Canadian Personal Finance Blog

October 17th, 2007

University Costs Holy Crap!

As my oldest daughter gets closer to University, I am learning more and more about the relatively high cost of post secondary education in Ontario. Last night was an open house for the Ontario Universities and I attended with my daughter, and came away with a few interesting thoughts:

There are a lot of Universities in Ontario, 21 were at this open house, and this does not include the community colleges.
University of Western Ontario “Pitch Kid” was the best of the night, he was quick on his feet, polite, but funny and really hit the high points for the kids and the parents. This kid should go into sales, or should get a bonus for the job he is doing. Most of the other presenters were very bland and you could tell reading from a script.
This is going to be EXPENSIVE, but the Universities are not trying to hide this fact they all mention the price of an education along with their minimum mark requirements, so it is useful for the parents to hear the actual numbers!

How expensive you might ask, well let’s go to my old Alma Mater and have them tell us how much a year at the University of Waterloo might be (Read Here for actual Waterloo Web Site):

The cheapest first year that you can expect would be in Mathematics with a total cost of Academic costs (books, tuition) adding up to $5,700.00
The most expensive degree program would be Optometry at $15,200 in Academic fees and books.

How much to actually live there if you don’t live in Kitchener/Waterloo?

Somewhere from $5,900 to $8700 for the year depending on if you live on or off campus and what kind of meal plan you purchase.

Total costs estimated over 8 months?

Domestic students : $14,300 to $26,600
International students: $24,800 to $45,500

Every school talked about financial assistance and bursaries too, but for those of you reading this who have 2 year olds, start thinking about this NOW, NOW, NOW.

Start an RESP today, and put something in it, anything, to get started (not one of those silly ones from the doctor’s office, go to a bank or an investment house and get a REAL RESP).
Remember your child is going to be going to school at age 18, maybe do your savings calculations based on that. If your son is 3, you have 15 years or so to get to having somewhere near the $60K you might need to put them through school. No, wait, remember inflation, you are going to need more than that, so think about it.

Some parents out there saying, “My parents didn’t help me get through University”, ok, that is a a valid point, but, how much did University cost back then? Do you want your kids graduating with a student loan load of over $70K?

7 Responses to “University Costs Holy Crap!”

jacobus Says:
October 17th, 2007 at 3:53 am

Yes, to finally set up an RESP, We finally have a Social Ins. Number for our last child and now to do the process. My wife and I are going to set up self-directed Group RESP for our 3 kids. There are so many different plans out there to choose from and you have to do your homework as there is a big business and big commissions for sales people out there to sell you some of these plans. I remember when our first was born several years back, a sales person called us a week after he came home from the hospital. She wanted us to start paying immediately, but it was like reading an insurance policy–read the fine print!!! She left our home in haste and we never heard from her again!!
Traciatim Says:
October 17th, 2007 at 2:56 pm

Jacobus, with the group plan like that, how are you going to be sure there is enough for everyone when it’s done? We had our kids at different times so they each have their own plans. I wasn’t quite sure how it works. when the one goes to school, then the second, how do you ensure the third gets their fair share?
Y HAT Says:
October 19th, 2007 at 5:13 pm

I bought an education fund for my son’s RESP and feel that I am being gouged by the fees. The returns on it have been just lousy. I would agree with Jacobus that a self directed RESP is the way to go.
guinness416 Says:
October 24th, 2007 at 5:51 am

I agree with your final paragraph. I am always amazed by blog comments along the “I paid for it all! Tell ‘em to pull their socks up!” lines. Suggesting someone starts out in life $50k in debt, or takes ten years to finish a primary degree because they keep stopping to earn money, is not as trivial as some would suggest.
Fon Says:
November 29th, 2007 at 6:03 am

Thanks for the information on topics.I was excited by this article.
Thank you again.

College online for good ideas.
Experience Finance 2 Says:
February 3rd, 2008 at 10:18 pm

Finance 2 Months…

Good post by Canajunfinances. His view on finance 2 months is ……
Canadian Personal Finance Blog » Blog Archive » University Costs An Update Says:
March 10th, 2008 at 6:35 am

[...] University Costs An Update As a nice early birthday present for my daughter she has been accepted (early) at her #1 and #2 University choices. She is very proud of this, as am I, but now comes the interesting questions about how is this all going to get paid for? [...]

jacobus Says:
October 17th, 2007 at 3:53 am

Yes, to finally set up an RESP, We finally have a Social Ins. Number for our last child and now to do the process. My wife and I are going to set up self-directed Group RESP for our 3 kids. There are so many different plans out there to choose from and you have to do your homework as there is a big business and big commissions for sales people out there to sell you some of these plans. I remember when our first was born several years back, a sales person called us a week after he came home from the hospital. She wanted us to start paying immediately, but it was like reading an insurance policy–read the fine print!!! She left our home in haste and we never heard from her again!!

Traciatim Says:
October 17th, 2007 at 2:56 pm

Jacobus, with the group plan like that, how are you going to be sure there is enough for everyone when it’s done? We had our kids at different times so they each have their own plans. I wasn’t quite sure how it works. when the one goes to school, then the second, how do you ensure the third gets their fair share?

Y HAT Says:
October 19th, 2007 at 5:13 pm

I bought an education fund for my son’s RESP and feel that I am being gouged by the fees. The returns on it have been just lousy. I would agree with Jacobus that a self directed RESP is the way to go.

guinness416 Says:
October 24th, 2007 at 5:51 am

I agree with your final paragraph. I am always amazed by blog comments along the “I paid for it all! Tell ‘em to pull their socks up!” lines. Suggesting someone starts out in life $50k in debt, or takes ten years to finish a primary degree because they keep stopping to earn money, is not as trivial as some would suggest.

Fon Says:
November 29th, 2007 at 6:03 am

Thanks for the information on topics.I was excited by this article.
Thank you again.

College online for good ideas.

Experience Finance 2 Says:
February 3rd, 2008 at 10:18 pm

Finance 2 Months…

Good post by Canajunfinances. His view on finance 2 months is ……

Canadian Personal Finance Blog » Blog Archive » University Costs An Update Says:
March 10th, 2008 at 6:35 am

[...] University Costs An Update As a nice early birthday present for my daughter she has been accepted (early) at her #1 and #2 University choices. She is very proud of this, as am I, but now comes the interesting questions about how is this all going to get paid for? [...]