I put my two kids through college with hardly any trouble at all. I live in Boston area which puts several dozen colleges and universities within commuting distance of my home. I basically had my kids commute from the house and they worked part-time jobs to pay for their books and other expenses. They ended up going to state university where I only had to pay in-state tuition. I forget the exact amount but it was just a few thousand dollars a semester twice a year. It was a breeze and I paid out of pocket so no loans for me either.
Dorm living is what kills you financially.
I’m more amazed at the parents who put their kids up in an off-campus apartment or house. During my tenure as an ROTC instructor at an SEC school, I knew several families who actually bought homes for their children. At the time, it wasn’t a bad investment, I suppose, because most were able to sell the houses later at a profit. But in terms of setting an example for your kids, it only added to the sense of entitlement that is rampant among the Gen-Xers and millenials.
Equally shocking were the number of kids on the six and seven-year plan for a bachelor’s degree. I finished my UG degree (in journalism) in three-and-a-half years and barely broke a sweat. No excuse for anyone who’s a full-time student (and isn’t a varsity athlete) to need more than four years to finish any liberal arts degree. Engineering and the hard sciences are a different story, but I’ve known plenty of students in those majors who graduate in four or five years. That’s because most of those students are bright and have a fair degree of discipline.