My parents paid a set amount of money for mine. Since I chose a cheap state school with scholarships, they paid for a large portion of my room and board. Had I chosen something more expensive, they may not have. Could you do a financial amount instead? I know 11 years in advance it's impossible to know what anything will cost - my parents just saved what they could and then that was what we had to work with.
That is what my parents did, and I hope to do for our son. We put a small amount aside for him into his own savings account right now, as it builds up more significantly we will move it to a 529. Whatever is in there will help him with school/trades program.
Post by expectantsteelerfan on Aug 15, 2022 10:20:48 GMT -5
I chose special answer. We just started aggressively saving for college for our kids a little over a year ago (before that we were aggressively paying off student loans of our own, and then aggressively saving for a house, which we moved into last summer). But based on what we've saved this year, assuming finances stay the same (which we have no reason to believe they won't), we should have enough saved to pay for ds to go to a state school in 5 years(including room and board, we plan to pay for that completely no matter what), and dd in 8. We aren't sure if ds will take the path of a traditional 4 year school though, and even if he does, we aren't sure if we will use the money to pay for tuition completely. We've discussed having him take out at least one small loan in his own name so that he takes some 'ownership' of his education if we feel he needs that incentive to take his grades/going to class/doing assignments seriously. We don't want our kids to be drowning in debt when they graduate, but we do what them to take higher education and decisions about their future seriously. We will likely do the same for dd, but that is so much further in the future that it's hard to have any idea what she will want to do. But if ds shows that has a plan for what he wants for his future and a solid way of achieving that, we will support him 100%. If he needs time to figure it out after graduating, we will support him, but also make sure he has some stake in it so that he doesn't mess around goofing off and not actually figuring things out.
Post by plutosmoon on Aug 15, 2022 10:22:04 GMT -5
Special, my employer (a college) has a dependent tuition benefit that will pay tuition and fees up to half the cost of tuition at my employer. It can be used anywhere. I'll use that, 529s, apply for financial aid, and have DD take out loans. After she successfully graduates I'll help her repay the loans. I suspect my parents will assist too. I work in financial aid, I am pretty savvy at navigating the system for free money.
Post by mysteriouswife on Aug 15, 2022 10:22:21 GMT -5
I think it’s going to depend on which child. Not because I favor one over the the other. My kids are polar opposite.
DD is likely going to college and will go to a top tier school. Depending on her scholarships we may be able to swing helping her, but not pay the full amount.
DS will skirt by school with just enough to graduate. At this time I think he will be happy at a trade school or other avenues. We could likely pay his full tuition if it was a state school. We have 10+ years for him and everything can change.
I said "special" - but it's a yes, as much as we can. If we can cover all of it, we will. If we can't, then we won't.
This is exactly our plan. We've been saving since DS was born. He's 8 and has ~$19,000 in his RESP. Canada has some great matching incentives especially during the younger years to maximize compounding interest and at the bare minimum we put in what would get matched. We've increased our contributions as we can.
Will it cover all of his expenses in 10 years? No idea. We have a great community college and a major university in our city so there is potential for him to live at home and commute, but maybe he'll pick a major that is better at a different university. We will also do everything we can to help him get scholarships and budget his money well. H and I didn't have that kind of support when we were in uni and it would have made a world of difference for us with student loans. DS is an only child and I would love nothing more than to get him to graduation with no debt.
Post by mcppalmbeach on Aug 15, 2022 10:23:48 GMT -5
I have prayed for a long time that we could afford to do in-state college for our three children with our prepaid program. We paid off one child’s last year and we should be able to do another’s soon. That has always been my financial priority over everything else and it is not easy on one income. We’ve made it very clear that that will be the extent of what we can do and if they want to go private or out of state, they will be responsible for the difference and they will need to work for incidentals.
Dh’s grandparents paid for his college and my parents paid for mine. We went to a private college that is like $35k per year now. There is zero way we could afford that times three kids. My parents are Lower middle class, but I am an only child and went to a prep school where private college was very commonplace. They promised me I could go wherever I wanted within reason, but I did need some scholarships (my favorite school was actually out of our budget). They were very proud to do that for me as neither of them went to college, but really they should have restricted me to an in state school where I would have had a full ride. They should have prioritized their own financial needs, but they sacrificed everything for me to go and it meant the world to me, but wasn’t what was best for them.
Post by estrellita on Aug 15, 2022 10:29:04 GMT -5
I'd love to, but it's not really feasible for us. We have small savings accounts for them that I'm hoping to add to, but I doubt it'll ever be enough to cover college. My sister and I both took out loans, and my parents helped with the rest beyond that, plus paid for a lot (rent, food, etc so I only worked a few random part time jobs but didn't need to work a ton). I'd be happy to do the same/ similar if we can, if they choose to go to college (depends on what type of career they want).
Post by HoneySpider on Aug 15, 2022 10:29:52 GMT -5
Like many have mentioned, we plan to pay for as much as we can. We are saving now but it's not a ton, hoping that can increase in future years. It's so hard to know what the cost will be by the time they go depending on where, if they get scholarships, etc.
There are a multitude of ways my child is privileged (and beyond), but if I could choose one thing to do for them, it would be this. Both H and I graduated without any undergrad loans and it gave us a tremendous leg up financially.
This.
We have 3 kids to pay for, so it will be a stretch. There will be some conditions - they will all be expected to get a part time job during the school year and a full time paid job during the summer to offset living/fun expenses. But we hope to cover tuition and room and board for all of them.
Also, while I appreciate the value in the college experience beyond just job preparation, there will be limits to what we will pay for. E.g., paying full sticker 70k a year for a low-ranked private school with dismal job prospects is not something we will do (and something we would discourage them from taking out loans for).
We will also tell them that if they chose either in-state public school or a private school with a merit aid scholarship, there may be more money left over to help with grad school, if that's something they are interested in. But if they want to go to a super expensive private undergrad with no merit aid (we won't qualify for need-based aid), then that's all the help we'll likely be able to afford to provide.
Special - Hazelwood Act pays his tuition and I help pay for his apt and groceries. He works in the summer and saves, but does not work during the school year.
Post by Jalapeñomel on Aug 15, 2022 10:45:22 GMT -5
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.
Post by midwestmama on Aug 15, 2022 10:45:32 GMT -5
We're planning on paying between 50-75%. I would like to pay 100% (because my parents paid for mine), DH wants them to pay for some (because his parents paid for none), so the 50-75% is our compromise. I do expect them to put in some effort to get scholarships.
ETA: It also depends on where they decide to go. The 50-75% assumes an in-state public college/university.
Post by lolalolalola on Aug 15, 2022 10:47:23 GMT -5
I’m in Canada and (I think) university is much cheaper here.
We do plan to pay for our kids education as long as they contribute a reasonable amount. Ie summer jobs, etc.
We have a great university in our city and we always said we would only pay for them to go local but we can see that our oldest would greatly benefit from going away. Our younger child has ADHD and I worry that she won’t be able to manage herself if she is on her own so I think we would request that she stay at home.
Our parents paid for our college tuition/room/board allowing us to be loan free, which is an incredible privilege. We have just one child so we plan to do the same. I work in higher ed and get tuition remission if DS11 ends up going to a private school; in-state tuition is actually lower than his current school fees if he goes to state school.
One thing to keep in mind for people whose parents paid for their college but who might not be able to do the same for their kids is that college in general has become much more expensive in our generation. I would also say as someone who works in higher ed 1) check the discount rate for the school that interests your child 2) ALWAYS file the FAFSA even if you make "too much" and 3) unless your child has a particular program where ranking matters, the "fit" is more important than the reputation. My H and his sister went to Ivy League schools and I went to a state school. They have connections, I won't lie, especially as they are 10 years older than me and more of the people from their cohort become players in politics and business, but IMO it's not worth the stress on the student or the $$$. I also don't think those old school old money games are going to be relevant as millennials and Gen Z enter the workforce. They just aren't as impressed by the my dad and my dad's dad went to Harvard bullshit.
We will pay for in state tuition & room/board. We have great state schools and several neighboring states that give TX residents the in state rate. If they want to go to a private college or out of state, then they will need scholarships &/or loans.
My son is 8. We have savings in a 529 and he’ll get all or part of my GI Bill. He may not decide to go to college, but if he does, I hope to help him pay for it. I was able to graduate debt-free due to ROTC scholarship, and it was truly a gift to be able to start off my adult-life without debt hanging over me. I we can give our son that gift, we’d like to do it.
We have money saved. What that'll cover depends on the college they choose. The plan is for it to be enough that they can feel free to choose the best fit, even if it means some loans. Like "debt that isn't crippling" is the goal here.
If by some miracle tuition becomes more reasonable or academic merit based scholarships become more lucrative (love my kids, but sports stars they are not) and we have money left over, we'll put it aside for life and/or grad school.
We will pay for in state tuition & room/board. We have great state schools and several neighboring states that give TX residents the in state rate. If they want to go to a private college or out of state, then they will need scholarships &/or loans.
We would also let them use this money for a trade school program if that’s what they want. They don’t have to go to college but they need some kind of post secondary education.
We will also allow them to work for a year and live at home rent free if they don’t want to go to college right away.
I said we pay it all but it’s actually special snowflake: our kids have been earning about 1/4-1/3 of expenses with summer jobs. Their dad and I split the rest, although I’ve paid more than half of the remainder.
My kids will graduate with no debt, but they did pay along the way.
Oh! Tip when looking at schools: don’t get scared away by private schools’ “sticker prices.” Our son attends a state university and our daughter attends a small private college with a good endowment fund.
On paper, hers costs 40k a year more than the state school (which seems obscene), BUT with school grants and gifts, hers costs about 1k less than his. I was astonished when I saw her school-gifted financial aid package.
Post by tarzanswife on Aug 15, 2022 11:13:22 GMT -5
Yes. Two are in college right now on the GI Bill (thank god) and the other one we will pay for out of pocket. He gets free tuition for his first two years at the local community college thru a local program with his high school and then we will pay the last two years at a state school. We plan for him to live with us and work part time the first two years (so he can save up) and then the last two years he can get an apartment with room mates.
Post by carrierroe on Aug 15, 2022 11:25:11 GMT -5
Lurker here. For those of you saying that you’ll prioritize in-state options over out-of-state, I find it interesting you say that. I’m in CO where in-state tuition is starting to outpace many out-of-state options especially where merit options can balance out the delta. Something to consider.
DH and I are both 1st Gen college grads. DH’s grandparents paid for his Ed, but, because I had to pay, it took me so dang long to finish my undergrad and I ended up with a small loan from my freshman year and living in the dorms. It took over 20 years to pay off less than $10k of debt due to hardships and going back to school over the years. I was able to self-pay my masters and receive some tuition assistance from my employer, thankfully. My parents were clueless and offered nothing, and I was so clueless, but hell bent on getting out of poverty, that I did what I had to do and took the loan. It was a blessing and a curse to have such little debt, but I think the delay in getting my degree hurt my overall lifetime earning potential.
All this to say, it is my goal to get DD through her undergrad debt free. DH is less generous, but I’ll do whatever it takes.
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...
We'll help but not sure how much yet. We have a 529 set up that will be split up among the 4 later. We also refinanced our mortgage so our house will be paid off about when the triplets start college. Since we have four kids and about no age gap, we'll do what we can.
We have 3 kids and hope to pay for most/all of their tuition plus room & board. The goal is to have about $90k in each 529. Will it be enough? No clue, but it’s what we can do. The sticker price on our local university is currently about $25k a year. Im hoping that financial aid/scholarships will help offset inflation and we can meet our goal for each of them.
Post by mrsjuleshs on Aug 15, 2022 11:40:35 GMT -5
She had a 529 and she got the $ from the college portion of my tax return since it made more sense for me to file w/ her as a dependent even if she didn't live at home. I was a single mom so really didn't have the means to help too much but I did when I could. The rest, she got grants for and came out of private university with $0 debt.
We will help as much as we can- hopefully 50% but it depends on where they go- it could be more or less. We have three kids- all 4 academic years apart so it will be many years of college but none during the same years thankfully.
Post by starburst604 on Aug 15, 2022 11:48:36 GMT -5
Yes, we plan to pay for as much as we are able to whether she lives locally or goes away to college. I personally wish I'd gone away for school so I hope that she'll do that and maybe even study abroad. If we had more than one child I'm not sure what we would do, but we are reasonably certain that we should be able to cover her costs between her 529, inheritances from both sets of grandparents and still have our retirement well padded. We do want her to work for extra spending money and the like, but if she ends up playing a sport I realize that might not be workable - yes she's only 7 but I can't picture her not being a college athlete! One thing I will NOT fund however, is anything like that BamaRush ridiculousness. Nope, nope, nope.