Oldest DS is a Junior in HS but I've been cursed with bad luck in my jobs in recent years.
This.
The whole topic of saving for college and college in general is so wide and deep, and circumstances are different for every family, every child, and differ greatly from college to college.
Many, many families struggle financially.
Just look at our economy- you know it's true.
But that does not mean that college is not affordable, and I hate to hear people stress out about it.
We just filled out our LAST FAFSA forms this winter.
Our son will graduate from college in May '14.
For 22 years of our marriage we had one income- mostly DH
then for a while just me, and only in the past 2 years have we both been fully employed.
And I make less than 30K.
DH and I are both public servants with an emphasis on servant
We work in a small rural community and while none of the jobs pay well, we have great job satisfaction in making a difference in our community.
We are frugal people, both on the job and at home- no cable, pack lunches, work our farm when we get home.
DS goes to a private Christian university, and before any financial aid hits the cost of one semester is $14,000. It's gone up a little each year.
His fed. financial aid consists of loans- about 4K per semester.
He gets a lot of in-house aid- about 4K per semester.
He applies for as many outside scholarships as he can, receives about $1,500 per semester.
He has a leadership position in his hall that will pay $890 each semester next year and that helps.
And we pay the rest, with help from grandparents who have saved for him since birth.
Last summer, about half his summer earnings went to help pay for his fall semester, so he is invested in this as well.
And it is totally
worth it.
He is getting a fabulous education, the community on campus is simply amazing.
There is so much support for students, in their hall, in their classes, so many fun activities, and they have a fabulous career center to help launch them out after graduating.
Huge, growing, busy campus (12,000 students on campus) but intimate family dynamic and strong spiritual foundation.
Re: costs- it helps that he earned an associate degree while in high school, due to AP and dual enrollment classes.
And since he knew what his major would be, he carefully chose classes that would transfer properly instead of simply as electives.
So he is finishing in 3 years instead of 4.
He is considering applying to work at the university because he simply loves it there.
Also, after working 6 months, you can take classes tuition-free- a very nice perk!
I just wanted to share my experience because paying for college can be stressful for families, and we all deal with too much stress as it is~