Do you agree or disagree with this: Parents should pay for undergrad tuition

[Anonymous]

Will pay for all including graduate school just like my parents and DH's did for us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:1. Assuming you have means and it is not a complete struggle, parents should pay for their kids undergrad tuition and room and board. That is part of the deal in 2012. That is, saving for your kids college should be a lower priority than your mortgage, 401K and your normal quality-of-life (vacations, etc.). But I think it should be ahead of getting a nicer car and/or a bigger house.

2. The college "experience" is important. The people who do well in life are the ones who are well adjusted with good social skills and who get along with other people. Plus the contacts and friends you make in college are huge for future success.
3. The parent owes it to their kids to give them advice (this major is better than that major, etc.), but it is not my choice as to their major or college (assuming the school is within my budget). Now there are some limits. I am not going to pay for an unaccredited school and I'd probably say it has to be within X hours of home (say 4-5 hours).

um really?? bwahahahhahaha

Did you get the college experience? As someone from a lower-middle income background I appreciate each and every day how my college experience (and the people I met there) paved the way for me to succeed in my profession. If I had lived at home and commuted to a local school there is no way I would be where I am now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:1. Assuming you have means and it is not a complete struggle, parents should pay for their kids undergrad tuition and room and board. That is part of the deal in 2012. That is, saving for your kids college should be a lower priority than your mortgage, 401K and your normal quality-of-life (vacations, etc.). But I think it should be ahead of getting a nicer car and/or a bigger house.

2. The college "experience" is important. The people who do well in life are the ones who are well adjusted with good social skills and who get along with other people. Plus the contacts and friends you make in college are huge for future success.
3. The parent owes it to their kids to give them advice (this major is better than that major, etc.), but it is not my choice as to their major or college (assuming the school is within my budget). Now there are some limits. I am not going to pay for an unaccredited school and I'd probably say it has to be within X hours of home (say 4-5 hours).

um really?? bwahahahhahaha

I didn't believe it at 18, but at 47 I know it to be very true.

[Anonymous]

I think they should do what they can, depending on their income/savings/etc. My parents only had about $10K saved for me and for each of my siblings. I ended up going to GW on a full-tuition scholarship, and that $10K covered the first year of room and board, and then I was on my own. (I worked and took on $7K of debt.) My siblings went to state schools and dad's money paid for most of their education/room/board.

Ideally I will be able to help my child graduate with no student loans; ideally she will get scholarships to help with that goal. I don't want her to have to work as hard as I did just to live - would like her to be able to do semester abroad or internships.

[Anonymous]

My parents had the opinion that once I turned 18, I was on my own. I wasn't able to qualify for financial aid, so I worked my way through community college and ended up quitting to travel and basically lost focus. I could have done very well, I could have been a lot better off financially if they had planned ahead and helped me out with tuition. Now I'm trying to complete my degree as an adult, and I feel like I'm years behind.
DH and I are contributing to our DD's college fund, even if we can't afford to send her to a top private college, she will be able to go to college no matter what.

[Anonymous]

The 66K is the school's estimate of all fees including, tuition, room, board, books, travel, health fess, etc. Depending on your major and school, fees can vary.

[Anonymous]

Haven't read all the posts.

I think if you can afford to pay, it is a wonderful gift to give your child. We are saving because we don't want our kids to granduate with debt. I was raised that education is everything and you owe it to your kids (if you can afford it) to make sacrifices so they can continue higher learning.

I don't think families should go broke or not save for retirement so their kids can go to college without taking on debt.

I may get slammed for this, but I am not a fan of people who remarry, live in fsncy homes, vacation in Europe and yet they don't pay for their kids to go to college. This one is personal since my FIL remarried had anew family, lived wealthy and left his 1st batch od kids in the falling out of middle class way of living where they were stuck helping alcohaulic mom pay bills and rent while working many years to afford college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I will help out but I will not pay the full ride.

They will have to get student loans. I paid my way through college and it made me really think about how I spent my hours on the weekends while my friends were out every night with $50 bar tabs I was (in addition to my real job) working for a caterer to help pay off student loans.

I will also not pay for a car, phone, cable, or insurance.

I have boys so I will give them a certain amount of money when they get married to do with as they will - rehersal dinner or down payment on a house - up to them.

Am i reading this correctly? You will give them a lump sum for a rehearsal dinner or a down payment for a house, but not for college? I wonder how they'll make the house payments and student loan payments.

You clearly missed the point. I will give them money when they get married as a gift (not $100K more like $10K) - I will not dictate how they spend it. If they are getting married I suspect they don't have student loans anymore. If they use it for a rehersal party I will be disappointed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I will help out but I will not pay the full ride.

They will have to get student loans. I paid my way through college and it made me really think about how I spent my hours on the weekends while my friends were out every night with $50 bar tabs I was (in addition to my real job) working for a caterer to help pay off student loans.

I will also not pay for a car, phone, cable, or insurance.

I have boys so I will give them a certain amount of money when they get married to do with as they will - rehersal dinner or down payment on a house - up to them.

Am i reading this correctly? You will give them a lump sum for a rehearsal dinner or a down payment for a house, but not for college? I wonder how they'll make the house payments and student loan payments.

You clearly missed the point. I will give them money when they get married as a gift (not $100K more like $10K) - I will not dictate how they spend it. If they are getting married I suspect they don't have student loans anymore. If they use it for a rehersal party I will be disappointed.

This is hilarious - do you really think that your kids (who you say will have to take out student loans to pay for college) will no longer have student loans at the time they get married?

Have you read posts on this board about crippling student debt? Debt that stands in the way of buying a house, having a child, paying for childcare?

Have you been paying any attention at all?

[Anonymous]

Yes if they can afford it!

[Anonymous]

Wow. To whomever said getting married = no student loans.

Me: $111K
DH: $108K

That was our student debt each the day we got married.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I will help out but I will not pay the full ride.

They will have to get student loans. I paid my way through college and it made me really think about how I spent my hours on the weekends while my friends were out every night with $50 bar tabs I was (in addition to my real job) working for a caterer to help pay off student loans.

I will also not pay for a car, phone, cable, or insurance.

I have boys so I will give them a certain amount of money when they get married to do with as they will - rehersal dinner or down payment on a house - up to them.

I'm buying a car! Better a boring but safe Honda Accord than some 20 year old death trap my kid might be able to purchase.

If they don't have student loans they will buy a sports car - or trade the one in you got and upgrade to a sports car. I drove a reliable boring car because I paid for it myself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, I agree. If you choose to have children, it's your responsibility to get them through college.

Thank you! Why is this so hard to understand?

Because you will raise spoiled entitled brats that did not have to work hard for everything they have.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Depends on your child's ability to do well in school and what their ambitions are. My parents could and did pay, but my DH's parents could not and did not. he worked two jobs to pay for school.

That said, we are paying for undergrad but would expect them to get loans for grad school- and PERHAPS help them pay the loans off. But it would have to be a degree that would net them a great job in the end - law school, MBA etc. Not Master of Fine Arts - what the hell do you do with that?

Even with those degrees there are no guarantees. Just saying.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, I agree. If you choose to have children, it's your responsibility to get them through college.

Thank you! Why is this so hard to understand?

Because you will raise spoiled entitled brats that did not have to work hard for everything they have.

No, darling, that happens much, much earlier than college. And they'll be that (or not) regardless of your not footing the bill. You owe your children an education!!!!