Who Pays For College?

[joshsmom]

I'll pay for DS's education. I'd be REALLY happy if he got a scholarship or grant or something, but I'm not counting on it. I've been saving since he was little--hopefully it will be enough!!!

 

[Meriweather]

Well, a combination.
We saved from the time they were born.
They still worked summers, at least.
We still pay more money.

Both have graduated.
DD is going back for a masters.
She has some money saved. We will help with all that is needed.
We are huge believers in good educations and will do whatever it takes to make that happen for our kids

 

[DisneyJen0504]

Dh and I don't have children yet but we will save as much as we can and whatever is left we will take out a loan for. I was fortunate to have my parents pay for my education and starting my life out without student loans was one of the best gifts they could have given me.

 

[ozarkmom]

My son has scholarships. There are other expenses that come up that we pay for. He's finishing his freshman year and will work this summer.

 

[Dana49]

We paid a large portion each year, the rest was up to them. We wanted them to have an investment in their future. It seemed to work.

 

[slo]

We are planning on paying for their college and we have been saving money.

 

[UnderTheMistletoe]

Other....

The bank pays for me

 

[MouseWorshipin]

Oh, boy! That's a good one! The kids will pay for it!!! And they'll buy me a new car, and pay for the next WDW vacation while they're at it!

Had to pick myself up off of the floor after that. Yeesh, I know parents with jobs who can't afford college. My kids don't have that kind of dough. I wish. But they will take out loans.

Except for the one who I can't see going to college. Maybe McCollege, where they learn to say, "Do you want fries with that?" He might be able to swing that.

 

[Mishetta]

I picked "other" because we plan to help DS's pay for their education but who knows if reality will let us. We do have some already put aside for them (via a small inheritence) but it will not get both of them thru 4 years of college. So we will assist them but we do expect them to work & take care of some expenses too. I don't think either one of them will appreciate it if they just get it handed to them.

 

[CarolG]

Our first DS will be graduating with a BBA in less than two weeks. He's kept his grades up so his tuition and fees have been covered by Georgia's HOPE scholarship all four years. He also had a small scholarship from DH's employer that helped with books and incidentals. We started saving for college when the kids were very young, so we paid for housing and meals; he covered any extras with money from part-time jobs.

He's starting graduate school in the fall, and unfortunately HOPE won't cover that - we'll be picking up his tuition for the next year, and he plans to be on his own after that.

Our younger DS will be a freshman this fall. He also qualifies for HOPE and will probably get some scholarship money from DH's employer. We'll cover room and board for him like we did for his older brother.

 

[minnie61650]

\Three of our four children had scholarships and/or grants which paid for part of their education.
We paid the rest. Our youngest DD (22) has one more semester and then she will graduate with a double major in business.
Our children always had summer jobs and part time jobs and used that money toward their everyday living expenses while in college.

 

[MaryAnnDVC]

We paid for all 3 of our children's college education. They worked and supplied their own spending money. We also paid for their apartments and food as long as they were keeping up their grades, which they did.

If I had it to do all over again, I'd plan my children at least 4 years apart!!

Ditto on all of this! DD works now, and will continue to work the same job whenever she's home and summers. Plus, she's still paying us for the car we bought for her (we split it 50/50).

I thought having my kids two years apart would be perfect. Not so much anymore! LOL

Hi Sandy!

 

[wdwgirl03]

My parents are paying for me to go to college. I also got a partial scholarship.

After my grandma died, my dad told me that his parents paid for him to go to school and so he wanted to do the same for me and my sisters.

 

[ImMarcik]

I started saving for my DDs college when she was very young, but I'm afraid the money will not last 4 years. So, I will be paying some she will pay the rest or take out loans. Getting scholarships would be great too.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I voted we pay/savings and other.

We have Florida pre-pay for both girls.

And if we maintain our Florida residency--then we will place them on the path academically to get the Bright Future's Scholarship.

I figure we must lay a good foundation for our children and to raise them and then say you must fend for yourself at the age of 18 just isn't right. They are still my children.
Years and years ago--college was a luxury. Now it is nearly a necessity (that or advanced schooling of any kind to be certified in a vocation).

After those 2 items are exhausted and if they need more money--we would probably have them find a job that does not interfere with their studies.


**note I do agree that good grades are a must.

 

[monarchsfan16]

I'm almost done with my freshman year at a state university. Currently, it's a three way split, sort of. My parents started a 529 for me when I was younger, that has enough in it to pay about 1/3 each of my 4 years. Thankfully it still grows a bit after each withdrawl, so that helps with the fact that costs will keep rising. After that (about) 1/3 has been applied to the bill, my parents split the difference (parents are divorced). Dad says it will continue this way. Mom says it will not. We'll just have to wait and see. I did get a $1000 scholarship from the school toward tuition every year (yeah big deal), so I do have to maintain the grades for that or I'll be paying that difference out of pocket. I also got a couple small scholarships from clubs I was in last year that completely covered my books this year. I pay most of my expenses, although I've noticed that my mom has become unbelievably generous since I left for school. WHenever I go home she buys snacks for me to bring back and other things. Essentially she still covers personal needs that she would have covered if I was still home. Definitely unexpected. She also seems to thoroughly enjoy taking me shoe and clothing shopping on her Some of the stuff I buy up here is considered "reimbursable" too. I do cover most of my expenses, including books. I worked a bit last summer (don't ask), and despite having a very full bank account (I don't spend much), am supposed to get a job this summer too. I am NOT allowed to work during the school year, which has been the rule all through school
As for grad school, that's currently a heated debate that I'm trapped in the middle of. Dad says they will pay all. Mom says it's all on me. So stay tuned

And as for the people paying for school focus more on studies, that's not always the case. I'm not actually spending any of my own money on tuition, room board, etc, but I definitely know how much my parents are spending, the sacrifices they're making, and work hard. I had a 3.9 last semester, and while this semester won't be quite as high, it will still be honors. My current roommate is having litterally everything (even books) paid for by her parents, and she has a 4.0 and is flipping out that she may get an A- this semester. One of my roommates from last semester has thousands in loans, and is counting on the nurse reinvestment act to pay them back. Yet she's drunk every night of the week, and barely maintained the gpa last semester to stay in the nursing program. We all know she won't last much longer and then will have to pay those mega loans back (12k at least) flipping burgers. Another roommate was similar. So yes, for some people having to pay for school themseleves makes them more aware, but for some, it just doesn't matter

 

[minkydog]

Oh, boy! That's a good one! The kids will pay for it!!! And they'll buy me a new car, and pay for the next WDW vacation while they're at it!

Had to pick myself up off of the floor after that. Yeesh, I know parents with jobs who can't afford college. My kids don't have that kind of dough. I wish. But they will take out loans.

Except for the one who I can't see going to college. Maybe McCollege, where they learn to say, "Do you want fries with that?" He might be able to swing that.

Maybe he & my DS19 can get an apartment together. They'd have food and entertainment covered

 

[Jennifer S]

We plan on paying, however they will be contributing in the following ways.

Getting good grades, applying for scholarships, etc.
Working summer jobs and part-time in the school year - and applying that money towards their expenses (and by expenses, I do NOT mean cars, stereos, or vacations!)
Being frugal with their money and accountable for their grades.

If they do the above, we'll be paying for everything they need for a Bachelor's.

ITA- Ours will be doing the same.

 

[MouseWorshipin]

Maybe he & my DS19 can get an apartment together. They'd have food and entertainment covered

This is the child who recently told me that he isn't worried about making lots of money. All he needs is, "to buy a new computer every year or two and pay for my [online game]...and the rest of that stuff."

So, I hope your son can swing half of "the rest of that stuff," in a studio apartment in the inner city. On the flip side, I'll get free McNuggets, right?