When Christopher Wartmann set his heart on going to the University of Dayton, a private Catholic college in Ohio, he was less worried about getting in than about how his family would come up with the more than $20,000 a year it was going to cost. Thomas Wartmann, Christopher's dad and a route salesman in the Frito-Lay division of PepsiCo, earned just $38,000 last year, and Christopher's mother Eva earned $17,000 as a tennis coordinator at a country club. They faced a challenge common to the families of more than a million aspiring college students each year: how to pay the tuition, room and board that, without some kind of help, can total a third or more of the family's yearly income.
More than a decade ago, college tuitions were increasing at double-digit percentage rates. By last year the average increase had dropped to a more manageable 5%, and some schools, including the entire California state system, actually lowered tuition. But for most families the damage had been done. "Even the low increases in tuition this year were twice the rate of inflation," says Jonathan Satovsky, a New York City- based financial planner with American Express, "much higher than most families can prepare for."
The typical bill for tuition, fees, room, board, books and incidentals is $10,069 at public schools--23% of the average American family's household income. Only a very few of us can open our checkbook and zip off that amount. And yet somehow it gets done, as thousands of families scrimp a little here, borrow a little there and take advantage of a host of scholarships, grants and tax credits made possible by organizations ranging from the local Lions Club to the Federal Government in Washington.
The Wartmanns, you will be pleased to learn, actually can afford to send their son to Dayton. Christopher did his part by earning good grades--a 3.5 GPA--and participating in activities outside the classroom (he was captain of the varsity tennis team and an Eagle Scout).
Thomas Wartmann deserves high marks as well. As a 25-year employee of PepsiCo, he had heard about the company's generous scholarship programs and made a mental note to have Christopher apply for one when the time came. Christopher did apply and "let out a whooping scream" when he won the maximum amount: $8,000. The University of Dayton kicked in $7,500 in scholarship and grant aid (money that won't have to be paid back), leaving the Wartmanns with a bill of just $5,500, which they plan to pay in 10 monthly installments of $550 each.
To be sure, the Wartmanns are lucky. PepsiCo sets aside more than $1.5 million to dole out to employees' kids each year. But this one family's success carries a lesson for every family, whether your child is 18 months or 18 years away from freshman year. In spite of the record-high sticker prices, now is actually a great time to be headed for the halls of higher learning--right on the heels of Chelsea Clinton. Since her dad, the President of the U.S., has already paid a year's worth of tuition at Stanford, one of a growing list of schools that cost more than $30,000 a year, he feels your pain. So too, apparently, does Congress, which is why there has been a recent spate of legislation making college more affordable. The tools and the resources are there. If you plan ahead and do your homework, you too can afford to send your kids to college.
PERCEPTION VS. REALITY