How large are the loans you've taken out to finance your kids college education?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:None, but that's a function of affluence more than principle. Not sure how we would have handled college finances under other circumstances.

Its a feature of affluence, not a function of it. That's tautological. Clearly you're not the one earning the big bucks...

[Anonymous]

I guess it's DCUM reality that everyone has saved enough, can pay out of pocket or has wealthy grandparents to chip in. Really, no one has taken out a loan??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I guess it's DCUM reality that everyone has saved enough, can pay out of pocket or has wealthy grandparents to chip in. Really, no one has taken out a loan??

No. Most people on DCUM don't take out loans. A BS degree is not worth a loan. There are many colleges and you pick the one that you can afford.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I guess it's DCUM reality that everyone has saved enough, can pay out of pocket or has wealthy grandparents to chip in. Really, no one has taken out a loan??

Of course, the other option you're leaving out is that the child attending school takes out a loan.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I guess it's DCUM reality that everyone has saved enough, can pay out of pocket or has wealthy grandparents to chip in. Really, no one has taken out a loan??

Our kids aren't there yet and we haven't come close to fully funding, but for my two friends and one brother, no one has signed a loan yet. For my brother, he and his exwife are paying 2/3s, my nephew 1/3. They are paying from savings and out of current cash flow. My nephew is working his butt off on some seasonal ferries picking up as many shifts as possible. He's also an RA to cover housing and his wages go toward food.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I guess it's DCUM reality that everyone has saved enough, can pay out of pocket or has wealthy grandparents to chip in. Really, no one has taken out a loan??

Nope. We had enough saved for $7K year, paid $5K/year out of pocket, child contributed $3K/year from working, and took out $31K (maximum amount for federal loans) herself and that paid for her education. $31K is very, very manageable.

We would never, ever consider taking out a parent loan.

[Anonymous]

Zero. We worked hard, sacrificed many luxuries and saved for their education.

[Anonymous]

A college degree is not worth taking out a private loan for...especially for an undergrad degree. Apply for scholarships or go somewhere you can afford b/c chances are it won’t pay for it’s self.

[Anonymous]

Im taking out a 4k personal loan for my daughter who is in her sophomore year. We swung the first year without it but this year she is dropping down to 20 hours a week at her job to get thru some challenging science classes that her major requires. I am picking up as many new clients as I can (hair dresser) and also offered to clean the salon at night 2x a week to help bring in more money. The cleaning company charged 300 a week so I undercut it and asked my boss if she would hire me for 225 and she said yes. Things like that are helping but I had a little bit of a gap before fall was due. I hope to have it paid off by December.

[Anonymous]

So hey have you seen those stories about parents who cosigned the loan, then their kid died and the parents still have to pay back the loan? Pretty much the ultimate suck.

[Anonymous]

My single mother took out at 10k loan for me to start school. I helped pay some back but she paid the majority of it. I am very thankful she did that for me, helping me build a future where I can contribute more to my kids education

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I took out $0 for my undergrad and $70K for law school. We hope to have enough to pay for our kids undergrad at state schools (or equivalent cost) and we have no idea what we'll do for their grad school. One thing I learned from taking out $70K is that those kids who have their grad school paid for (by any means), are 10 years ahead of those who have $70K debt!

If you come out of grad school with little or no debt, you can immediately start saving for a house/condo -- which puts you on a whole different path financially when you want to have kids, etc.

We probably need to be saving more, but there is only so much $$ to go around. Like many people -- we'll deal with some problems when they come (i.e. grad school tuition).

Nobody should pay for grad school. If they pick a degree that is worth anything, they can get research or teaching assistantships that cover tuition plus pay a stipend.

[Anonymous]

I worked at a university where one of the professors co-signed a $10k loan for one of her doctoral students so she could finish her dissertation.

Well...the woman didn't finish, then paid back about $2k of the loan, moved to Africa, and basically fell off the face of the earth.

I felt terrible for that professor. But c'mon. If it's convention not to take out a loan for your own kid, what kind of crazy soft hearted person takes out a loan for an acquaintance?

[Anonymous]

Zero. Our children's educations are being paid for through a combination of cash, their college fund, their money from on-campus and summer jobs, and student loans. We anticipate they will have less than $30K/each to pay off after their court years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I took out $0 for my undergrad and $70K for law school. We hope to have enough to pay for our kids undergrad at state schools (or equivalent cost) and we have no idea what we'll do for their grad school. One thing I learned from taking out $70K is that those kids who have their grad school paid for (by any means), are 10 years ahead of those who have $70K debt!

If you come out of grad school with little or no debt, you can immediately start saving for a house/condo -- which puts you on a whole different path financially when you want to have kids, etc.

We probably need to be saving more, but there is only so much $$ to go around. Like many people -- we'll deal with some problems when they come (i.e. grad school tuition).

Nobody should pay for grad school. If they pick a degree that is worth anything, they can get research or teaching assistantships that cover tuition plus pay a stipend.

Oh shut up. LOTS of people have parents who pay for grad school. Mine did not buy many of my peers had free and clear law school educations.