Posted on 05/11/2016 1:54:21 PM PDT by Lorianne
We are footing the bill for our daughter to earn a degree. We had a few conditions, she live at home, go local, get A’s, apply for scholarships to help, and earn her degree in a science field that pays well. We have one year left and she has kept her end of the bargain, each year she’s received about half of her tuition in scholarship funding. We are waiting to see what she gets for this last year. It has been a sacrifice but we really didn’t see how she could pay for it unless we helped.
Mine are, although I urge a strong vocational/technical education before even thinking of Kollege. Oh, and wait a year or two to mature first. Get a job and pay some bills - marvelous stuff for getting a direction.
We’re the same way, but I apparently have too much in retirement savings to qualify for any assistance.
I’ve got one in full time school right now. He’s got some good scholarships and we’re loaning him much of the rest.
He got home last Friday and began full time summer employment on Monday. He’s working for a remodeling contractor and gaining real hands on skills to add to his engineering degree.
The heck with college, I’d head right to a trade school.
You can always try to get a degree later.
Good for him! (and you) It sounds like he’s on the right track!
My wife got associate degree, bachelors degree, and masters. -0- debt. She worked 40 hours per week. I got associate degree. Worked 40 hrs. per week. -0- debt.
I told my 19 yr. old daughter to learn to weld and earn a decent pay and from there consider college.
Exactly what I advised my son.
I know the drill. I paid the first two years myself working 50+ a week. Graduated with $7.49 to my name.
Here in NJ the colleges just import Asian students; there are literally billions of Asians that would jump at the opportunity to come to the land of indoor plumbing and potable water...
My wife was willing to co-sign college debt until a distant relative through marriage screwed over his parents and refused to help repay the loans after graduation. They’ve been forced to sell their home while he shares an apartment with a girlfriend.
I’d help my children make payments on debt, but not under legal obligation.
I went to college (the first time .... ) back in the early 1980's. My parents paid $0.
Not only did my parents pay $0 I had to pay to live at home. I had to purchase my own clothes, food, do my own laundry, do chores around the house and help take care of my two younger brothers who were eight and nine years younger than I was.
I also worked four different jobs every week to pay for my college (which I commuted to every day) and pay my living expenses.
What did I learn from that? The value of hard work and perseverance. How to prioritize my time, save and spend my money wisely and learn how to do things I wouldn't have otherwise learned such as fixing my own car, learning electronics to do basic repairs (and make extra money) and most of all ... SELF RELIANCE.
Yes it took me longer to earn my first college degree but the life lessons I learned while doing it? Priceless.
Same here. Sucks doesn't it, that we do the responsible thing to fund our own retirement then our kids get screwed out of any financial assistance because we did the responsible thing for ourselves!
My oldest son comes home tomorrow from college, he'll spend his summer working in the local bike shop again. Part of that goes to pay us back, the majority of it goes into the bank so he has spending money while away next year. He was fortunate that he scored an academic scholarship that pays for his tuition, books and fees. We loan him the money for his room and board each year.
Best we figure right now, he'll graduate with about $10-$15k in debt to us which will be quite reasonable and manageable for him especially if he stays on track and graduates with honors. At that point dad will likely forgive the loan so he can get his life started with a clean slate. I of course won't tell him that. Gotta keep him motivated.
I had a similar experience, but lived away from home.
My parents paid $0 towards college.
I worked 2 jobs. If I did not have the money to pay for a semester, I skipped it while working even longer hours to save up for future semesters. I also took time off to travel, which was a more valuable education than university. Obviously, it took more time to finish, but what I learned from all that was much more valuable than what I learned in college.
I was pay as you go except I took out a few small loans my last 2 semesters which I paid off within 2 years of graduating. Of course it helped that I got a good job right away.
However, I wonder if I could do that today. With price inflation in higher ed I’m not sure I would be able to manage it no matter how hard I worked.
All the government ‘help’ has made the cost of college skyrocket. I don’t think people of low to moderate income can afford to go to college now on a pay as you go basis.
When my oldest went to college almost 10 years ago he could not get a loan on his own. Has that changed?
I could get loans on my own at that time. They were small enough I did not have to have a co-signer. I also had a private loan from an employer which I paid off first after graduating.
I have heard that you can go before a judge and get yourself legally ‘emancipated’ from your parents for the purposes of applying for loans and grants. After all, what do people do who have no parents?
The whole FAFSA thing is, to me, legally questionable. A college student (for the most part) is legally and adult.
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