Yes and also for professional school if she chooses to pursue that too.
P.S. We only have the one kid and also this is the plan right now. No idea if things would change drastically since we also need to take care of both sets of parents. We also have the option of moving back to India for college/professional school. That would be awesome and cheap lol.
I work for a university and my kids will get tuition benefits (can be used at other universities, too). DH also gets some tuition remission for the university system he works for. And we do have 529s set up for them as well. So we will contribute as much as we can in those ways, but I'm assuming they'll likely still have to take some loans.
gummybear, I think I also ended up with loans in that range (like between $15-$20k). They were super low interest rate and ended up in relatively manageable monthly payments for like 10 years after college.
Post by wanderlustmom on Aug 15, 2022 14:54:03 GMT -5
We are close to college, son is a senior this year and our daughter is a sophomore. My husband and I have 529s for both kids. They will cover room and board at in state but if they want to go out of state they will have to cover the difference. Our in state schools are a really good financial deal with our lottery system. I get that my kids want to see another state but they both will probably be practical and stay in state.
DH is a professor and one will get tuition remission at a CUNY. We will help the other child with what we can, as we are currently stocking away money in a 529.
However, we will not co-sign for exorbitant loans, so unless they get scholarships for private schools, we will push them for CUNY maybe SUNY.
CUNY only lets you use tuition remission once? I think at my institution you can use it for all dependents but only one at a time. Our kids age gap is big enough that they should not overlap in college. You know, if I still work there, if they get in, if they want to go, if if if...
Hmmm, this is what DH told me but it’s entirely possible he’s wrong.
I’m fairly certain benefits for professors/faculty is the same for all CUNY schools, so hopefully you’re correct and he’s wrong!
I said special because I work at a university so my dependents get 1/2 off tuition. I guess that 50% is part of my contribution. They are living at home for the first year or two and attending a regional campus so they will not have food and housing to pay for during that time. The plan is for them to save and pay the remainder of the tuition costs as they go. Once they transfer to main campus, they will most likely have to take out some loans to pay the remaining amount but we are trying to keep it to a minimum as much as possible. They received some small scholarships and grants and my parents have a little money for each of them so that will help as well. I paid for my own college tuition and I feel like it does help keep them more invested but we'll do what we can to minimize the debt as much as possible.
Very special snowflake here. My kids receive 75% off at the state university I work at. They are also eligible to receive financial assistance at a local private university. Essentially the school system they graduated from gave the university a bunch of land and some buildings and in return the university pledged $100K per year in scholarships for graduates from that school, after all eligible aid is applied. Kind of a win/win, the high school got to advertise this as a reason to choose them (in Michigan so we are under school-of-choice) and university gets the students and the federal/state aid. It is divided between the number of students that attend from that year. My oldest received $8000 per semester and my youngest receives $10,500. My oldest has since graduated and is pursuing his masters where I work. He can receive the benefit until he is 26, he is currently 23. His last year of working on his bachelors I made him take a loan out to pay the $1200 per semester balance he had so he could start building his credit.
They are both so lucky, they have choices and will still have no debt. Because I don't have a huge bill I do assist with books and stuff. When I was younger and raising them I couldn't afford to save like that so they would be saddled with huge student loans, no doubt. Now we are in a better place financially so I help where I can (like paying $1200 per semester for the first 3 years of DH1).
CUNY only lets you use tuition remission once? I think at my institution you can use it for all dependents but only one at a time. Our kids age gap is big enough that they should not overlap in college. You know, if I still work there, if they get in, if they want to go, if if if...
Hmmm, this is what DH told me but it’s entirely possible he’s wrong.
I’m fairly certain benefits for professors/faculty is the same for all CUNY schools, so hopefully you’re correct and he’s wrong!
I'm not at CUNY, but I've never heard of this kind of benefit being limited to one dependent. That doesn't mean that it might be true though.
We save in 529s and always said the goal was to pay for an in-state public university.
However, unless access to abortion is reinstated here before they hit high school, I’m going to try and steer both kids out of state to a place where they’ll have more support to live the life they want.
gummybear , I think I also ended up with loans in that range (like between $15-$20k). They were super low interest rate and ended up in relatively manageable monthly payments for like 10 years after college.
sdlaura, gummybear - this is how I think about it. DH and I both graduated with loans that amounted to about what we made in a year. He had more loans than I did, but he made significantly more than I did when he graduated (almost double the salary, and he had housing and food allowances). Our loans were manageable. My parents also took loans, and I was able to pay those off before I graduated with a settlement from a lawsuit.
I don't want them to come out owing the equivalent of a condo mortgage in a HCOL area. If we can aim for an average starting salary or less, that would be good.
And the only way we'd help with grad school is if they got lots of scholarships to undergrad and had some money left in the 529.
Yes, we hope to cover most, if not all, of it. My parents covered all my educational costs, and now have 529’s and trust funds set up for our kids. My husband had to live at home and work throughout high school and college to cover his college costs, and I hope we’re able to give our kids more breathing room than that. I feel strongly that they should live elsewhere so I’d be willing to contribute to their room and board.
I was a single mom of 3 all in college at same time, no way I could pay.
I told them their dad and I would give them X amount of money and they could choose where they wanted to spend it. My oldest got a lot of $$ for scholarships. He also got his Masters and PhD paid for by the universities. He has about $30,000 in loans.
#2 received no scholarships and went to a state school. She has about 10,000 in loans.
#3 went to CC and has no loans. He only got a associates.
When my dad died he left some money for the kids that they will b getting next month. So, her loan will be gone and #1 will pay it down by 50%
Post by sandandsea on Aug 15, 2022 16:58:53 GMT -5
Yes. We set up 529s for the boys and plan to pay for tuition, room and board. Dh and I paid for our own colleges and graduated with 6 figures of student loans that we paid off over the next 10 years and we want to help our kids avoid that if we can.
Post by cherry1111 on Aug 15, 2022 17:38:58 GMT -5
My parents paid for mine, but because my mom lost both of her parents a few years leading up to us going to college so that’s where the money came from. We are saving a little every month into a 529 but based on predictions of cost we won’t have it all saved up by the time my oldest would attend in about 10 years. And I would hate to have the money for the same reason my parents had it. So we will just do the best we can.
Post by cricketwife on Aug 15, 2022 18:15:48 GMT -5
We are not actively saving for our kids’ college, not that we don’t want to, but we are funding our retirements. We will help them out as much as we can, but will not pay for 100%, even if we are able to (doubtful) because I agree with the idea that they need to contribute something. They are in private school (we only pay a small portion of the actual tuition, but will apply the same amount to college tuition) and we won’t have a mortgage when they go to college so we do think we will be able help for a fair portion, especially if they choose reasonable options like community college or a state university.
I contribute to a 529, but it more than likely won’t be enough to cover undergrad 100%. I will cash flow as much as possible in addition to the 529, but I don’t plan on taking out a parent loan. I’ll try to help pay down any student loans after graduation, but I’ll only be 5-7 years from retirement and that will be my priority.
Post by underwaterrhymes on Aug 15, 2022 18:52:04 GMT -5
We would like to pay for a portion of their education, supplemented with scholarships and loans. But we also think travel is important and want to encourage a gap year during which they work and travel and save money.
It’s highly unlikely we can pay for their college in entirety, though.
I am a beneficiary on my grandparents trust since My mom is dead. I will use a portion of that money to pay for college. But I don’t want my kids to know that money exists until they graduate. So I will have to figure that part out.
I had my loans paid off when I graduated by my parents/grandparents. I would like to do something similar.
Post by notsopicky on Aug 15, 2022 19:27:21 GMT -5
I voted "pay for it all", but there are conditions. He would have to go in-state. We were talking the other day about going to a state school in another state (where we have family); if he wanted to go that route, I would recommend living in said state for a year (and work) in order to be eligible for IST. My grandfather left E an inheritance, and E's portion will pay for the first year (maybe a year and a half) of school.
I also think there's a big benefit of going to a CC to do pre-reqs and general courses, and we've been talking that up. He can live at home if he chooses CC.
I will retire from my local government job the same year he graduates from HS. I will receive a full pension. Assuming I remain in good health, I will continue to work, and that $ can contribute towards his college expenses.
I’ll pay for both as long as nothing changes drastically before then. I feel very strongly that so much independence and life skills are gained going away and living in a community during the first years of college. I wish I could find the study that I recently read, but it basically said the US as a whole is becoming more closed minded and seeking people more like them in every segment of the population, except people who lived in a dorm. Not who went to college, but those who specifically lived in a dorm.
Post by UMaineTeach on Aug 15, 2022 21:33:58 GMT -5
She has a 529, whatever is in it when she gets there is what there is. We have no goals or restrictions in mind. She’ll be better off than we were and we were a step better off than our parents.
I said no because I'm holding out hope they make in state colleges free for residents. In reality, who knows. My retirement plan for a long time was world decimation due to climate change (which may still happen).
I said no because I'm holding out hope they make in state colleges free for residents. In reality, who knows. My retirement plan for a long time was world decimation due to climate change (which may still happen).
Post by jennistarr1 on Aug 15, 2022 21:53:03 GMT -5
I guess we will do what we can
We currently both work for universities so free tuition is an option....but I don't expect them to choose the free school. But if they don't, I don't expect it to be 100% me.
My husband's mom often boasts that she paid for his school. He went to an expensive AF school, with no scholarships, so she definitely paid A LOT. But he also had 40k in undergrad loans so it wasnt all of it
My parents said they would pay 50% of out of pocket costs including grad school (well they cut that off with phd but that's ok). That included books, but I dont think room or board. I did take out loans but my mom paid those up until her half was satisfied So anyways, I think that's a fair deal.
Post by steamboat185 on Aug 15, 2022 21:58:11 GMT -5
We want to pay for most of college for both, but want them to have some 15-20k of skin in the game. Both DH and I had similar experiences. I worked to pay mine off while in school and DH paid his off within the first year or two, but we didn’t have years worth of dept. My parents have put a chunk into a 529 that should pay for almost a year of college for all 4 of their grandkids, which helps a good bit.
We also aren’t sure what college will look like when the kids are ready to graduate so the money we save for them is in a normal investment account.
Fiancé and I will pay for his boys to attend a 4 year institution or a trade school, depending on what their plan is after. We’ll work together with the boys to decide what makes most sense and plan a budget.
We have 1 child and my FIL has a fairly aggressive plan to save for DS’ education. We (DH & I) aren’t saving a dime for him 😬. From the charts & college calculators we’ve seen, there should be enough to pay for a decent education. Now, anything above and beyond will likely be funded through loans.
We’re very grateful that they are giving DS this wonderful gift. I graduated with no loans and had no idea how unusual and amazing it was at the time.
I voted "pay for it all", but there are conditions. He would have to go in-state. We were talking the other day about going to a state school in another state (where we have family); if he wanted to go that route, I would recommend living in said state for a year (and work) in order to be eligible for IST. My grandfather left E an inheritance, and E's portion will pay for the first year (maybe a year and a half) of school.
I also think there's a big benefit of going to a CC to do pre-reqs and general courses, and we've been talking that up. He can live at home if he chooses CC.
I will retire from my local government job the same year he graduates from HS. I will receive a full pension. Assuming I remain in good health, I will continue to work, and that $ can contribute towards his college expenses.
Sadly this may not be the case - the University I work at would still consider this "moved here to go to school" and would charge out of state rates. I think it's a crock but they look at anyone with an out of state high school transcript VERY closely.
If my kid chooses to attend the University I work for they can get 50% tuition - based on what she says she wants to do this school would be a good option for her. But ultimately it will be that we'll do what we can but I also want her to take on some of the financial responsibility.