The "Wasted Time" thread has become a discussion about paying for college, which I suggest be continued here. As I wrote there, parents should not assume that state schools will be the cheapest. The article below confirms that.
http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_20101265Believe it: Harvard cheaper than Cal State
By Matt Krupnick
03/04/2012
San Jose Mercury News
The impossible has happened: Harvard College is now thousands of dollars cheaper than Cal State East Bay for middle-income California students.
So is Princeton. And Williams College. And Yale.
Top private schools, with their generous aid, have been among the most affordable options for poor students for a few years, but rising tuition has only recently sent California State University and University of California prices shooting past the Harvards and Yales for middle-class students.
The revelation comes as thousands of college and university students on Monday march to protest budget cuts in Sacramento that have forced up tuition and shaken campuses.
It's almost unthinkable in a state that once practically gave away college educations.
"We are coming close to pricing out many of our middle-class students," said Rhonda Johnson, Cal State East Bay's financial-aid director. "Now we're seeing a disadvantaged middle class."
College-cost calculators illuminate the dramatic shifts.
Consider a family of four -- married parents, a high-school senior and a 14-year-old child -- making $130,000 a year.
With typical aid,¿ the family should expect to pay nearly $24,000 for a Cal State freshman's tuition, on-campus room and board, supplies and other expenses. At Harvard? Just $17,000, even though its stated annual tuition is $36,305.
The same family would pay about $33,000 for a freshman year at UC Santa Cruz.
UC Berkeley, which recently followed the lead of private colleges by boosting aid for middle-class families, would cost $19,500.
...