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[quote=Anonymous]We could afford college without debt because we have been saving forever for college (and have built up a lot of other assets too). However I believe a reasonable amount of student debt (in my view no more than 1/2-1x their anticipated entry level salary total) is a good thing.  It prevents quick lifestyle inflation with the first salaried job and helps kids learn to manage living on less than full income.  It also puts more of their "skin in the game" of college and is this soft transition to the reality that they aren't going to have their lives funded fully by their parents anymore. Having a little bit of debt--even if its only nominal--puts them psychologically in the group of students who don't get everything handed to them which is an identity I'd rather have them pick up in college/post-college rather than seeing themselves as 100% on their parents' funds.  Too much debt can limit opportunities, so I think you need to be strategic here.  I think I will mentally "set aside" an amount equivalent to the debt to strategically fund opportunities in the future for them so they don't hold off on investing in grad school if that makes sense.

I think when your kids grow up in an UMC environment you need to strategically and gradually let them see that in their own adult lives they will need to build their way up to that socioeconomic level (if they want to) rather than starting there as a matter of course--and that being well-educated/connected gives them more than enough of a head start. I see a small amount of student debt as one tool in building that awareness.   With our HS senior son we worked through--what is the future value of his labor with his intended education (it's a huge number for kids to see!), what is the cost of the debt he will be taking on with interest in relation to that.   I really think the financials of college--with its complexities around--do you do unpaid internships as an investment in your career or work at the highest paying job during the summer? Do you take on debt or go to a lower ranked school with merit aid? What happens --in both college costs and loss of labor--if you take 5 years instead of 4 years-- offer incredible opportunities for kids to help kids more concretely picture the consequences of their decisions over longer periods of time.  It also makes them more sensitive--and hopefully empathetic-- to the compounding real costs that others who didn't have their advantages at the onset experience.  [/quote]

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