How much are you willing to spend on school?

[ziggystardust]

For yourself or child.

Are you willing to go into debt for an education, and if so how much debt is ok?

Just wondering... thanks!

 

[Tracey1974]

I'm 25K in the hole from student loans (have 13K left). It took me 8 years to put myself through school but to me, that piece of paper on my wall is worth every penny.

I went to an expensive school for the 1st 2 years then transferred to a state school out of state. THEN I took some time off to become a resident of the state, went part time for a while and finally went back as a resident for cheaper tuition, did 18 credits in the fall, 6 credits in the winter and 18 again in the spring while working almost full time at Nordstrom and finally graduated.

So- after all that hard work and money spent, I'd better have a degree! No use in paying back all that money for nothing!

 

[Frantasmic]

I would not go into debt for my children's elementary, jr/middle, and high school education.

However, I probably would for college, within reason. I wouldn't advocate a Havard or prestigious education just for namesake if you have a good local college/university.

I think some of the college debt should be in the form of loans that your child assumes once they are out and on their own as well.

 

[Marseeya]

Whatever it takes.

 

[chrissyk]

Whatever it takes.

Same here. However, I won't pay "whatever it takes" for a degree in underwater basketweaving...we're going to have a few basic standards, LOL!

 

[barkley]

i currently pay $550 per month/10 monthly payments per year for my 2 to go to a private christian school, but i budget it yearly and it does not amass as a debt. this is very reasonable in our area, another school in the same town charges close to $850 per CHILD per month (and with mandatory fees, supplies, funds... it works out to $1000.00 per CHILD per month).

i paid for my college degree as i went through college (it took multiple jobs and a bit longer than the norm). dh attended community college and finished up in an excellarated 2 year program that left us owing around 10,000.00 (but provided great tax breaks during the time he attended).

i would be willing to help my children with a portion of their college education but would not go into debt for it (nor endanger my financial security). i also would not encourage my children to go into overwhelming debt to attend college-it makes it too difficult when you are starting out in the workplace or in a marriage.

this said, i have begun talking to my dd (11) about the cost of college education and how one must balance the value of the education offered vs. the name prestige of a particular school (our kids attend a school that is associated by religon with a very expensive private college in our area that many of her peers want to go to because of "it's cool" and "it's got a great reputation". sadly many of these kids will end up going to to the tune of close to $400,000 in debt for an education that could be accomplished as well if not better at many other local venues).

 

[aprilgail2]

i currently pay $550 per month/10 monthly payments per year for my 2 to go to a private christian school, but i budget it yearly and it does not amass as a debt. this is very reasonable in our area, another school in the same town charges close to $850 per CHILD per month (and with mandatory fees, supplies, funds... it works out to $1000.00 per CHILD per month).
QUOTE]

Wow that seems cheap for private school....my daughters darn summer day camp costs 500 a WEEK for the whole summer and they don't even learn anything there LOL!
I am not sure about how far in debt I would go but between my brother and myself there should be over 140,000 in her college fund by the time she is ready for school so that should take care of a portion of the costs...he puts in 100 a week since she was born and I put in 50 a week since she was born..grandma adds for birthday and holidays and interest so there should be a good chunk of change in there...I really don't want her to have to worry about paying for it herself...studying and doing well is enough of a job for her to be doing without having to work another job too....and should she choose NOT to go to college or to drop out then money reverts back to my brother and myself, she doesn't get it to go to town with!

 

[Toby'sFriend]

I think that is a hard question for me to answer because we are able so far to pay our kids tuition without debt. Between the two of them we pay about $10k a year in tuition, probably a little over $1,000 more in fees and books. We don't have piles and piles of cash lying around, but we manage to pay the bill in cash.

A couple of months ago somebody asked me if I really thought sending to that school (which was really getting the OUT of the Public School) was that important. All I can say is that something is REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY important to me to spend that much money on it. So I guess I could maybe see myself taking out a loan to do it, I think I'd be more likely to find another way to make some money first though.

As for college, I went into debt for myself, DH went into debt and I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

 

[icebrat001]

Well, with undergraduate and medical school, by the time I finish I'll have over $150,000 in loans.

 

[chasbos]

We also pay for our kids to go a private Christian School and tuition is currently $9600 for the year.

We feel this is well worth it because the public schools in our area are seriously lacking in the discipline (they are not allowed to) and motivation (if they do not want to do the work, they do not have to - it lowers their self esteem).

We are also prepared to pay whatever it takes for them to get a good post-secondary education so they have a good paying job when they are finished.

 

[justhat]

We have a ton of loans from my husband's college and medical school years (which we're currently in our last year of!!) so going into debt for our daughter (or any future kids) will not be a problem for us either.

 

[barkley]

i'm curious-for those who willing to go into debt for their child's college education...would it make a difference in how much you were willing to assist financialy if your child chose a career path that did not offer much difference in pay/opportunites based on where they received their degree from, and they chose an expensive college over a more moderatly priced one?

i ask because we have family members attending the $400,000.00 school and are graduating with elementary school teaching credentials. the school they attend will not green light them into any more job opportunities than grads. from our state colleges, and pay scales for teachers are fairly well structured. i just can't fathom paying for the prestige of attending a certain school for some career paths (and i can't image how these kids will manage to pay off the student loans they have amassed or their parents will pay off the debt they have incurred).

 

[supercarrie]

I am only 19 and not having children anytime soon...but if I am living in CA, I will probably do what my parents did - agree up front to pay for a UC education. Our state universities are great so I will encourage my children to attend them. However - if they have a "dream" school with a specific reason/goal in mind, then I will be willing to do what it takes to put them through that university. I plan on saving for my children's education long before they will be attending, some hopefully I won't be going into debt for it. But if they are driven, hard-working children (like I hope they will be!) then I plan on helping them.

Regarding schooling before the university level, if I feel they should be in a private school, then yes, I would be willing to sacrifice to pay for that as well. (In general I would plan on sending them to public school though.)

As far as I am concerned, I plan on attending graduate school to obtain at least my masters degree. I will probably be paying for much of that myself, so I already see debt from student loans in my future.

 

[justhat]

It wouldn't matter to me what career they were planning on entering. I'd pay for them to go to school no matter where they wanted to go or why. After all, when I started college I wanted to go into medicine but changed my mind during my 2nd year and went to grad school for child psych instead. So I can't imagine telling my kid that yes, she can go to Hopkins like mommy and daddy did because she wants to go into medicine, but then if she decides to teach preschool after a semester tell her she has to drop out and go to a cheap school. I'd feel like I were telling her that her career choice isn't worth my money.

 

[lovmy2girls]

We pay for private school for our two girls. Its just one of those things we don't think twice about. We pay around 500.00 per month sometimes more when they need a new reader or there is a fee for something.

Hopefully for college the will get aid but if not we will figure it out when the time comes.

 

[golfgal]

i'm curious-for those who willing to go into debt for their child's college education...would it make a difference in how much you were willing to assist financialy if your child chose a career path that did not offer much difference in pay/opportunites based on where they received their degree from, and they chose an expensive college over a more moderatly priced one?

i ask because we have family members attending the $400,000.00 school and are graduating with elementary school teaching credentials. the school they attend will not green light them into any more job opportunities than grads. from our state colleges, and pay scales for teachers are fairly well structured. i just can't fathom paying for the prestige of attending a certain school for some career paths (and i can't image how these kids will manage to pay off the student loans they have amassed or their parents will pay off the debt they have incurred).

If the private school has a good reputation for their education program it might get them and interview over someone with equal grades that went to a school with a less known reputation for their education program (or what ever program they are in). Dh does a lot of recruiting from his alma matter because what classes they take and which profs they take tell him instantly what kind of worker they are.

Also, just because they are attending a private school doesn't mean they are footing the entire bill. Often times it is less expensive for students to go to a private school because there are more grants, scholarships, endowments available. Where DH and I went if you had a 3.75 GPA or higher you got an automatic $10,000 scholarship from the school (lesser amounts for lower GPS, too). That $10,000, when we were there anyway, made the private schools we attended less expensive then the state university system then add to that other financial aid/scholarships and it cost me $1000/year to go to a private college. DH won a huge scholarship for his jr and sr year and went for free.

We both graduated with student loans but were easily able to pay them off. It also allowed us to get a house sooner then most of our friends because we had a better credit rating then they did among other things.

So, yes, sometimes it DOES matter which school you attend.

 

[crz4mm2]

I had 50,000 in student loans when I graduated. I think I have three years left to pay them off. Worth every penny.

I am helping DD pay for college too.

 

[Toby'sFriend]

well honestly, no I wouldn't pay $400,000 myself for a child who wanted to return to Public Education as a teacher. The same is probably true for Nursing, Social Work, and a few other occupations. Most of the hospitals around here have programs where they recruit students, pay for their education at several local good colleges and universities, and then have them sign contracts agreeing to work for so long. If that is what they wanted to do....it certainly seems like the best way to go about it.

I'd help them look into the schools, tell them the amount of money I had available, help them search out scholarships and grants --- but I just couldn't mortgage the rest of our lives for it.

But if somebody had designs on Medical School or some other high paying career that would help them pay the money back, I'd find a way to get them through.

 

[KelNottAt]

Yes, I would go into debt for my children's college education. But probably not for elementary or secondary school.

We're fortunate that we've already saved enough for their in-state tuition. If they need room and board (and they probably will), then we'll pay for that in some sort of monthly installment plan. But, to me, that's not really a debt...more like rent.

Now, if they want to go to a private college or out-of-state public school, then we'll use the savings first, then student loans/financial aid, then a PLUS loan.

Sometimes I find myself wondering...would it be better if the kids qualified for aid and loans (more motivation for them, less debt for us), or would it be better if we don't qualify for aid (a rosy financial picture, but will the kids appreciate the blessing).

 

[jenm2878]

Between my fiance and myself we have close to $80,000 in student loans. Worth every penny, but we'll be paying them off for years to come. We don't have kids yet but have already decided we'd probably go halves with them, or we'll do tuition if they cover room and board. We both feel like we appreciated our education more and worked harder because it was on our dime. (we both worked full time while going to school as well) I think people appreciate things more when they truly "earn" it, and I'm not going to just hand over a college education. I think going halves is perfectly fair.