Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kids don’t need a car in college. They can take a bus, train, plane or you go get them. Get a rewards credit card for flights.

Thanks PPs. Due to previous credit issues during homelessness, we do not qualify for credit cards.

The concern for me right now is providing assistance in getting home if there’s not a friend from the area or someone going our direction as a PP noted.

If it’s under 10-12 hours away they can take a bus, you go get them, etc. or, just have them stay closer to home. If finances are an issue you pick the one with the best offer. Or, they can sometimes stay at college during breaks or go home with friends.

Anonymous wrote:Living on campus is a huge waste of money in general.

Except for growth, independence, autonomy, adulting, - yup total waste.

Anonymous wrote:We are in the northeast and amtrak is very affordable when you purchase in advance. We looked at schools that were accessible by train. Many schools we looked at kids have cars, sometimes need cars especially for schools where kids move off campus for upperclassman years. Kids often have cars at schools like cornell/Ithaca bc it's not easy to get home, etc. I intentionally guided my kid away from schools where kids tend to have cars. We are a city family and purchasing/insuring a car isn't part of our budget. We have lots of friends with kids at schools where you need to fly. Traveling home for holidays is often peak pricing. Thanksgiving, Xmas, etc.

You don’t need to have a car at Cornell. Many kids take the bus back to the DMV. You are steering your kid with inaccurate information.

Living on campus is a huge waste of money in general.

What if they get massive merit aid? Wouldn’t that factor in your calculations? 4 trips home every year would be like 3000 bucks max. Add in a small logistics hassle of another 1k over the four years (storage). Merit aid could easily net out better than that. Think through the possibilities instead of thinking so small about it.

I would encourage my child to go away to school. Summer jobs and maybe even a small job during the school year can help fund travel. I would encourage my child to go to the best school they get into that we could make work financially. What year is your child in? I would think experience with homelessness would make for a compelling story as far as applying for aid, and I know where I live, which is outside the DC area, there is a specificscholarship for students who have experienced homelessness.

We are in the northeast and amtrak is very affordable when you purchase in advance. We looked at schools that were accessible by train. Many schools we looked at kids have cars, sometimes need cars especially for schools where kids move off campus for upperclassman years. Kids often have cars at schools like cornell/Ithaca bc it's not easy to get home, etc. I intentionally guided my kid away from schools where kids tend to have cars. We are a city family and purchasing/insuring a car isn't part of our budget. We have lots of friends with kids at schools where you need to fly. Traveling home for holidays is often peak pricing. Thanksgiving, Xmas, etc.

I would not worry about this right now. Get into the college first. Then see what happens.

If your child has a great offer to go to a good college a long way from home, and it is better than the local college, go to the better college. It will work out. When I was in college 30 years ago, there were kids who didn't go home for Thanksgiving or spring break because they couldn't afford it. There's also international students who don't go home either. The schools will have programs and centers to help your kid if they need to stay on campus over holidays or breaks. And your kid can also get part time campus jobs that can help with travel expenses back home for summers and Christmas.

Do not let this "oh it's too far away" mentality stop your kid from going to college.

Anonymous wrote:Kids don’t need a car in college. They can take a bus, train, plane or you go get them. Get a rewards credit card for flights.

Thanks PPs. Due to previous credit issues during homelessness, we do not qualify for credit cards.

The concern for me right now is providing assistance in getting home if there’s not a friend from the area or someone going our direction as a PP noted.

Families lower than the donut hole threshold can really benefit from financial aid and merit scholarships at T20 universities. That’s why a lot of those families invest tons of energy into their child’s education and development.

But all that to be called “strivers.”

Sometimes more distant schools could be cheaper. I’d focus more on overall cost (including travel) than merely distance.

Kids don’t need a car in college. They can take a bus, train, plane or you go get them. Get a rewards credit card for flights.

My friend’s DC would get rides with other students to come home for breaks and go back to school from NJ to and from Boston. My friend would pick up and drop her DC at a rest stop on NJ Turnpike to meet the friend with the car. They split the gas and snacks cost.

There's a big difference between having your kid go to college nearby and having your kid live at home for college. If at all possible, have them do the former, not the latter.

We would not be able to afford without saving, things like flights home nor are we financially in a place to add an additional vehicle for taking to school.

Would you discourage going away for college?