How did your child pay for undergrad without going to bank of mom/dad/trust fund?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many of us worked in restaurants 30-40 hours a week making $25-$30 an hour.

The question says YOUR CHILD. Are you YOUR CHILD?
Yes. I just graduated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Aren't 529s "the bank of mom and dad"? You're still paying for it even if you put the money aside earlier.

No, 529 is tax free. My 529 must have increased in value more than 10 times as compared to the fund put in. All those free money is tax free.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Aren't 529s "the bank of mom and dad"? You're still paying for it even if you put the money aside earlier.

I see your point. I was thinking the OP meant "how to pay for undergrad without loans if your family isn't actively rich." We aren't rich, but we ARE planners and savers, which might be almost as good, given how some rich people behave with their money.

[Anonymous]

There is almost no way for kids to pay for college without parents. Full scholarships are very rare now, there's always the military route, selling drugs, prostitution.

$25-30 an hour wouldn't pay tuition in full, plus many of those jobs are only 10 hour a week waitress jobs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many of us worked in restaurants 30-40 hours a week making $25-$30 an hour.

Will you please tell me the restaurant posting $30 hour to a college kid?

We make $25-$50 an hour in Georgetown and can't find workers. We just hired some high school kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The relative cost of going to college has increased exponentially over the years. Unless a kid is getting amazing merit/need based aid they aren't going to be paying for it themselves without loans. The "I worked to pay my way through college" is from another era unless they qualify for significant assistance. So if parents don't have 529s or other means to pay the options are - loans or community college. Depending on where they want to go loans could be massive and should really be approached with caution.

The average cost of college adjusted for inflation has been flat or dropping for quite awhile. What has changed is that college now has payers and payees with increasing "list prices" driving the cost up for full pay customers in order to discount pricing for everyone else.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Aren't 529s "the bank of mom and dad"? You're still paying for it even if you put the money aside earlier.

No, 529 is tax free. My 529 must have increased in value more than 10 times as compared to the fund put in. All those free money is tax free.

It's not tax free. You deposit money that has already been taxed. However, the growth is tax free - just like an IRA. Since you can use IRAs for college tuition, and only pay income taxes (no 10% penalty), it's mathematically equivalent to use your IRA.

Furthermore - S&P has gone up around 450% in the past 18 years. If you can make 1000% in the same time period, that's great, but not common.

[Anonymous]

George Mason's tuition is $14,000. UMD 's tuition is $12,000. These are both in state. If you live at home and work 40 hours a week during the summer and winter break at $25 an hour, you would be able to pay the tuition. Working 10 hours during the school year would get you another $8000.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:George Mason's tuition is $14,000. UMD 's tuition is $12,000. These are both in state. If you live at home and work 40 hours a week during the summer and winter break at $25 an hour, you would be able to pay the tuition. Working 10 hours during the school year would get you another $8000.

Won't work for me - in DC we pay out of state tuition everywhere. DC TAG helps a little ($10k), but it's minimal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Many of us worked in restaurants 30-40 hours a week making $25-$30 an hour.

It’s adorable that you think that would come close to covering a fraction of tuition and room and board.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:George Mason's tuition is $14,000. UMD 's tuition is $12,000. These are both in state. If you live at home and work 40 hours a week during the summer and winter break at $25 an hour, you would be able to pay the tuition. Working 10 hours during the school year would get you another $8000.

So the bank of mom and dad is fair game for room and board and utilities and transportation and parking and healthcare and clothing, just not for tuition? OK.

[Anonymous]

I asked my kid, who just finished his freshman year of college, if he knows anyone paying their own way through school. No. He knows kids who have scholarships and those on financial aid. But he has a bunch of friends and no one is paying their own way.

I think it is just super hard to do that at a liberal arts school.

[Anonymous]

Why would any responsible parent in VA not get the prepaid plan and send their kid to UVA/W&M? VA parents can't complain.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did they get loans to start and suplement with part time or summer work? Did they take year off from school to work?

We opened 529s for them before they were born.

Can you not read op said “not with mom and dads help”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:George Mason's tuition is $14,000. UMD 's tuition is $12,000. These are both in state. If you live at home and work 40 hours a week during the summer and winter break at $25 an hour, you would be able to pay the tuition. Working 10 hours during the school year would get you another $8000.

But, it is not only tuition, correct? Food, room, books, transportation, sundry, clothes, socializing...all of this costs additional money.

My kid goes instate to UMD for CS. 100% of tuition is covered by his merit scholarship. But, there are other costs too. That is taken care of by the bank-of-parents/trust-fund/MD-prepaid-tuition-fund....