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I'm not saying that parents shouldn't prepare for kids' college educations but they do have to also tend to their own futures & find a balance that might involve the kids working and/or taking out loans or attending lower cost colleges. Especially true for multiple children, they will have a longer time to pay off debts compared to parents.
If the kids are unable to get scholarships they need to apply for grants & consider less than Ivy League or perhaps join the military for schooling. Putting mom & dad in the poorhouse because they are unwilling to consider any of these is irrational & unfair just as mom & dad not agreeing to help at all is unfair.
And yes, I worked my way through university & I understand that it is much more difficult now to do, but this is the age that kids need to start putting some skin in the game.
More kids should consider vocational training as well. A skilled trade is often more lucrative than a degree in English, for example.
What's your definition of a usurious interest rate? My understanding is that government-backed student loans range from about 4.5% to roughly 8% Is that correct? If so, those are far from usurious. I paid 12% interest on a mortgage for years and was thrilled when I was able to refinance it to 9.5%.
I have a hard time thinking of any single-digit interest rate as usurious. (Especially when credit cards charge up to 29.9%.)
Keep in mind that if a parent has the financial capability to pay and chooses not to, that limits the financial aid a student can get because there is an expected financial contribution from the parents based on their income. If the parents decide not to pay, it’s not like the kids can just get a cheap alternative. I know when I was in school, one friend had to transfer from a flagship school to the local school in her hometown because her parents refused to contribute and she could not afford living expenses. She was not able to get loans to finance the rest and did not qualify for work study.
If your parents don’t have a dime, there are Pell grants, work-study options, etc. If your parents do have the money and won’t contribute, you are still considered a dependent for purposes of the FAFSA until a certain age even if your parents decide you are independent.
Joining this conversation a little late, but what skilled trades pay that well for women?
My husband is in the trades and makes over 100K per year in the DC area so I'm all about the trades. I know women are welcome in them, but very few women can physically handle that kind of work. In my husband's 30 years in his trade, he's never had a woman on his job...ever. I'm sure some could do it. I just think it's really easy to say to go in the trades. That's a great answer for men (and believe me, it's been a good career) but I don't believe women have as many options that are well-paying but are considered "trades."
And many parents are finding out that not only are they paying for their kids' education, but they get to keep paying the the house payment / utilities/food, etc for their little darlings for years after as they fail to launch. They live at "home" (parents' home) complaining that they can't get a job because no one will hire them without job experience, or they are turning down entry level jobs because they feel that they are too educated to start at the entry level.
Having to work at least summers and intern their last two years will give them an invaluable lead over the other graduates whose parents felt that they're students' "only responsibility is their studies". Go to the "work and employment" section of this forum and read about all the graduates whining that they can't get a $60,000 a year job right out of college. They have no idea of the work ethics and positive attitudes needed to get hired by anyone.
Definitely help with their education, if you can, while funding your own retirement. But they should be working towards that goal also,by making grades good enough for scholarships, and working during the summers to help fund their own education. Without any investment of their own in their education, they won't value it as much.
Joining this conversation a little late, but what skilled trades pay that well for women?
My husband is in the trades and makes over 100K per year in the DC area so I'm all about the trades. I know women are welcome in them, but very few women can physically handle that kind of work. In my husband's 30 years in his trade, he's never had a woman on his job...ever. I'm sure some could do it. I just think it's really easy to say to go in the trades. That's a great answer for men (and believe me, it's been a good career) but I don't believe women have as many options that are well-paying but are considered "trades."
I don't see why a woman couldn't do just as well in many trades, plumbing, HVAC, electrical, machinist, etc. I served in the USAF and did troubleshooting and repair aboard electronic surveillance aircraft. I did every single thing that my male counterparts did. In fact, my smaller stature was an advantage in working in the cramped confines of the electronics bays of the aircraft. After the AF, I worked with the electrical utility in the energy efficiency field (working in attics, on rooftops, and in crawlspaces of homes and businesses for the rest of my career. I made a very good living, and retired very early, because I never looked at anything as determined by my gender. A woman isn't limited by anything other than this sort of attitude that there is something about us that limits our options. I think we all can remember the Rosie the Riveters in the 40's who jumped into the trades during WW2. I actually wasn't born yet, but I've seen the photos and newsreels.
Keep in mind that if a parent has the financial capability to pay and chooses not to, that limits the financial aid a student can get because there is an expected financial contribution from the parents based on their income. If the parents decide not to pay, it’s not like the kids can just get a cheap alternative. I know when I was in school, one friend had to transfer from a flagship school to the local school in her hometown because her parents refused to contribute and she could not afford living expenses. She was not able to get loans to finance the rest and did not qualify for work study.
If your parents don’t have a dime, there are Pell grants, work-study options, etc. If your parents do have the money and won’t contribute, you are still considered a dependent for purposes of the FAFSA until a certain age even if your parents decide you are independent.
What does any of that have to do with my comment about whether student loan rates are usurious?
What does any of that have to do with my comment about whether student loan rates are usurious?
OK, let's change the adjective -- College Loans have "very high" Interest Rates. Anything higher than a 30 year Mortgage, is what I considered very high. At 8% some kids are not getting ahead of the principal when making an entry level wage.
I don't see why a woman couldn't do just as well in many trades, plumbing, HVAC, electrical, machinist, etc. I served in the USAF and did troubleshooting and repair aboard electronic surveillance aircraft. I did every single thing that my male counterparts did. In fact, my smaller stature was an advantage in working in the cramped confines of the electronics bays of the aircraft. After the AF, I worked with the electrical utility in the energy efficiency field (working in attics, on rooftops, and in crawlspaces of homes and businesses for the rest of my career. I made a very good living, and retired very early, because I never looked at anything as determined by my gender. A woman isn't limited by anything other than this sort of attitude that there is something about us that limits our options. I think we all can remember the Rosie the Riveters in the 40's who jumped into the trades during WW2. I actually wasn't born yet, but I've seen the photos and newsreels.
I'm not saying they can't, but they don't. Or they are not inclined to be mechanical. Maybe it's all the way we socialize the girls, but they are not going to the trades.
I have two adult children. My oldest is a girl who was not a stellar student. She really was not college material but she's also a little wisp of thing, very tiny, not interested in mechanical or crawling around doing plumbing, etc. Her options were to go to college or to go to "beauty school." Now hairstyling is a trade that is typically a woman's field. Unless you somehow latch on to wealthy or celebrity clientele, the pay and benefits are fairly poor. I know this because two of my relatives are in the field and my own stylist tells me all about. Although she has pulled in close to $80K per year in a large metro area but working 70 hour weeks. In the end, she did not have the options my son had. Not because society was denying her, but because many women do not want to do that type of work and are uncomfortable with it. I certainly don't want to do it even though I know I have access to do it. I guess you could argue that women, then, only have themselves to blame for limited access to the trades but if you're not physically confident to that kind of work then it is a field not really available to you.
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