Comments on: On not paying for your kids’ college

By: Susan

Susan — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 17:16:43 +0000

Both kids are at private colleges – tuition, fees, etc. total about 48k, each got about 16k in merit. We pay some 16k and they can pay some (about 1-2k) so that they’re each taking out about 14k in loans per year. If we didn’t help – they’d be getting loans for about 30k per year.

BTW – no jobs for college students this summer. Most folks can hire adults who will work through the fall.

And this year, many schools have less to give to incoming students with endowments hurting. And many students get just a one year scholarship (signing bonus?).

If they’d gone to the state university they’d have some scholarship and loans would be at most half this. Of course rather than 15 in a history class (both of them it’s their major), there would be 300. They made choices.

By: Robert

Robert — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 16:28:35 +0000

Lynn and Susan: Just curious- are your kids going to state universities, or private colleges? At my school (a private liberal arts college) very few students have the sort of trouble you’re describing getting financial aid. It may not be a full ride but the discount rate plus available scholarship money is pretty impressive. A lot of small private college have even more to give away than we do. I’m wondering if the phenomenon you’re describing is happening only at state schools, where there was not a lot of scholarship money to begin with and what little was there is now drying up with the state funding.

By: Susan

Susan — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 07:20:51 +0000

The tuition is up so high because the states have stopped funding education to a large degree.

Most states pay much more per prisoner than per student. Crazy! If they paid many prisoners to get an education, it would be cheaper? huh?

By: Lynn

Lynn — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 01:43:56 +0000

I also have two in college this year (next year it will be three). I am committing 1/4 of my paycheck to each student every month. It is all that we can do. And you are right, Financial Aid has dried up and the Federal Loans are not sufficient to cover the expense.

My husband and I decided that we would not take a home equity loan or a “parent” loan for any child, because we have 2 more at home, and our goal is to do what we can within reason.

In 2000, I went back for a Master’s Degree. Between the time I enrolled (2000) and the time I graduated (2003), tuition had doubled. I was attending a state university and I could not believe that the state-wide tuition increases during those years got such little press. If the electric company doubled your bill in one year, there would be a public outrage! I heard a barely audible whisper from a few parents.

By: Susan

Susan — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 16:16:27 +0000

I have 2 in college now. Few scholarships anymore, little federal aid, nor jobs on campus (they go to international students since 9/11). Few jobs off campus in this economy. Few summer jobs in this economy.

And college costs twice as much or more.
Each of our kids is taking out loans, many loans, and we’ll help as much as we can. We have 2 more to go into college in 2 years.

As for high schools – live in a great district (my step-daughters) or go to a great charter school (my sons).

By: Will Farris

Will Farris — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 18:34:36 +0000

A very good point indeed, about not being able to go back to high school. That time of life is a different vibe from remedial ed that adults do go back through. Was it Mark Twain that said education is wasted on the young?

By: Will Farris

Will Farris — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 18:26:53 +0000

That new book out by the Philosophy professor who prefers motorcycle mechanics: Shopcraft as Soulcraft (even made the Colbert Report says we are way over educating the masses, and that many need to go for skilled trades and we need to remove the stigma. Very intriguing theme.

But, in my parts, if you are a highly skilled NASCAR mechanic making lots of money you are still, well, an uneducated car mechanic who is not very likely to contribute to the discussion of , say, the ontology of logic. Not that most college grads will be able to either, but we’re dealing in probability.

Getting an education is like getting married: it is extremely personal, will cost you and/or your parents untold sums, and says quite a bit about you, especially your folly-of-youth quotient. Mine was, and still is higher than I care to admit.

By: Kate Nowak

Kate Nowak — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 17:44:23 +0000

This is one of those discussions I barely feel qualified to contribute to, since I don’t have any kids. However I’ve noticed while teaching high school that plenty of kids go off to college just because they don’t know what else to do and their families would feel embarrassed if they didn’t. Or in a worse case, the kid doesn’t want to go to college at all and would be happier learning a trade, but acquiesce to their parents’ wishes anyway – not going to college or delaying it until there is a purpose behind it is simply not an option. These kids are not preparing for a particular career or even learning for its own sake – they are just wasting time and money.

By: Cassie

Cassie — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 17:22:59 +0000

Unless my husband ends up staying in the Navy and we can use the GI Bill, this is our plan for our kids too. We only have one son right now but we plan to have more. I want to help our kids out as much as possible, but I think it is more important for us to save to buy a home and to save for retirement. We want to encourage our kids to get scholarships and to work part-time through college.

By: John

John — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 17:18:25 +0000

I believe it’s more important to give children a good education before they go to college than to support them in college. They can work or borrow their way through college if necessary, but they can’t go back and improve their secondary education. That’s why my wife and I are spending our money on private education now, even though that means we won’t be able to help as much when our children go to college.