You thought tuition was high right now?

Forbes reports.

In 18 Years A FORBES Top College Will Cost You Over $500,000

If you want to pay for one of the top 100 colleges on Forbes Best Colleges list in 18 years, you better start saving early and often. Most of the elite private colleges today are already over $60,000 per year and increasing in total cost at about 4% per year. If you do the math, your child’s projected four-year college costs will be year 1: $121, 549, Year 2: $126,411, Year 3: $131,467 and Year 4: $136,726 equaling $521,153, or to simplify – a cool half a million dollars!

With a headline like that, who needs birth control. And yet, guess what, people will line up to pay more than $500,000 per child for a four-year degree. Oh come on, Troy, there is no way anyone will pay that much. Well, that is exactly what I heard from parents 18 years ago when elite colleges were expected to be over $250,000 per child today, and parents are lined up to have the opportunity to pay that big bill if only their children can get in.

If the $500,000 headline wasn’t enough of an alarm, please realize that many of the elite colleges DO NOT OFFER ACADEMIC SCHOLARSHIPS FOR GOOD GRADES AND SAT SCORES. You’ll pay sticker price unless your family’s finances are such that your child will qualify for need-based financial aid. For more on this read my post here, and to learn how assets hurt college aid eligibility read my post here.