Comments on: Should You Pay For Your Child To Go To College?

By: Jeff

Jeff — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 16:13:29 +0000

Totally awesome! I’m very happy for you and your success. One small point. Do you think every person out there would be as successful as you? I’m 40yo, and have a lot of life experience. Yes, thank God I’ve been successful, though not as much as you. I just don’t see the average person doing what you did. Erik’s advice, IMHO, seems much more realistic for the average person. Again, I congratulate you on you accomplishments, but I also consider them to be far right on the bell curve of success.

By: bubbaRay

bubbaRay — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 08:15:39 +0000

i totally disagree with most of the posts. i went to a Big 12 (at the time SWC) school for a few years and tried to pay as i went, it didnt work. so i went to a local community college and took classes at night and worked at a feed lot during the day and that didnt work either. so i went to work for a couple of years busting cattle and realizing i was a worse cowboy than a student. at the age of 26 i was able to fill out my student loan applications by myself which allowed me not to include my parents income so i took the plunge and went to a local private university. i took out loans and received grants that paid both my tuition and expenses (including dorm) for $26k yearly. upon graduation three years later i was near $70k in debt and went to law school. three years at a top tier 1 law school and expenses put me in debt combined with my undergrad of nearly $300,000. straight out of school i recieved a job with a top 8 law firm thanks to the opportunity to be on law review and not try to hassle with making a dollar. i have now been out of school for 9 years and only have a few more months to repay my student loans, if it wasnt for those loans i would still be living in a podunk west texas cow town, would not have the opportunity for my children to go to the best private schools in new york, and would more than likely not be stuck here at the atlanta airport waiting for a flight. why? i could never have afforded to take the kids to disney land at the last second just because we saw a tv commercial.

By: author

author — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 19:57:00 +0000

thanks everyone for the great, thoughtful comments. I think this is a great debate.

@angie, i agree with you that you shouldn’t write off private college as an option if you are really sold on going there. You can make it happen if you are willing to put in the hard work to find free money, but that money is few and far between. My point about private colleges is that it’s not worth it if you plan on going into $80k in debt just for an undergrad degree.

@ethan, yes, so many kids use student loans for living expenses, and often time, “non living” expenses, as you have realized.

By: SavvyFrugality

SavvyFrugality — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 05:24:24 +0000

Good points. When my son was still in high school, I told him I would help where I could, but that he should get a part-time job and start stashing cash for college. I explained that he could always get grants and loans to go to college, but I can’t get grants and loans to pay for my retirement.

By: Bret

Bret — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 17:07:33 +0000

My Mom, myself and all of my brothers and sisters are community college grads. Some went on to receive four-year degrees and others stuck with their two-year degrees. But, we all worked our way through college, paid our own way and graduated without loans. And, we have all become pretty sucessful in business or in our careers.

I saved up college funds for both of my kids, so they could have the a chance to attend a university. But, they are both headed to community college and that is fine with me. I told my son to work his way through college and pay as he goes. Then, he can use is college fund for a down-payment on a house. Putting kids into massive debt is not doing them any favors.

I think the key to success for young adults, is to become self-reliant in your college years, instead of becoming dependent on your parents.

By: angie

angie — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 13:25:04 +0000

I went to Toccoa Falls College and received an excellent education. And the fact is: after four years I got my undergraduate degree, and I walked away with a very small student loan (less than $2,000). How did I do it? I tapped into federal and state money through various grant programs. This is money that is available to those who apply and meet the requirements. Sure, I had to be tenacious in filling out the paper work, and I even changed my place of residence for a few years in order to get the full funding I needed. But the money was there. State colleges and universities are great options, but don’t write off private colleges for fear that you will end up in debt. If you are smart and savvy, you will uncover enough money for your undergraduate degree. Go for it!

By: Ethan

Ethan — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 19:56:21 +0000

A couple thoughts:
The point you make about co-signing on loans is a huge one. The dept. of education, which is probably the one lending your child their student loans, is actually somewhat reasonable with borrowers compared to other lending agencies. If a student graduates and six months later doesn’t have th emeans to repay his loans, there are many options for forbarence, deferrment, or even cancellation in some cases. I’m sure if someone sees the student’s dad’s name on that note they will forebear no longer, and expect dad to pay up.
Secondly, all I heard during college was that student loans were okay to use! Its like a mortgage, people would say. Its good debt. Well, I can tell you its not. A large portion of my student loan debt went to hiking trips and spear fishing trips! If your kids might have to take out student loans in any large amount, implore them to consider community college or a trade school!