My parents would have paid if they had the money. My dad paid for my first year, and then I qualified for grants after that. I paid all my own living expenses. I left college with about 15K in student loans, and that was because I used it to buy a car.
I always knew I would be going to college and my parents told us our "job" was to do well in school. My understanding was that college would be covered, and it was, though I am not sure how they would have paid for it if things had not happened as they did.
When I was about 15, one set of grandparents gifted my parents $20k for my college. My other grandmother was trying to offload money for estate planning purposes, so she paid for a few semesters of my undergrad before the market tanked. I got a small scholarship and worked during some of the summers. My dad paid for some incidentals, cell phone, gas money, and health insurance, and I lived with him a few summers and for several months between college and law school. The rest of college and half of law school was funded by the life insurance policy I inherited when my mother died; I took out loans for the other half of law school.
I paid for (well, am still paying for) all 5 years of my schooling-3 out of state, 2 in state after appealing my status... I was supporting myself 100%. My loans were for tuition, fees and supplies (architecture school), and I worked 40 hours/wk during the school year to pay for rent and food. I didn't have a car until my 3rd year, which helped with expenses.
I had some scholarships, but not nearly enough to make a dent in the cost.
My parents offered to pay college tuition for my sister and me. I ended up getting a scholarship (won't tell you what it was for at the risk of losing major GBCN cool points ) so I didn't need the money. Instead they put money in my account as needed to basically pay for anything I could need--food, trips, gas, etc. I am very fortunate that my parents were so generous.
For law school I was on my own but by then I had residency and I received a small scholarship so luckily I didn't need much in student loans.
DH and I both agreed that as long as we are able we want to pay 100% of our children's college education since we were fortunate enough to have ours paid for us.
my parents paid for my brother and I to go to college and didn't put stipulations on it. We both went to private colleges and it ended up being super pricey for them. i got about half of it covered in scholarships, but they did re-mortgage the house and took out a few loans (one in my name, which was super nice considering it helped me establish great credit).
The expectation was always that they would pay for undergrad barring we got good grades and worked part-time. My brother chose a 5 year degree and I ended up finishing my bachelors in 2.5 years and so my parents ended up paying for grad school for me since I finished bachelors/masters in 4.5 years.
My brother ended up going back after working for about 5 years to get his MBA part time. I do not know if my parents helped him out with that, though I wouldn't be surprised if they did.
Over all, we are so fortunate that they were able to help us like that. H's grandparents helped him and he got scholarships, and we've agreed that we will do what we can to help within reason (if they choose a state school, keep a part-time job etc).
It was incredible to be debt free out of grad school and I feel so fortunate for that.
Post by wildfloweragain on Mar 4, 2014 17:53:27 GMT -5
`My parents told me that I had to save 70% of anything I earned for college and I did. I worked from age 16 on. I got the wegmans scholarship and in my senior year my mom and step dad divorced, so I got a grant for some of it. Funny, because his income counted against me when they were married but they never paid for any of my college.
My father paid for my books every semester, and knew I sold them back at the end of the semester and let me keep that money. He also paid for at least half of my car repairs. My mother bought me groceries when she visited and put money for gas in my car.
But I paid for college for the most part and took out a lot of loans. My mom tells everyone how hard it was for her to pay for college. Ha.
My dad paid my undergrad tuition and room and board, plus enough spending money to cover the occasional pizza or movie with friends. My brother and I were always led to expect that our dad would pay for college, and it was provided for in my parents' divorce decree. I ended up graduating a semester early and got several small scholarships that came to probably $10k total, so my dad paid a semester of my law school tuition. I paid for the rest of law school through scholarship money, savings from summer jobs during high school and college (I worked during most summers and saved everything I made since my parents were covering my living expenses), and the money I made working at law firms during law school summers.
I am really, really grateful to have the level of parental help I had. DH and I will absolutely do the same for our kids if we can swing it. It is definitely our number one financial goal after retirement savings.
Post by barefootcontessa on Mar 4, 2014 18:13:25 GMT -5
My dad said he would pay for in-state tuition so that is what I did. I took out a good amount for graduate school. I have mixed feelings, as my dad could have helped offset the cost as a big dog earner (who was still in his 50s at the time). I do not think he was in any way obligated; it is just what I would have done if I were him.
We have five children and we intended to do all we can to pay for our kids' college. We forego spending now in favor of college savings so we can capitalize on compounding gains.
Post by turkletsmom on Mar 4, 2014 18:36:58 GMT -5
I had tuition covered with a scholarship to a public 4-year university close to home. My mom helped by letting me live at home rent free until graduation. I waited tables part time to cover books and my other few bills.
Post by sarapocalypse on Mar 4, 2014 18:45:21 GMT -5
I took out the maximum in federal loans I could take out and my parents paid for the rest with PLUS loans. This was the deal for both me and my sister. They had pretty much nothing saved up for college. I don't think they quite comprehended how much it would be over the course of 4 years.
I went to a private school but had about half of the tuition covered with a scholarship. I also did AP in high school and earned enough credits to graduate a semester early, so that helped. They did give me enough money to cover my rent the year I lived off-campus with a group of friends but I was responsible for utilities, groceries, etc. I also had a work study job to cover my spending money (though my parents usually gave me gas money when I came home for breaks/random weekends).
Post by hbomdiggity on Mar 4, 2014 18:50:14 GMT -5
I was very fortunate.
I'm 3/3 so I knew my parents would pay for 4 years (that point was made quite clear when my bro almost needed an extra semester).
While it wasn't a blank check, we all went to out of state state schools, which at the time was not much more than our home state.
they paid for everything, including beer and sorority dues (both considered necessary college expenses).
I "paid" for grad school myself as an RA. The stipend went far in the small town. I lived in the brand new apt and almost considering buying a new car.
All my SL debt is from law school. I worked a few years and as a matter of pride, I didn't even ask my parents. Having debt sucks and only makes me even more grateful for what my parents provided.
My parents paid for my tuition, books, and room and board (and rent and grocery money when I moved from the dorm to an apartment), and a very small amount of incidental money, but anything other than that was on me. I had a part time job from sophomore to senior year that took care of the rest, which was minor - mostly going out and a bit of shopping.
One of my friends ended up getting a full ride scholarship all four years, and her parents gave her the tuition money as her graduation gift. I was like omg. If my parents had made me that offer, I would have probably tried harder to get scholarships. lol.
LOL, what else is there? Money for beer, maybe?
Other than going out and a bit of shopping? Um, I don't know, movies, concerts, a dinner out from time to time instead of Lipton noodles and 50 cent pizza slices, the very occasional taxi instead of always taking the bus, buying birthday and Christmas gifts for my family. Definitely extras, but nothing extravagant. When I say my parents included a small amount of incidental money, I mean like $25. We were not wealthy by any stretch of the imagination.
There was never any mention from parents that they would pay for my tuition and I had no expectation of such. I was allowed to continue living at home as long as I wanted, while in school, but that was it.
This. I never expected my parents to pay for my education.
My parents paid for the first few years but then my sister got sick and I told them to commit the money to her treatment (eating disorder) instead. I worked and took out loans to pay for housing. I had about $20k loans for undergrad and grad school combined so I feel lucky. And my second go at grad school was paid for by my h working there, so that worked out!
My parents paid for everything related to my undergrad. They were not extremely well off, but valued education and wanted to do for us what their parents did for them.
My company paid 100% of a very, very pricy graduate program.
Post by alleinesein on Mar 4, 2014 19:31:04 GMT -5
My parents paid my first 2 years and I took out my measly unsubsidized loan of $2650 for 2 years. The rest of my education was a combination of OOP for community college and extension courses for a few years and then my mom helped pay for the last few semesters of my degree because it was less than $2000 per semester. My parents did promise me a new car for college graduation and even though it took my 9 years to get my degree they did buy me a new car
My parents divorced and it was in the divorce agreement that my dad had to pay 4 years of in-state tuition as long as we maintained a C average. So my dad paid tuition, and I paid books, room/board, etc. It helped but I was a bitter brat in college feeling like I was the only one working and everyone else had it sooo easy. (I was a fool obviously)
Now my DD is at a Community College studying paramedic/nursing. She actually volunteers at the firehouse so gets some of her credits reimbursed. We told her we will pay for her tuition. She has to pay for books, gas, etc. She also pays her car payment ($215 a month). If she fails a class, she has to repay and I will not pay for anymore until she reimburses. A second failure, I will not pay at all. Originally, we thought she would go away to a 4 yr college after 2 years but with the county program she is in, she won't have to and she doesn't want to.
I always told her in the future that we can help the younger kids more than we can help her now, I will gift her the money for a wedding, house, etc. I was young and a single mom for many years with her and wasn't able to save much money.
My parents weren't able to afford any college costs. My first year was at a community college and I lived at home. When I transferred to a 4 year university, I didn't qualify for enough loans to pay my tuition, so my dad was willing to co-sign a private loan for the first year (he considered that his contribution). I later received a grant to help get more people into my program, so that helped pay for the school expenses that my loans didn't cover.
I did Anericorps and that paid for community college. I had loans and grants for undergrad and loans for grad school. Every once in a blue moon my mom will give me some money towards my loans.
My parents agreed to pay for all my siblings and I to finish our undergrad. I'm the youngest of five and ended up paying for my last semester myself. I got out debt free though.
My H took out 65K in loans. He went OOS for college so had to pay more.
My college was paid for with a combination of my parents and a soccer scholarship. I thankfully didn't have to work during college or take out any loans.
My parents paid, but they had stipulations - $X per year or less, within 2 hours driving distance from home. They offered me far more to live at home and go to community college for 2 years then transfer.
I'm fascinated by this. Maybe it's just because I'm from a blended family, and my mom/stepdad had 4 kids between them when they got marries, but living at home was NOT an option. My mom was a little upset that I went as far away as I did, but she did expect me to go away somewhere. Even if I'd gone to the state university 15 minutes down the street, I would have been expected to live in the dorm.
When I was applying to law schools, my dad suggested I go to the one closest to my mom's house, live with her, and commute. I couldn't tell my dad that my mom was perfectly happy having all her kids out of the house and had zero interest in any birdies returning to the nest.
My parents are both pretty poor so I knew I'd be pretty much on the hook for tuition myself. They did have a 2K mutual fund saved for me, and my aunt gave me 1K per year to help as well. I started saving most of my summer job money when I was 16, got good grades and consequently a good scholarship that covered 90% of tuition, won some bursaries and took out an 11K student loan.
I was very fortunate. I got into my first choice school, a private liberal arts college, and my parents paid for the majority of my expenses. I had a few small grants as well as an interest-free loan through a military organization (my dad was career USMC before I was born). I worked as a lab assistant for spending money.
I can't really wrap my mind around how my parents paid for college. They've never been really forthcoming with their financial situation. My mom was a SAHM, and my dad was the VP of a small-town bank. I'm sure he did well, but I just can't imagine that he made tons of money. We never wanted for anything, though. Except a Nintendo. They put their foot down when it came to gaming systems LOL.
I don't think they would have paid medical school tuition if I had gone down that road. At that point my sister was in college. But alas, the one redeeming quality of my graduate program was that I got paid to go. My parents did help me out by paying my car insurance and a few small things like that during grad school.
My parents paid, but they had stipulations - $X per year or less, within 2 hours driving distance from home. They offered me far more to live at home and go to community college for 2 years then transfer.
I'm fascinated by this. Maybe it's just because I'm from a blended family, and my mom/stepdad had 4 kids between them when they got marries, but living at home was NOT an option. My mom was a little upset that I went as far away as I did, but she did expect me to go away somewhere. Even if I'd gone to the state university 15 minutes down the street, I would have been expected to live in the dorm.
When I was applying to law schools, my dad suggested I go to the one closest to my mom's house, live with her, and commute. I couldn't tell my dad that my mom was perfectly happy having all her kids out of the house and had zero interest in any birdies returning to the nest.
I'm an only child and my parents, mom especially, had difficulty cutting the cord.
My parents paid for my college - tuition, and room and board. The biggest "stipulation" although it wasn't set in stone was that they wanted all of us to live at college, and preferably to go out of state. My parents both lived at home and went to local colleges and they both wanted us to leave for college, even though my parents both got excellent educations. My dad especially has some serious issues about his college - his parents told him they could pay for him to go wherever, but then they couldnt pay for his brother and sister to go to school, so my dad sacrificed and worked FT through undergrad. (he's bitter bc his brother and sister are jackasses who never once appreciated this, ha).
anyway, so at the time we went to college my mom worked at a university that covered half our tuition anywhere in the country, so that was how they could afford to send us to schools that otherwise would have been too expensive for them.
My dad told me when I started babysitting to be sure to start saving for college, because he and my mom would not be able to help me out much.
I was lucky--lots of scholarships/grants, was an ra for 3 years, and working at Applebee's was surprisingly lucrative. I only ran into trouble my last year, where I had to ask my parents for 1k. They happily helped, and I made it out with barely 10k in loans.
On the other hand, I had to give up a lot if fun stuff--I couldn't afford to study abroad or take certain classes because I was broke/needed to work when they were offered/etc. But I am very proud that I financed my very expensive catholic school with so few loans and so little parental support.
I was a fiercely independent kid who wanted to pay it all on my own. Through a mix of scholarships and loans, I did mostly that.
In the summers, I lived in the hotel of an amusement park and waitressed at Fridays with double shifts almost every day. Each summer I made enough to pay tuition/R&B for Fall semester, then used loans to help fill in the gaps during spring. I got out with only about 15-17k in fed loans.
I remember my junior year telling my parents that I wanted to study abroad, but didn't want more loans. They said they were surprised I'd never asked for money during college and they paid for a summer semester in Italy. WHY DIDNT I ASK THEM FOR MONEY SOONER
Post by redheadbaker on Mar 5, 2014 9:00:41 GMT -5
I knew I was expected to go to college. My parents gave me $2K and a new computer. I was thankful for that, knowing that neither of my parents had anything more than a high school diploma, dad was a cop and mom was a secretary, they probably hadn't been able to save much.
But a couple of years later, they paid for my entire wedding. I wish they had given me the wedding savings for college and given me $2K for the wedding. I had scholarships, but still needed to take out loans.