and retire at age 52. I was not going to keep working just in case my kids wanted to go to Harvard instead of UCSD, UCLA, UCI, etc…[/quote]
I have to work for another 12 years? Shoot.
March 17, 2015 at 1:27 PM #783900nla
Participant[quote=UCGal]All I know is that my 529 savings accounts will NOT be enough to pay for Ivy. But I’m hoping it will be enough to pay for UC. They can go to grad school on my dime if there’s money left over.
If my kids get accepted to Ivy and don’t get financial aid – then it’s an issue…
Truthfully, I doubt my kids will be accepted to Ivy schools – I’m hoping for acceptance to UC schools – which is much harder now than when I was accepted to UCB several decades ago. FWIW – my engineering degree from SDSU was good enough for me to support myself, sock away some money, and retire at age 52. I was not going to keep working just in case my kids wanted to go to Harvard instead of UCSD, UCLA, UCI, etc…[/quote]
Since you are retired and if your household income is below 150K, an Ivy might be cheaper or comparable to a UC. Depending on your asset. Retirement accounts and to some schools, home equity, are not considered as “asset” in their calculation of financial aid determination.
March 17, 2015 at 7:34 PM #783916joec
Participant[quote=UCGal]All I know is that my 529 savings accounts will NOT be enough to pay for Ivy. But I’m hoping it will be enough to pay for UC. They can go to grad school on my dime if there’s money left over.
If my kids get accepted to Ivy and don’t get financial aid – then it’s an issue…
Truthfully, I doubt my kids will be accepted to Ivy schools – I’m hoping for acceptance to UC schools – which is much harder now than when I was accepted to UCB several decades ago. FWIW – my engineering degree from SDSU was good enough for me to support myself, sock away some money, and retire at age 52. I was not going to keep working just in case my kids wanted to go to Harvard instead of UCSD, UCLA, UCI, etc…[/quote]
Congrats on early retirement, but a lot of that has less to do with SDSU than an Ivy league degree. Having followed your posts for a long time here, I seriously believe if you went to an Ivy League school, you would have done just as well and my guess is, even much better with your work and savings ethics.
At the end of the day, you can go to SDSU and spend to no end and be on the streets, go to an Ivy and penny pinch and retire early too.
Early retirement is more about saving more than you spend and living a certain lifestyle…
March 17, 2015 at 8:54 PM #783920Participant[quote=joec][quote=UCGal]All I know is that my 529 savings accounts will NOT be enough to pay for Ivy. But I’m hoping it will be enough to pay for UC. They can go to grad school on my dime if there’s money left over.
If my kids get accepted to Ivy and don’t get financial aid – then it’s an issue…
Truthfully, I doubt my kids will be accepted to Ivy schools – I’m hoping for acceptance to UC schools – which is much harder now than when I was accepted to UCB several decades ago. FWIW – my engineering degree from SDSU was good enough for me to support myself, sock away some money, and retire at age 52. I was not going to keep working just in case my kids wanted to go to Harvard instead of UCSD, UCLA, UCI, etc…[/quote]
Congrats on early retirement, but a lot of that has less to do with SDSU than an Ivy league degree. Having followed your posts for a long time here, I seriously believe if you went to an Ivy League school, you would have done just as well and my guess is, even much better with your work and savings ethics.
At the end of the day, you can go to SDSU and spend to no end and be on the streets, go to an Ivy and penny pinch and retire early too.
Early retirement is more about saving more than you spend and living a certain lifestyle…[/quote]
I think I love work but sometimes just packing it in doesn’t sound bad.
I turn 52 in two weeks…and I cannot afford to quit. Still gotta pay off those dang student loans…and other things…
March 18, 2015 at 2:54 AM #783925CA renter
Participant[quote=scaredyclassic]
I think I love work but sometimes just packing it in doesn’t sound bad.I turn 52 in two weeks…and I cannot afford to quit. Still gotta pay off those dang student loans…and other things…[/quote]
I often think about your situation and the fact that you (and your wife?) have student loans you are still paying off. It’s one of the many reasons that we’ve decided to have our kids stay home and attend local JCs/universities for their undergrad degrees. It’s a bit depressing to know that a doctor and lawyer are still paying off their loans in their 40s and 50s…and that’s for an education that cost a whole lot less than it does today. 🙁
We desperately need to direct more public funding to education instead of constantly starting extremely costly wars around the world.
March 18, 2015 at 7:23 AM #783931Participant[quote=CA renter][quote=scaredyclassic]
I think I love work but sometimes just packing it in doesn’t sound bad.I turn 52 in two weeks…and I cannot afford to quit. Still gotta pay off those dang student loans…and other things…[/quote]
I often think about your situation and the fact that you (and your wife?) have student loans you are still paying off. It’s one of the many reasons that we’ve decided to have our kids stay home and attend local JCs/universities for their undergrad degrees. It’s a bit depressing to know that a doctor and lawyer are still paying off their loans in their 40s and 50s…and that’s for an education that cost a whole lot less than it does today. 🙁
We desperately need to direct more public funding to education instead of constantly starting extremely costly wars around the world.[/quote]
It’s mainly our fault. We were earning about 65000 together while she was a resident around 2000 annd had kids when we consolidated and refinanced into very long term multidecade but much lower payment loans. Payments low but around for seemingly ever. It had to be done at that time.
And while I like to complain about it our total payment is extremely manageable, around 600 a mo. But big chunks of our pvt. Loans were paid off along the way so the bill has changed a lot over time and also much of that debt was at much higher interest rate. As a percent of our income student loan payments loomed like a massive iceberg.
Because we had trouble along the way at particular moments though, when it wasn’t clear things were gonna be OK short term I am very averse to my kids loading up on school debt. I hate to think of them as stressed out as I was at certain times.
To me, personally, being able to pay SDSU tuition effortlessly now without screwing with our budget fills me with pride. Pride verging on euphoria. I am grateful for this possibility…
Perhaps some doors are therefore closed. But for all of us together in my family, all things considered, this is an amazing opportunity and value. Everyone’s experience, view of the world, relative optimism varies greatly so I could see how for some this feels like settling for 2nd rate. I just don’t feel that way. It feels smart.
Also, last night I dreamt I went to flyerinhi’s house.
March 19, 2015 at 12:22 AM #783943ParticipantWow, I’m impressed that you guys managed with three kids (or almost that) on $65K/year with student debt. While $600/month might seem manageable to you now, that must have been frightening with that income and a bunch of young kids.
You’re wise to keep your kids out of student debt (as much as possible); you have a lot to be proud of. I’m not as convinced as others are that doors are necessarily closed, either. Your kids are far better off with a state college education and no debt than they would be with six-figure debt that can’t be discharged in BK, and a degree from an Ivy League institution. Everybody likes to talk about the successful students from those institutions, but I know just as many who graduated from elite/Ivy institutions and are doing no better (some even worse off) than many of us who have degrees from state colleges. People always like to ignore those stories when making these decisions.
Sure, it makes sense for some kids who are majoring in certain specific areas to attend a higher-profile institution; but I think that there is more hype there than many realize. The students who are chosen to attend those universities are already primed to succeed in life — whether it’s because of money/family connections, or an incredibly high IQ and/or freakish drive — the odds of them being more successful than their peers is predetermined long before they ever enter the gates of the Ivy Leagues. The elite degrees are effectively certificates showing that these people officially possess these traits…traits that are almost always based on genetics/luck.
March 19, 2015 at 12:26 AM #783944ParticipantFunny about your dream. What was his house like? What did he look like in your dream.
I’ve dreamed about blog posters, too, even ones I’ve never met (including brian). They never materialize in a physically describable way, they simply exist by their usernames. Weird, isn’t it?
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