Is anyone else not saving or paying for college?

[mhsjax]

I actually enjoyed this gem a little bit more:



Re: the bolded part. Really? You think it's OK for a kid to have debt? We all have our different comfort levels, certainly. I don't think it's totally OK for anyone to have debt but most of us do. We have good stable jobs and established careers and then we buy houses. I don't understand the gleeful willingness to saddle a kid with approximately $80,000 in debt to have obtain a 4 year degree. The student has NO way to ever know if they can pay that money back. I sit at work listening to several parents (near tears) lamenting on these student loans that have come due and their kids cannot afford them on the $12 per hour they are making. Guess whose names are on many of the loans?

I love that she called that poster 'Naive" yet her kids are only 10 years old, according to another thread.

 

[tvguy]

arminnie,

Sadly, I don't think this is the case anymore. Certainly some kids will get a free ride, but over the years the "push" for higher education has finally worked. More people than ever are going to college. In fact, the high school class of 2013 is one of the largest pool of freshman applications in history. I've heard that stat in several places. As stated above, truly smart brilliant kids are a dime a dozen anymore and there just isn't enough merit aid to go around. Parents just need to be aware that the game has changed a bit.

2009 was the largest incoming Freshman college class, they are getting smaller slowly.
Actually there are many scholarships and grants at private colleges, probably more than ever, because the IRS cracked down on the billions in endowments Universities were sitting on and not spending. Often, a private college with financial aid, is cheaper than a public. The VP of Fundraising for my college said the biggest part of his job isn't finding donors, it's finding donors who are willing to allow their money to be used where it is needed. Some 85 year old lady wanted to give $10,000 so "the boys on the basketball team could have filet for dinner on game nights". The VP got her to allow $9,500 of her donation to be used for general scholarships, and the remaining $500 for steaks.

 

[TXinmyheart]

Sort of ironic that you used 'naive'.

Here's the thing I find most naive on this thread: to expect a child to pay for college. It is just not the way of the world right now.

maybe not the way of your world, but it is the way in mine and the feeling of many I associate with.

 

[jgh]

My parents are paying for my college education (over halfway done now with my Bachelors), and I couldn't be more thankful. I have HOPE (in GA that's a scholarship you get if you have a certain GPA), it doesn't cover everything, but it does cover about half. I still live at home and will until I'm married to live on my own...no point in paying for a dorm/food plan.

It's just a darn fact that your kid will have a better "leg up" when he/she has graduted if they haven't had to pay their way through college and accrue student debt. Because my dad has paid for my college, my fiance and I will be able to look into actually buying a house, instead of renting an apartment. We won't be in the hole before we're even married. I've been able to work and save money for my future.

I will absolutely, 100% pay for my kids college as my parents have done. I honestly can't understand why a parent wouldn't if they have the ability to do so.

 

[MissManda]

What an incredibly naive post. I totally disagree with just about everything written.

Please explain what part of Disykat's post you find to be "naive". I find it to be quite realistic. I personally think you are being very naive if you don't think that you are going to help your kids at all with college. Like her post said, if you provide a vehicle or a home to live in, you are helping. Or...do you just plan to throw your kids out the house the day they turn 18 and wish them well?

I'm starting to think you are trolling now.

 

[TXinmyheart]

Why do you think it's naive??? Besides, everyone is entitled to their own opinion or way of doing things.

As I am entitled to call her post naive. It will be my kid's responsibility to figure out how they will meet their goals financially, be it militarily, a school that does not require FASFA for merit aid or working to offer to cover their expenses of college. Will my kid requests LOAN from mom and dad? Will my kid offer to save 50% of the costs for a match? We require skin in the game and are not saving nor planning to pay for all of college.

My spouse and I are looking forward to marriage 3.0 and have no problems traveling the world while our kid struggles after leaving home. I don't understand where this notion came that a parent should delay their retirement or borrow on behalf of their children and go into debt to do it.

As my kid is in a sports program where 90% of the participants have received full ride scholarships, it will be encumbent on my child to be n that 90%. Or end up paying or earning their keep for college. Even if it means taking on debt or WORKING. A semester And attending a semester.

As I said our true hope will be for our kid to be an entrepreneur and not have to eventually work for anyone else. If others want to different for their children fine, but by asking this question I had HOPED to find like minded people and not contrarians, but that is ok.

 

[zurgswife]

We are broke and there is no savings. So, the kids are unfortunately having to do their on college which means loans for them.

 

[nchulka]

I'm not sure why it really matters. It seems just about everyone ends up paying for college one way or another. Those whose parents paid for theirs seem to say they will pay for their kids and most who paid for their own say they want their kids to pay for their own also. So in the end everyone pays for college once!

 

[Christine]

2009 was the largest incoming Freshman college class, they are getting smaller slowly.
Actually there are many scholarships and grants at private colleges, probably more than ever, because the IRS cracked down on the billions in endowments Universities were sitting on and not spending. Often, a private college with financial aid, is cheaper than a public. The VP of Fundraising for my college said the biggest part of his job isn't finding donors, it's finding donors who are willing to allow their money to be used where it is needed. Some 85 year old lady wanted to give $10,000 so "the boys on the basketball team could have filet for dinner on game nights". The VP got her to allow $9,500 of her donation to be used for general scholarships, and the remaining $500 for steaks.

Interesting. I will have to go challenge those stats put out by a few high schools. I thought that 2009 was the beginning of the first population surge. That population boom was supposed to end with the class of 2013 and the decline was to start with the class of 2014. Honestly, I'm not making that up. I have been given that brief by my son's own high school and then a friend of mine in a neighboring county got the same statistic thrown at them.

 

[mhsjax]

As I am entitled to call her post naive. It will be my kid's responsibility to figure out how they will meet their goals financially, be it militarily, a school that does not require FASFA for merit aid or working to offer to cover their expenses of college.

My spouse and I are looking forward to marriage 3.0 and have no problems traveling the world while our kid struggles after leaving home. I don't understand where this notion came that a parent should delay their retirement or borrow on behalf of their children and go into debt to do it.

As my kid is in a sports program where 90% of the participants have received full ride scholarships, it will be encumbent on my child to be n that 90%. Or end up paying or earning their keep for college. Even if it means taking on debt or WORKING. A semester And attending a semester.

As I said our true hope will be for our kid to be an entrepreneur and not have to eventually work for anyone else. If others want to different for their children fine, but by asking this question I had HOPED to find like minded people and not contrarians, but that is ok.

Who said that parents had to delay their retirement, or borrow against it? I really think you are saying most of this stuff to get a rise out of people. And depending on a sports scholarship, you are the one that is naive. YOu stated your kids are 10? at least on another thread you did. Long time for injuries to happen. Totally irresponsible to depend on a sports scholarship.

News flash, My parents were depression kids. News flash, my parents paid for us to go to school, and the biggest news flash of all, My dad not only retired EXTREMELY comfortable and left quite a nice sum of money to us, but he retired early. I don't know where you are getting your ideas from, but they are very one sided. I feel for your kids. It is one thing to make sure they appreciate what is given to them, but you seem to enjoy that fact that you want them to struggle. Also, you can't compare education to a home and vacations, the fact that you tried makes me doubt your understanding of anything you are posting. Also, if you really believe that so many kids are moving back home because they can't live like mom and dad and want everything handed to them, then those parents failed those kids LONG before they entered college.

If you can't afford to send them without dipping into your retirement, then by all means don't do that. But to not pay just because you want them to struggle is twisted. I think you are the biggest "contrarian" on the thread. Obviously, you haven't been around the Dis for very long.

 

[soccerdad72]

As my kid is in a sports program where 90% of the participants have received full ride scholarships, it will be encumbent on my child to be n that 90%.

Now I know you're a troll.

 

[zurgswife]

Who said that parents had to delay their retirement, or borrow against it? I really think you are saying most of this stuff to get a rise out of people.

News flash, My parents were depression kids. News flash, my parents paid for us to go to school, and the biggest news flash of all, My dad not only retired EXTREMELY comfortable and left quite a nice sum of money to us, but he retired early. I don't know where you are getting your ideas from, but they are very one sided. I feel for your kids. It is one thing to make sure they appreciate what is given to them, but you seem to enjoy that fact that you want them to struggle. Also, you can't compare education to a home and vacations, the fact that you tried makes me doubt your understanding of anything you are posting. Also, if you really believe that so many kids are moving back home because they can't live like mom and dad and want everything handed to them, then those parents failed those kids LONG before they entered college.

If you can't afford to send them without dipping into your retirement, then by all means don't do that. But to not pay just because you want them to struggle is twisted.

Totally agree here.

 

[ZephyrHawk]

OP, I don't think it's that we don't think our kids could manage to pay for college on their own, nor do I doubt that doing so would be a good character builder for them. I certainly don't think that others who don't feel the need to pay their kids' way are necessarily wrong. But, I believe in giving my kids every possible advantage to get ahead in this world. I don't want to raise someone who goes to get a votech type degree, I want to raise someone who will be a professional like her parents. I don't want to raise someone who "goes into the military". If she wants to serve her country I'll work hard to make certain she emerges from a high quality military academy as an officer. I understand that my daughter may have desires different from my own, but if the genetics and environment she gets from parents and grandparents and aunts and uncles, who all went to college, encourage her to follow in their footsteps then I want to make sure I do everything I can to ensure she emerges from college in 4 years already competitively ahead of those who had to work to pay their own way or who are hampered by student loan debt. Call it elitist (it is, why is it now bad to want to be elite?), but I want my child to have advantages over the average person, just as my parents gave to me. Advantages that allow her to raise a family, and pay for her kids' college, and keep taking WDW vacations. I have that ability. I have it in part because my parents were willing to partially subsidize my education (for which I am grateful). I am glad I have that ability, and I hope my daughter will someday pay it forward to my grandchildren.

 

[TXinmyheart]

Who said that parents had to delay their retirement, or borrow against it?

It was said in this very thread, you can search and read it.

It is happening to many folks whether you want to believe it or not.

http://abcnews.go.com/travel/t/blogEntry?id=16445419

 

[mhsjax]

It was said in this very thread, you can search and read it.

It is happening to many folks whether you want to believe it or not.

http://abcnews.go.com/travel/t/blogEntry?id=16445419

Didn't say I didn't believe it, I said it doesn't have to happen. Lots of people are out of work, it is written about every day, but not everyone is. There is a HUGE difference between it happening and it happening to everyone.

 

[GrnMtnMan]

Right now I'm suspecting that TX in my heart is actually a 9th year sophomore at an expensive private college, getting weekly allowance from mom&pop that enables him/her party, do drugs, and never lift a finger. S/he's subconsciously wishing that the world is the way s/he is describing in this alter-ego that's been created on the Dis.

 

[jennyjinx3]

Who said that parents had to delay their retirement, or borrow against it? I really think you are saying most of this stuff to get a rise out of people. And depending on a sports scholarship, you are the one that is naive. YOu stated your kids are 10? at least on another thread you did. Long time for injuries to happen. Totally irresponsible to depend on a sports scholarship.

News flash, My parents were depression kids. News flash, my parents paid for us to go to school, and the biggest news flash of all, My dad not only retired EXTREMELY comfortable and left quite a nice sum of money to us, but he retired early. I don't know where you are getting your ideas from, but they are very one sided. I feel for your kids. It is one thing to make sure they appreciate what is given to them, but you seem to enjoy that fact that you want them to struggle. Also, you can't compare education to a home and vacations, the fact that you tried makes me doubt your understanding of anything you are posting. Also, if you really believe that so many kids are moving back home because they can't live like mom and dad and want everything handed to them, then those parents failed those kids LONG before they entered college.

If you can't afford to send them without dipping into your retirement, then by all means don't do that. But to not pay just because you want them to struggle is twisted. I think you are the biggest "contrarian" on the thread. Obviously, you haven't been around the Dis for very long.

No kidding. This thread has been very interesting and people have shared many different opinions without it turning ugly. It is too bad posts like the one from TXinmyheart have to be mean spirited. Sharing an opinion does not deserve being called naive. It is just taking away from what has been a truly helpful thread.

 

[joviroxx]

My spouse and I are looking forward to marriage 3.0 and have no problems traveling the world while our kid struggles after leaving home. I don't understand where this notion came that a parent should delay their retirement or borrow on behalf of their children and go into debt to do it.

.

Who says you should delay your retirement or borrow or go into debt? We have a savings plan for our kids and each of them will have their money when its time. No need for DH and I to go broke over it and our retirement is just fine.

Planning for my kids education started the day they were born, just for this reason. My parents paid for my education, and my grandparents paid for theirs. I find no need for my kids to go into debt.

 

[leebee]

Who said that parents had to delay their retirement, or borrow against it? I really think you are saying most of this stuff to get a rise out of people. And depending on a sports scholarship, you are the one that is naive. YOu stated your kids are 10? at least on another thread you did. Long time for injuries to happen. Totally irresponsible to depend on a sports scholarship.

News flash, My parents were depression kids. News flash, my parents paid for us to go to school, and the biggest news flash of all, My dad not only retired EXTREMELY comfortable and left quite a nice sum of money to us, but he retired early. I don't know where you are getting your ideas from, but they are very one sided. I feel for your kids. It is one thing to make sure they appreciate what is given to them, but you seem to enjoy that fact that you want them to struggle. Also, you can't compare education to a home and vacations, the fact that you tried makes me doubt your understanding of anything you are posting. Also, if you really believe that so many kids are moving back home because they can't live like mom and dad and want everything handed to them, then those parents failed those kids LONG before they entered college.

If you can't afford to send them without dipping into your retirement, then by all means don't do that. But to not pay just because you want them to struggle is twisted. I think you are the biggest "contrarian" on the thread. Obviously, you haven't been around the Dis for very long.

 

[joviroxx]

One thing Id like to say. If kids aren't appreciating a financed education and their grades aren't good because their parents are paying for school, then the issue is in the parenting, NOT in the money.