parents who pay for their kids' college

[Moparmark]

I just paid my daughters University bill for three years(she paid the first) so my Harley Road King dream kind of evaporated.We were not about to send her out into the big shitty world with a large debt to pay off.Besides I doubt my parents would have done it for me.So therefore a better parent I am.

[sunzgem]

I paid for and put myself through college with very little help from my parents. Well about half of it. College that is. I haven't finished the other half yet.[:(]

[hexicon]

I share your amazement, KYYX.

It seems very strange to me that my friends who have kids are so worried about college costs and getting into the "right" school, given that my parents completely blew it off. To be fair to them, my parents' parents didn't do anything for them (mom's dad thought girls didn't need to go to school, etc.). My folks struggled hard enough to move into the educated middle class that saving for the kids' college simply wasn't a priority to them. Their attitude toward me was "she's smart, she'll get scholarships" and toward my sister was "she's not college material anyway."

So, I attended a state university and graduate school, worked, lived with my parents some of the time, and graduated with a moderate amount of debt. I'm grateful that I was able to do so, and now that I work for state budget writers I'm even more grateful to the public for subsidizing my education through taxpayer support for public universities. In retrospect, it is amazing that tuition at a top-25 law school was $3000 per year (in the early 90s). Oh well, since I work in the public sector the taxpayers are getting a good return on their investment.

I think some of what you're describing is simply part of the changes in parenting trends since we were kids. My parents pretty much followed the reptilian mode (hatch them and expose them to the elements) and we turned out OK. By comparison, my friends who have kids seem hyperinvolved in their children's lives.

If I had kids, I would certainly do a 529 or similar to send them out with at least enough tuition for four years at a state school. I could afford that much, and just because my parents didn't do it for me doesn't mean I wouldn't do it for my own kids. But I see my friends' kids just assuming that they will be able to attend expensivce private colleges, and I scratch my head.

[BffloGrl85]

I paid for my college education by working nights full time, having a full time summer job and taking out loans to cover the short falls. I never qualified for financial aide despite having 4 other siblings in school at the same time. It was because I made too much money.

My parents were wonderfully supportive in that they allowed me to live at home rent free as long as I paid my tuition and all of other expenses.

[obs]

The parent's don't owe it to their kids, but the way I see it is that if you take care of your kids by helping them get a better job via edition, the better equipped they will be in the future to take care of you (eg. look at it as a form of retirement investment).

[shovelbum]

[quote][i]Originally posted by obs[/i]
<br>The parent's don't owe it to their kids, but the way I see it is that if you take care of your kids by helping them get a better job via edition, the better equipped they will be in the future to take care of you (eg. look at it as a form of retirement investment).
[/quote]

yeah, but remember: there's no guarantee. Also, I wouldn't WANT my kids to have to support me at the expense of their own lives. We have invested carefully toward our retirement so that we won't be a burden to them. We chose to have THEM, they had no choice in getting US.

My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father, prepare to die.

[Mechi]

I don't go to a private university... so I don't have to pay to get the education that I get. In spite of the fact that we occasionally lose some classes due to protests or stuff like that, UBA is great... a very high level and absolutely free. I do juggle a bit in order to pay for books, etc... I try to get money from where it's possible. But my parents help me out.

http://spaces.msn.com/members/mechigc
http://thesesensations.blogspot.com
http://devotionanddivision.blogspot.com

[obs]

[i]Also, I wouldn't WANT my kids to have to support me at the expense of their own lives.[/i]

All the more reason why they need a good education to make lots of money [:D].

[shovelbum]

[quote][i]Originally posted by obs[/i]
<br>[i]Also, I wouldn't WANT my kids to have to support me at the expense of their own lives.[/i]

All the more reason why they need a good education to make lots of money [:D].
[/quote]

please axpand- that makes noooo sense to me.

My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father, prepare to die.

[newwavepunkgirl]

[quote][i]Originally posted by obs[/i]
<br>[i]Also, I wouldn't WANT my kids to have to support me at the expense of their own lives.[/i]

All the more reason why they need a good education to make lots of money [:D].
[/quote]

LOL! In the UK house prices have rocketed that much the poor olds can end up being stuck with their grown-up kids at home and giving up their retirement money, sod that, 18 and out the door I say! LOL![:D][:D][:D]

Devolution is real

[SomebodySomewhere]

The so-called "parental units" pretty much didn't lift a finger as far as any of their four "accidents" were concerned. The only time I can recall my old man lifting a finger was to strike me or to put his cigarette out on my arm. I didn't have to worry about who was going to pay for my college education, because I was too busy worrying about how to juggle two blue-collar jobs and function on two hours sleep. (That, and you... kind of have to finish high school to go to college.)

Since I don't have children and never will, it is impossible for me to non-hypothetically say what I would do for them if I did. But I think every parent wants to give their kids more than they got. Granted, in my case, I could give them a piece of coal and accomplish that.

[Hondo]

I worked my way through college and graduated without any debt, but the way fees have exploded in the 20+ years since I don't see my kids being that lucky. I was lucky enough to be able to live at home rent-free, (as long as I kept the cars running, the grass cut, and my sister to school and work on time.) We set up college funds for our kids when they were born, but the economy nosedived just when they were starting to take off and they've never recovered. The plan was never to give them a free ride, but to at least give them a head start. My son is going to have it rough. Kentucky has a program where you get $$$ for in-state schools if your grades are good enough, but he's screwed around so much that he might not qualify. My daughter is the opposite, and I'm fairly sure that when the time comes she'll wind up somewhere on scholarship.