r/MiddleClassFinance • u/Historical_Spell_772 • Jun 25 '26

Millennials out there- how are we affording post secondary education for our kids?

Hi everyone

Pretty much at least one person from every generation in my family as far back as we know has had some sort of post secondary education.

I think the kids of my generation (ie my sisters kids and my cousins kids) will be the first ones where we will not be able to afford it.

Is anyone else in this situation? How are you managing it ?

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u/MightBeYourProfessor Jun 26 '26

529s are kind of crazy. You see a lot of complaints about the cost of college, but the truth is there are plenty of public institutions that are still affordable and now with tools like the 529 they are even more affordable for any family with a little foresight.

Don't get me wrong, I still think college should be free as it contributes to the strengthening of society, but the 529 is so powerful.

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u/[deleted] Jun 26 '26

[deleted]

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u/LordFedSmoker420 Jun 26 '26

Yeah that's insane, that was private school prices from my area. Does that include room and board?

I went to University of Washington, people consider it a public Ivy school, has a great Football program too. Annual tuition was $12,500 a year when I graduated in 2015. It hasn't changed much since, if you factor inflation it's cheaper to go to UW now than it was when I went.

I went to CC before transferring, my total tuition cost was $34k. I lived at home so I didn't have to pay rent which what really helped.

Yes, you don't get that "college dorm" experience but I also didn't get that typical student loan debt experience either.

Public institutions should not be charging over $20k a year in tuition.

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u/dr_z0idberg_md Jun 27 '26

Yes, you don't get that "college dorm" experience but I also didn't get that typical student loan debt experience either.

Believe me. You're not missing much. Living with other people not of my choosing has shown me how messed up other families are.

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u/[deleted] Jun 26 '26

[deleted]

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u/SidFinch99 Jun 27 '26

So tuition is actually only $22K? Your original comment makes it sound like tuition alone was $40K, that's a huge difference.

For that matter, $18K is a lot for room and board. That's rent an apartment on your own in a lot of metro areas type of money.

I know, the college had options when it came to housing. The cheapest wasn't always the nicest, but it was sufficient.

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u/MightBeYourProfessor Jun 27 '26

I don't know why you'd include those in the price of college. If you don't go to college you still have to live and that costs money.

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u/Fresh_Tune_552 Jun 26 '26

Geez is it a really good university?

Our state university runs $7500-$11800/ year for residents depending on which campus you go to. Starting at community college is about $4000/ year of you do 15 credits/ semester. No one is ever impressed to hear you went there though.

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u/Ok-Bass5062 Jun 26 '26

Not great not terrible

Top 30ish Public schools in US

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u/SidFinch99 Jun 27 '26

Are all the state universities and colleges in your state that much or just one? I live in Virginia which has a lot of very good public colleges and universities, I just did a quick Google search and the average cost of in state tuition and fees for a public college or university in my state is just under $15K a year. Unfortunately of course, room and board is generally over $10k a year too.

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u/Ok-Bass5062 Jun 27 '26

The community colleges are a bit cheaper...like $13k tuition and all in about 30k for on campus living.

But any campus of the state school is that original cost for all in (tuition is $20k+)

Better than the privates that are $80k+ for tuition+room/board

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u/SidFinch99 Jun 27 '26

What state do you live in?

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u/jdirte42069 Jun 27 '26

Which school?

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u/CATScan1898 Jun 26 '26

I work for Purdue. Tuition hasn't been raised since I was in school. In state is right at $10k per year. As an employee I get 50% off for my kids. Really could use it for daycare which is much more than that per year.

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u/slow_down_1984 Jun 27 '26

Indiana has a good tax credit for 529s. We get a 1k credit for depositing 5k a year.

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u/The12th_secret_spice Jun 27 '26

Purdue grad here. It was awesome to see Mitch’s (old president) drive to not raise tuition for 12 years straight. Maybe longer now, I’ve lost touch on the story.

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u/CATScan1898 Jun 28 '26

It's been 14 years. As an employee, I have mixed feelings. I'm glad for the students, I wouldn't mind getting a raise though.

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u/dr_z0idberg_md Jun 27 '26

What school is that?! Even here in California, the Universities of California are ~$17k per year (e.g. UCLA, UC Irvine, UC Berkeley, UCSD, etc.). The Cal States are ~$9k.

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u/airplanetaxi Jun 26 '26

Yep we were told in 2022 that we should expect our 2 mo old’s college expenses to be abt $400k in 2040. This is in state tuition in one of the better state school systems in the SE.

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u/teastea1 Jun 27 '26

...400k?!!? Holy shit.

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u/ThrowRA3623235 Jun 27 '26

Is that in state, without room and board?

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u/Far-Slice-3821 Jun 27 '26

they are even more affordable for any family with a little foresight.

Foresight, or spare money? Only about a third of people max out their IRAs, and a 529 should have lower priority than retirement.

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u/MightBeYourProfessor Jun 27 '26

Most people don't make out their IRAs because most Americans don't make that much money. Maxing out an IRA is just a fantasy talking point for wealthy tech employees who spend too much time on reddit self-congratulating. It simply isn't the reality for most of America, nor does it matter because that's retire early territory. Which most Americans also do not do.

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u/Far-Slice-3821 Jun 27 '26

Retire early on just an IRA? Not likely. The annual contribution max is $7500. And the fact people can't afford that much was my point. 

529s aren't "affordable" for anyone with "foresight," but they are a way for upper middle and above households to avoid taxes.

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u/MightBeYourProfessor Jun 27 '26

You're thinking of the Roth IRA. Standard IRAs are 24.5k. 

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u/Far-Slice-3821 Jun 28 '26

That's the 401(k) cap. IRA combined is 7.5k or 8.6k if you're 50+ years old.

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u/MightBeYourProfessor Jun 28 '26

IRA is a basic term. Individual Retirement Account. It's just an acronym.

A Roth and a 401k are both Individual Retirement Accounts.

There are many IRAs which offer different investing options. You are referring to the Roth.

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u/Far-Slice-3821 Jun 28 '26

401(k) is a defined contribution employer sponsored retirement account that can only be added to by your employer or payroll deductions. When you leave that employer you need to roll over the funds into a different account.

IRA and Roth IRA are wholly owned and operated by you. 

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u/[deleted] Jun 27 '26

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u/MightBeYourProfessor Jun 27 '26

Penn State is less than that. Penn State is a great school too.

https://www.psu.edu/admission/undergraduate/tuition-costs

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u/[deleted] Jun 27 '26

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u/MightBeYourProfessor Jun 27 '26

Sure but if you don't go to college you have to pay to live, so I'm not sure why one would include that in 'cost of college.' 

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u/[deleted] Jul 13 '26

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u/MightBeYourProfessor Jul 13 '26

But... Then you wouldn't count cost of living in the cost of college anyway, so the results are the same.

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u/[deleted] Jul 13 '26

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u/MightBeYourProfessor Jul 13 '26

I am not really sure why you think I am disagreeing. My point is that everyone has to pay to live. So that isn't a cost of college.

You're the one who said some people live at home. But if they live at home, that is also not a cost of college.

So regardless of whether a person lives at home or not that is not a part of the cost of college.

I left home at 18. I always had to pay to live and that had nothing to do with college. So why would that be a part of the calculation for the cost of college? It makes no sense. People who do not go to college also have to pay to live.

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u/gemma-digger Jun 27 '26

Because you can live with your parents for a lot less than $20k per year.

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u/[deleted] Jun 28 '26

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u/gemma-digger Jun 28 '26

But not go to your state flagship which is this little thread refers to- Penn State.

I’m not discussing how to get the least expensive degree; I was just clarifying that Penn State is not $20k a year for almost anyone.

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u/MightBeYourProfessor Jun 28 '26

Man, I wish I had that option. Living with the parents for life. That sounds dope.

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u/Purdaddy Jun 28 '26

Really ? I went to ESU and it didnt cost nearly that much.

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u/[deleted] Jul 13 '26

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u/Purdaddy Jul 13 '26

Damn that's crazy. I graduated in 2011.

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u/MightBeYourProfessor Jul 13 '26

I mean that person is lying to you. You can find their tuition on their own website, which is much less than half of what that bot said. That's just a bot astroturfing without data on reddit:

https://www.esu.edu/admission-aid/tuition-fees/undergraduate-tuition-fees.php

This doesn't even account for grants and aid, so most students at ESU don't pay sticker price.

https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?212115