College is $100K a Year—But the Bill Might Hit You Hardest

Why parents are footing more of the bill—and what it’s costing their future

If you're like most parents we talk to, you’re trying to be responsible. You’re saving for retirement. You’re helping your kid avoid debt. You're juggling work, life, and wondering how you got old enough to have a college-bound child. (Seriously, weren’t we just 27?)

And now, here you are staring down a tuition bill that looks more like a mortgage.

The Sticker Shock Is Real

USC. LMU. Santa Clara. Chapman. Occidental.
If you’re in California, you’ve probably got at least one of these on your teen’s college list. And with total costs hovering around $100,000 per year, the math gets scary fast.

Your student might qualify for $5,500 to $7,500 a year in federal student loans.
Total cap: $31,000 across four years.

The Rise of the Parent PLUS Loan

This is the federal government’s way of saying:

The Parent PLUS loan is in your name. It has no official cap—just the school’s total cost of attendance minus other aid. So if you get a little grant here and a scholarship there, you could still end up borrowing $60K–$80K per year… in your 50s.

The Retirement Catch-Up Crunch

Let’s be real: most of us weren’t maxing out our 401(k) at 23. We were:

• ✔️ Trying to afford rent in cities where rent shouldn’t be legal.
• ✔️ Paying off student debt.
• ✔️ Buying Costco-size boxes of diapers and figuring out how to sleep 3 hours a night.

So now, in your 40s or 50s, you’re finally ready to catch up. But just as you start increasing those 401(k) contributions or opening that SEP IRA…

BAM—college.

The $20K You Don’t Contribute Could Cost You Over $115,000

Let’s say you stop contributing $20,000 over four years to cover college expenses.

If that money would’ve stayed invested and earned a 6% average return, here’s what it grows into by the time you retire:

You Can’t Take a Loan for Retirement

You can’t walk into Bank of America and say:

“Hey, I’m thinking about retiring—can I borrow $6.5 million to carry me through to age 88?”

(Spoiler: the answer is no. They might offer you a coffee mug and a savings account flyer, but that’s it.)

And yes, life expectancy for women is now around 88. For men, it’s about 82—and trending upward. That means you could easily spend 25–30 years in retirement. We don’t want you to scrape by. We want you to thrive.

Our Philosophy: Fund Your Financial Future First

Because when you do it the other way around—when you overextend for college without understanding where you stand for retirement—you put both your future and your child’s at risk.

And ironically? You might end up needing help from the very kid you were trying to help.

A Better Approach

Before you start writing checks (or signing promissory notes), take a breath and a step back.

• ✔️ Figure out where you are for retirement first
• ✔️ Explore all your college funding options—grants, aid strategies, tax positioning, etc.
• ✔️ Map out a plan that protects your financial future

We’ve helped thousands of California families do this. It’s not about saying no to college. It’s about saying yes to smart college funding—so everyone can win.

We’ve Been Helping Families Like Yours for Over 30 Years

At Auxilium College Advisors, we’ve helped thousands of families—many with high income, assets, or complex financial lives—unlock aid they were told they’d never qualify for. Whether you’re self-employed, own real estate, or just assumed your income was too high, we’ve seen it all—and built strategies to work around it.

Our mission is simple: help families avoid crushing student debt while protecting their financial future.

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