I keep getting calls from Baylor asking for money. I kept ignoring them, hoping they would give up, but they called almost every day for the last two weeks. Finally I answered. A pleasant young woman was looking for donations for the Honors College, preferably in the $500 range. (!) Three different times I told her that I could not give anything at this time before she finally gave up. I just emailed them and asked to be removed from their mailing list.

It’s not that I don’t love Baylor, because I do. But I can’t give to every cause out there, and we’re putting all our educational money into Brenden’s college fund, hoping that the stock market will cooperate and we’ll be able to put him through a state school without student loans. Tuition at all four-year schools is rising at a ridiculous rate, around 6 percent per year. Unless Brenden and Newbie can score some wild scholarships, private school might be out of the question and even public school a stretch, especially since they’ll probably be only one year apart in school. For the upcoming school year, Baylor’s
annual costs for undergraduates for 2009-2010 total around $40,000 including room, board, books, and other expenses. Gulp. Many people don’t earn that much in a year. If you make it out in four years, that’s $160,000 with NO tuition hikes.

For Brenden, if the cost continues to rise at 6 percent annually, four years at Baylor would cost around $440,000. Switching to a four-year state school might drop the price to $220,000 for four years. Newbie, if he/she attends the same school, will more than double the cost. Double gulp.

Sorry, Baylor. Unless that lottery ticket comes through someday, you are out of luck.