It'sgoing to cost me how much???

The Campus Beautiful, Concord College University, Athens, WV. For 4, ok 5, years it was my home away from home, a place that I spent some of the best years of my life, I look back on my college years with great memories.  I attended a small, liberal arts school in a very small town in Southern WV and quite honestly, it was idyllic.  With about 1500 students living on campus it was small enough to know lots of people yet big enough to not feel like high school.

The Library

 

 

 

The other day I was speaking with someone about the many things that you learn outside of the classroom during college, I said that everything I learned at Concord that I use today I learned on the library steps skipping class. I was joking of course, but I did spend a great amount of time on those very steps.  Like many people, I went to college as a shy and awkward teen and left as a confident young adult.  During my years there I learned a few things, joined an awesome sorority, met lifelong friends and even fell in love with a sweet boy from Maryland. 

This weekend is my college's Homecoming Weekend: Friends, food and football and for those of us who were Greek, the crowing of the Homecoming King and Queen.  I can't wait to arrive in Athens later today, see some of my sorority sisters and friends and cheer on my Tri-Sigma girls. Today I was thinking about how I want my girls to have a great college experience just like I did, we have a few years before we cross that bridge but as any parent knows the financial aspect is daunting.  I was fortunate that I received a couple academic scholarships, a community service scholarship, other financial aid and even a small (VERY small) athletic scholarship for soccer and track.  I left with only $4000 student loan debt, a very manageable amount compared to others. 

I hope that we can be as lucky for our girls, they will actually be taking an SAT prep course this weekend while I'm gone.  Just kidding, they are 4 and 7, we are waiting until next year when the little one knows all of her letters :  )  But , just for fun, I ran some numbers today regarding the cost of college for our munchkins.

According to savingforcollege.com we have a lot of saving to do!  Here is the info I got for our 4 year old, this would be for her to attend a school that currently costs $14000 a year (about the tuition and fees at a State school):

Yep, a whopping $138,500!  That's a big chunk o' change!  And that number doesn't include any "extras" like books, food, clothing, transportation....yikes!  Luckily, we have a small amount saved already.  We also hope that our girls will get some assistance and we know loans are an option.  Considering a college grad makes an average of a  MILLION bucks more than a high school graduate over their lifetime it is a worthwhile investment.

Head on over and see how much you need to save for your munchkins. I've got to finish packing, complete that SAT prep course paperwork and head out for The Campus Beautiful!