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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Zero college debt is the best financial step-up you can offer your children. It will make their lives less stressful, allow them to look for employment that fits (rather than taking the first thing offered), and allow them to live on the crap wages young people are supposed to make.

It is more important to choose a college you and they can afford than the "best fit." A "good enough fit" and zero debt will serve them better in life.[/quote]+1[/quote]

I was flabbergasted to hear the hosts on a popular parenting podcast (the Slate one) basically pooh-pooh the idea that you should flat-out tell your children how much money there is for college, how much the colleges they are interested in cost, and the ramifications of attending a college you can't afford.

Instead, there were conversations about "considering what's possible" and not ruling anything out ... well, why not? If you already know you aren't going to qualify for significant financial aid, or the living expenses or too great even if tuition is lowered, or if 1/2 price is still more than is reasonable, why not have that conversation with your child?

Unless you're planning to subsidize their post-college life, too, to make sure they never have to make disappointing choices, what is the issue with having a frank financial conversation with them about what an unaffordable college education, no matter how much they reeeeaaaallllyyyy want to go there, would do to their life?[/quote]

My kid applied to several schools that we couldn't afford.  We said, "go ahead and apply.  We'll evaluate our options once we see where you've been accepted and what the costs end up being.  Know that we may have to make some tough choices based on affordability though."  Guess what?  She ended up getting a merit scholarship that brought her costs down close to what the other options would cost, and she now attends that school "we couldn't afford."  Not applying to a school because of the sticker price is a mistake.[/quote]

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