College....How do people afford it??

[barkley]

That's why it makes sense to start saving on a regular basis when the child arrives, not wait until the child is a senior in high school. I think everyone decides for themselves what constitutes a priority. We take vacations very rarely (much as I'd like to go to Disney every year), for example, because providing an education for our children is a high priority for us.

but most financial advisors will say that funding a child's education should never come at the cost of not funding/underfunding retirement for one's self. since most people don't come close (if at all) in putting away the minimum amount reccommended for retirement-it's not hard to understand that they may not be activly working on a college fund for their kids.

when you look at some of the amounts people are projecting for the cost of sending their kid to the college of their choice-they can exceed the cost of a home that the parent's purchased early in their lives with the expectation of the pay-off in 30 years occuring before they retire and their income drops. if someone chooses to put their ability to provide for themselves in their later years (and idealy not become one of the parents people complain of in other threads-reliant on their kids to help them get by ) as the priority before or in place of funding their child's college education-i for one can't fault them.

 

[olena]

DH and I were funding his college on our own and through scholarships. Last year, we had to break down and get a student loan.

 

[Tiggeroo]

olena, i like your hubby's graduation progress thing.
You have to be careful also if you have more then one child. You want to be able to offer them all equal help. If you borrow for one can you afford to borrow that amount for all?

 

[ilovejack02]

but most financial advisors will say that funding a child's education should never come at the cost of not funding/underfunding retirement for one's self. since most people don't come close (if at all) in putting away the minimum amount reccommended for retirement-it's not hard to understand that they may not be activly working on a college fund for their kids.

when you look at some of the amounts people are projecting for the cost of sending their kid to the college of their choice-they can exceed the cost of a home that the parent's purchased early in their lives with the expectation of the pay-off in 30 years occuring before they retire and their income drops. if someone chooses to put their ability to provide for themselves in their later years (and idealy not become one of the parents people complain of in other threads-reliant on their kids to help them get by ) as the priority before or in place of funding their child's college education-i for one can't fault them.

I worked in the financial industry for several yrs. That is the recommendation, get yourself in a good place for retirement and THEN take care of everything else.

 

[golfgal]

The OP sounds almost surprised at the costs of college. We've been saving to send our dds to college from the time they were a year old.

We'll be paying for the cost of the state's excellent public university system. If our dds apply to private schools and get scholarships equivalent to the cost of the public institutions, that's fine, but I'm pretty skeptical of that happening, based on the experiences of my 19 neices and nephews.

I work at one of our public universities. If your child plans to take a large number of credits at a cheaper place and transfer them to save money, I would recommend researching this very carefully first. Some schools will accept only a very small number of transfer credits or very specific courses and the last thing you want to do is pay for these classes twice.

We will not be having our children take out loans unless they decide to go to private institutions without scholarships. I feel very strongly that it is hard enough to get started without being in the hole for student loans.

We have been saving since our kids were babies however, we have NEVER intended on footing the bill for their college. We will help if needed but mom and dad are a last resort at our house. They will be working summers/vacations applying for scholarships, etc. They are also expected to do well in school in order to qualify for those scholarships. We saw WAY too many kids in college frittering away mom and dad's money to party and major in things where they will never get any kind of gainful employment to do that to our kids. Being responsible for college costs is a good way for them to start figuring out that life isn't something that is handed to them, they need to earn their way and that starts for them as soon as they figure out what a dollar is and that they have to save those dollars to get the things you want in life.

 

[MELSMICE]

but most financial advisors will say that funding a child's education should never come at the cost of not funding/underfunding retirement for one's self. since most people don't come close (if at all) in putting away the minimum amount reccommended for retirement-it's not hard to understand that they may not be activly working on a college fund for their kids.

Very well said. Yes, most financial institutions recommend that you save for your own retirement before funding a child's college education, which is exactly what we have always done.

The OP sounds almost surprised at the costs of college. We've been saving to send our dds to college from the time they were a year old.

Many people have been saving from the time their children were born (us included), but honestly, with the costs of college rising the way they have over the years, it seems as though you almost can't save enough.

That's what I was thinking!!!! Why are parents so unprepared for the cost of college?

We've been saving since DS was born.

Sometimes unforseen circumstances dictate not being as prepared as you would like to be, or as prepared as you thought you were going to be.

 

[grlpwrd]

Yes, you can fund an education, but you can't fund retirement so it (retirement) takes top priority.

When I graduated from high school and went to college the first time I got 2 scholarships and a loan. I didn't graduate and I am back now paying for it on my own. I am at a community college and then I will transfer to a nearby university.

Our 5 kids each have a state 529 for 2 years. They are expected to work during the summers and help me with my businesses for $$$. I am also restarting my home daycare and funding my and and my kids' education is a big part of it.

Oh yeah, my MIL has trust funds for them, but they won't rely on it. No Paris Hiltons in this house. lol

 

[Jeafl]

That's what I was thinking!!!! Why are parents so unprepared for the cost of college?

We've been saving since DS was born.

In all fairness, we have been saving since my daughter was born as well, but it is nearly impossible to save as much as you really need. My oldest is going to either Loyola or Augustana in the fall, and both of these schools are about $40,000 a year. Multiply that times 3 kids, assuming the other 2 kids go to a similarly priced school, and you are talking half a million dollars by the time you are through. Not many people are prepared for that no matter WHEN they start saving.

 

[grlpwrd]

That's what I was thinking!!!! Why are parents so unprepared for the cost of college?

We've been saving since DS was born.

Yes, many people are unprepared, but it's sometimes a matter of survival (ie food or rent comes first) and also times are different now compared to 10, 15, 20 years ago. I think part of OP's view is a comparison of different times.

Ideally, parents should save for their kids starting when they are young because of compund interest, but it doesn't always work that way. There are, of course, families with more than 1 or 2 children. (I will not argue the virtue of being childless or having an only child.)

Also, there is now the trend of people supporting their aging parents. Life is sometimes not perfect for others and there are way too many variables ...

 

[Teacher03]

My daughter will graduate this spring. The cost of tuition and room and board for the 4 years was approximately $102,000. She worked hard, took out loans, earned scholarships and grants to pay for half. We paid the other half by doing without much of the time. My son is a sophomore in college and he's doing the same. We also have a daughter still in high school! Sometimes I feel we will be paying for college for the rest of our lives! But we think of it as an investment in our kids' future, worth every penny.

 

[rt2dz]

NOTE--I've only read the OP. Sorry if this is repeative.

So far we have DS5, DS2, DS1. Each has a college fund that should pay for their first year (tution & living expenses) in full, so far. We are now working on year two, which will be put on hold if baby#4 comes along until he/she gets his/her first year done. We just get one year paid for and then move on to the next. It's just part of our budget factor, as is retirement, mortgage, travel, etc. I don't foresee a problem having 80-100% of college paid for by the time they start high school. And I'm sure my parents have also put away something for them, so maybe a graduate degree can be paid for also. It's called advanced planning. But since you are too late for that...

DH paid for his college education himself. Where he grew up, you where highly educated if you had a high school diploma. He covered his first year with a college football scholarship. But he decided the body abuse wasn't worth it and he wouldn't want to go pro anyhow--he was tired of aching. And that required a college transfer since his coach was so P****ed. He was harrassed by the new college's football coach for two years to play there in exchange for a scholarship, but he was done.

So, instead he went after finicial aid. He researched every possible grant (especially pell grants) and scholarship he might even slightly qualify for. He joined organizations just to get qualified for more money. Of course, he was active in everything too, so he didn't overload himself on anything. He then also, had a job. And one job he had also offered tution assistance. Something to look into. He got reembursed 50% on top of his pay as long as he applied at the beginning of the semester, received a B or better in the class and was still employed when report cards came out. He didn't do it, but many college's offer work study programs. I had friends that were RA's in order to get free dorm rooms.

After that, then comes the loans. DH only had two, so it was easy & quick to pay off. His parents paid for nothing. Couldn't even if they wanted to.

Parents shouldn't feel obligated to pay for college. It's nice, but not a requirement. Don't rule out community college--best education that money can buy while working on the basics.

check out http://www.finaid.org/ for different ways to fun college.

Also look to http://www.fastweb.com/fastweb/register/start?ref=google_grants_exact-1f--http%3a%2f%2fwww%2egoogle%2ecom%2fsearch%3fsourceid%3dnavclient%2dff%26ie%3dUTF%2d8%26rls%3dGGGL%2cGGGL%3a2006%2d32%2cGGGL%3aen%26q%3dcollege%2bfunding to find grants

Lastly, to help you understand college costs to to http://www.foxcollegefunding.com/; it might help

 

[kennancat]

I graduated 10 years ago. I was fortunate to get National Merit, so the University of Florida covered my tuition, books, and dorm room costs with a little money left over each semester. I also did a co-op while I was in school, where you alternate working in your chosen field and going to school for usually at least three semesters of work. Not only did this help to add a little money to the bank account, it makes a huge difference when you look to get a full-time job. Last, my parents had saved about $10K in savings bonds, and this is what I used to pay for food, clothes, and other expenses.

At the time, I was a bit bitter about going to UF - I had really wanted to attend Georgia Tech or MIT, but the money wasn't there. In the end, I think I made the right decision. Going to a different school would have required me to go into debt, and I don't believe I would have gotten that much better of an education or starting salary to offset the cost of loans. That might be an interesting exercise for your DD if she's really considering taking out a loan to attend a more expensive school. Make her sit down with a computer with Excel, learn how the financial functions work, and then figure out what improvement she would have to see in salary for the first few years to make the school worth it (my understanding is that after 3-4 years, your salary is based more on your experience and performance than what school you attended). I'd be willing to bet that she won't be able to make a salary that makes it worth going into debt, but at least she'll understand exactly what she's paying for the privilege of attending her dream school.

 

[Chris2597]

I want to clarify a couple of things, as the OP on this thread. My dh and I in noway are trying to not help pay for dd education. However, we will only pay tuition and books, but she will have to help pay for living expenses, if she insists on living at school. We have numerous universities, colleges, and jr colleges in our city that have excellent reputations. We have talked with her and made it clear that we would pay for tuition and books at 100% the first 2 yrs and would pay at least half the last 2, but any living expenses outside of her transportation and medical insurance/copays would be paid by her. Our concern is that the degree she is interested in has a VERY low starting pay, which would make it difficult to pay back large loans....it doesnt make sense for her to take out large loans/

 

[C.Ann]

Honestly, I think it's best to be up front with your DD about the financial end of the equation. Encourage her to apply to some local colleges as well as some "dream" colleges in order to keep her options open. Be willing to help pay for the application fees for her. Let DD know that you will have enough money to pay the equivalent of tuition and books/fees, but that if she lives away from home, she may need to get a job and/or take out loans to pay for some of her own expenses.

If your daughter chooses to go someplace more expensive then she should look into the student loans that are in the student's name and can be deferred (loan doesn't earn interest or require payments) until the student is done with all schooling.

Good Luck!

-------------------------------------------

I think this is more than fair..

 

[KristinBelle]

I've got my kids signed up for the Florida pre-paid tuition plan, we locked in the rates and pay monthly till it's paid off.

 

[Chris2597]

I thought Florida had free state college tuition for high school grads that maintained a certain GPA. One of my friends son is taking advantage of the program now. It is not based on income, just on GPA. They pay for his dorm and food and possibly books.

 

[klmall]

There have been other threads on this topic in the past year. My parents (I'm the oldest of five) could afford no more than a small allowance per week and my books but I patched together loans, grants, a small scholarship and got through. DH (only child) who went to the same college had everything paid by his parents but we both worked at campus jobs - me for survival; him for car expenses.

So with DS we started saving at birth and had his first two years at a state college completely covered (room, board, tuition). When it came time for junior and senior year of college we planned in advance and moved money around in one of the refinancings of our house. DS has been working summers and winter breaks to cover some of his daily expenses and build experience for his resume.

We feel very lucky to have been able to do this for him. I'm sure that if we had more than one child we would not had such an easy time. We also make too much to qualify for ANY grants or even low interest loans. In addition, we have made it clear to DS that this is not how I got my college education nor will we accept less than good grades since he is not working at a part-time job etc.

Our friends are sending their kids through college in a variety of ways. We feel blessed to be able to send DS in the way we are. Hopefully you will help DD to find an acceptable way too!

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I had scholarships (covered tuition), loans & grants (covered most everything else) and jobs. My DH (then DF) supplemented me my senior year to keep me afloat.

For our kids--we have done the prepaid tuition plans. We have not made other plans as yet for their other expenses.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I thought Florida had free state college tuition for high school grads that maintained a certain GPA. One of my friends son is taking advantage of the program now. It is not based on income, just on GPA. They pay for his dorm and food and possibly books.

They have a scholarship program (2 variations) called Bright Futures.

With volunteer hours, a minimum GPA/course load, and SAT scores....it is pretty much guaranteed and it does cover tuition.

I can only suspect that there may be something for Valedictorians--but I'm not sure. But in my recent research (within 1 year..I did it sometime last year)..that is all that is available.

Homeschool students are eligible as well...the GPA requirement is dropped though.

 

[froglady]

They have a scholarship program (2 variations) called Bright Futures.

With volunteer hours, a minimum GPA/course load, and SAT scores....it is pretty much guaranteed and it does cover tuition.

I can only suspect that there may be something for Valedictorians--but I'm not sure. But in my recent research (within 1 year..I did it sometime last year)..that is all that is available.

Homeschool students are eligible as well...the GPA requirement is dropped though.

It's a wonderful program, but it has created some problems. Students who previously would have been automatic admissions to UF and FSU (high GPA, high SAT/ACT, overall great transcript) are being turned down because of the intense competition. So, many parents are still being faced with sending their children to smaller, less well known state schools, are paying more to send them out of state or to private schools.

We started saving the day our children were born, and our children were/are always in private school, so it wasn't as bad for us to come up with DD's tuition. Instead of writing a check to her HS, we had an automatic transfer to her tuition payment service every month, and payed the college directly every month for the rest.

We also paid off our mortgage (20 refinanced to 15 year) the same year DD went off to school, so that money just went towards tuition.