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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]At your income level there is zero excuse not to pay for college and graduate school.  I think it depends on the child of what school is best.[/quote]

So to change this into an answer to my question:  You feel an obligation to pay for the best both college and graduate school for your children, or would if your HHI was 450k?[/quote]

No question I would pay at $450K.  We have much less income and we will still pay for college and graduate school.  My parents paid and it made my life so much easier.  My spouse had to do military and didn't get his degree till his late 30's.  His life would have been so much easier/better had he had the opportunity to go to college.  College and graduate school are our priority.  Ours know we could afford a nicer house, things and vacations but they also know that their education is our priority and that instead we save for it and hope they will do the same for their kids.  If they get merit or other aid, we will save the college fund for their kids or cash it out to help them in other ways.  I don't understand how this is even a question.

[b]The term best is subjective.  I think best depends on the child.  Some are better off at state schools, some private, some at smaller schools, some at larger and it also depends on the major. [/b][b] I am thankful for a reasonable child and we have always held the expectation of they will go to college and graduate school and where will depend on what we can afford to pay in cash/no debt and we will do our best to get them to the college they want to go to.  Thankfully right now they are talking about the state school but we'll apply to multiple schools and then decide.  If a private was a good fit at $450, or even less as we might be able to swing it, we would do it no question.

Education is the key to their future.  My role as a parent is to set them up for success.  In our culture, its far easier to be successful with degrees and being debt free.  Education is important to both parents and we see the benefits of paying for it and will.

But, I don't need a big fancy house, fancy cards or much else.  I need happy successful children.  I also want to set a good example for them about material things and priorities.  Mine are my priority.  [/quote]

New poster. The section I put into bold above is the key for our family. This PP is right as far as DC, DH and I are concerned. "Best depends on the child" as PP says, and on the program in which the child will flourish.

This PP mentions the major, too. We always told our DC that it is more important to find the program of study/major/academic environment that is the right one, than it is to stick to a state school only, or (as some parents do) go to a private school only, or go to a large school or a small one.... But strangely, on DCUM, finding the right academic structure and major seldom comes up; what comes up much more is "we will only pay for state school" with no real consideration of whether there will be a state school with the right program for the student.

Our DC is in college right now, at a college (nope, not a state school) where the way they structure academics, majors and minors, courses of study, relationships between students and departments/professors, works very, very well for our particular kid. I'm not going to get into HHIs or dollar amounts, I'm just going to say that it's short-sighted to draw a line in the sand before a kid even has investigated schools much. If we'd done that, well, sure, DC would be fine in the end. But DC is more than fine at this college which has the right fit.

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