Providing a college education for our children is a big priority for us, so we started saving before the children were conceived -- yes, literally. We didn't have furniture in all our rooms, we had bedsheets instead of curtains, and we were on a strict grocery budget, but we put money aside for children we didn't know for sure would exist. I'm not sorry we did it this way: it's easier to scrimp and save when you're young and just being married and being together is an adventure in itself.
We did not save in separate accounts, nor did we earmark money for this child or that child. We just saved. The money was always in our names. Our kids had a few savings bonds, which were gifted to them by family members over the years. We used those in their first semester of college to provide a nice laptop.
When the time came, we set limits. Kids don't need the whole world of choices for college; sometimes more is just more, not necessarily better. We told them each that we could pay 4 years of tuition /fees, dorm /meal plan for an in-state school ... we also said we'd pay for their phones, health insurance -- and we'd provide them with a reliable car at the point they needed it (not when they're still doing on-campus classes, but when they were required regularly to do off-campus work junior or senior year). They'd be responsible for books, gas and any "upgrades" to our basic plan.
Our oldest had a hard time choosing between two schools that both "fit the bill" for what we could pay. She earned a nice fat 50% scholarship, so we were able to pay for her education without touching our savings. When she was a junior, we bought her a late-model used car. She understood we'd sacrificed to pay for her education, and she really appreciated it when she heard other people talking about taking out loans. She did her part and worked hard to graduate on time.
Our youngest opted to stay home and start at community college; she wasn't ready to go out into the big, bad world, and when she was given a nice scholarship that allowed her to attend tuition-free, that made her decision for her. When she finished her general degree requirements, she didn't really look around at universities -- she already loved the school her sister attended. She's still attending and is on track to graduate on time, but she also understands that we worked hard to provide this opportunity for her. Because we paid only a small amount for her first couple years, we are "ahead" financially with her, but we're paying sticker-price at the university. She's going to be gifted my current car, and I'll get a new one. Because my husband has retired, we will need to dip into our college savings for the first time to cover her college expenses.
In the end, paying for college has been considerably easier than we anticipated. Our oldest chose a major that's very scholarship-heavy, and our youngest chose a community college, where she was a big fish in a small pond. They worked hard to earn those scholarships, and they were exceedingly fortunate; as a high school teacher, I assure you that fewer and fewer students earn scholarships every year, and essentially no one gets a full ride anymore. We will have money left in the college fund when our youngest graduates, and that's our money. We covered their expenses and they'll each have a bachelor's degree and no debt -- we're almost done with what we set out to do. The extra money is going to turn into a camper and a pool.
If I were young and just married again, I'd do some things differently -- but I wouldn't change a thing about the way we approached college savings.