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I've done the whole going-through-college-the-hard way-routine (on my own, working full-time, school full-time, loans, paying for my own home/car/bills, etc.). It's extremely hard to do a tech and science major with that type of financial burden while making crap money (all while trying to pull good grades to get into grad school). I just see that it's hard for young people to make it on their own as it is without adding school to the mix. Of course this is all anecdotal. So, like most anecdotal evidence you can take it for what it's worth.
Financial help can come in the form of paying for books, housing by letting them stay at home, gas, car expenses, etc. Not all parents can afford to pay for college. Some can't afford to pay a dime for anything. So I don't think a kid is entitled to help when there's nothing to be given.
The way I see it - for my kids at least - no matter what they end up doing, they were given a gift of a college education AND being debt free when they start their adult life. I see it as a gift that I can give and not an entitlement. But with that, keep in mind, that whatever generosity you show your kids, they might be willing to give back to you one day. If you are fully capable of helping them and refuse, don't be surprised if you find yourself in need and they refuse. You kind of reap what you sow.
Not at this point, because she has HER loans to pay back. She took out the maximum federal loans allowed, and she is making her payments. What her father and I took out was to cover the rest. I got screwed a bit because her father lost his job halfway through her college years and I ended up with two semesters that should have been his. He's working again and paying off his loans, but he isn't the sort of person who is going to step up and pay me for those two semesters worth. This is a guy who did backflips to avoid paying child support as much as possible. It's mostly on me.
She has said that she does intend to continue to help me pay back the loans once her own loans are paid, but meanwhile, payments are due.
I'm sorry, but it's crazy for someone to max out the federal loan limits and have both of her parents take out loans for her education. My word go to a school that costs less if you can't afford it and clearly she couldn't afford where she went to college. Why does everyone else have to pay for her for the next 10+ years?
Well, OTOH, what do you think will happen if EVERYONE starts their own business? How many people have opened businesses, borrowing thousands of dollars and beyond, and failed? Hard work will get you only so far if there just isn't enough demand for your goods and services when competition's fierce on this end too.
Push come to shove, there is no "one solution fits all" answer to this age old question. It's up to the individual to assess if college will give him the best shot, trade school, or taking course or apprenticeship into running your own business, or a combination of those paths. Heck, even joining the military can be apart of that.
But, starting your own business is not the only answer. As I said as an example, a friend of mine makes $60k a year driving a truck for UPS. He's not the only person I know who makes decent money without being college educated. There are plenty of good paying jobs that don't require a college education.
But yes, there is no "one solution fits all" answer. Though it's frustrating to see these high school kids being pushed into college because everybody tells them that they will have a better life if they do it. That's a fallacy. You have to take all the variables into consideration before making a massive decision like that because college will dramatically set you back financially and you have to recover fast or you will struggle for quite some time. (talking about a university)
I don't know much about their sources or anything, but it's saying only 77% of parents plan to help their kids out with college.
Why have a kid if you don't want to (or have the means to) help the kid succeed?
Say what you like about college, but good luck moving anywhere without a college degree.
Even a masters degree is becoming a pre req for a lot of good jobs.
I haven't read the other answers yet, so this might be a repeat -- Are you kidding???????
My parents did not come from wealthy families, my mother worked retail to put herself through college, received her bachelors degree, then after she got married she while still teaching full-time, went to school at night and received her masters degree. She continued teaching and acquiring another bachelors and a reading certification and retired after 42 years of teaching.
My father worked at whatever jobs he could get to pay for law school -- he had a very successful career and is now happily retired.
Because their parents couldn't afford to put them through school -- does that mean they never should have been born?
I was fortunate, my parents were able to help me, and I also received a couple of grants and 2 small loans -- does that make my parents better than their parents -- ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!!!!!!!!!
Is the only reason for having kids to put them through college -- and what if they don't want to go -- or shouldn't go? College is not for everyone. There are lots of other ways that parents can help their kids succeed besides paying for college!!!!
I'm sorry, but it's crazy for someone to max out the federal loan limits and have both of her parents take out loans for her education. My word go to a school that costs less if you can't afford it and clearly she couldn't afford where she went to college. Why does everyone else have to pay for her for the next 10+ years?
Exactly! My parents both went to local university's and guess what became successful (teaching and law), no school principal when interviewing my mother years ago turned her nose up because she didn't go to an ivy league school and my father never had one client or judge refuse to work with him because <gasp> he didn't go to a fancy shmancy university!
Exactly! My parents both went to local university's and guess what became successful (teaching and law), no school principal when interviewing my mother years ago turned her nose up because she didn't go to an ivy league school and my father never had one client or judge refuse to work with him because <gasp> he didn't go to a fancy shmancy university!
In reality, ivy league and the snooty falooty schools only matter if you run in certain circles. I live near Cornell and another snooty falooty school. The snooty falooty school is FULL is spoiled brats! They're slightly better than the summer tourists though. Cornell has a large student body from other countries so they don't at like brats like the richie kids here. Yes, many of those foreign students have parents paying for their education, but they don't act like you're something from the bottom of their shoe from the most part.
I don't put much faith into the ivy league. George Bush graduated from one of them! What's that tell you? He never seemed like a bright guy to me.....certainly not Yale or Harvard material. And he graduated from both! Maybe the coke fried his brain.....or the Bush's $$$$$ paved the way for him. He does have some nice paintings nowadays. Apparently, he's channeling his inner Bob Ross.
But he insists on everyone having to go to MIT or Harvard for 4 years so it's not a viable answer... lol
Yeah, that got me thinking too... what percentage comprises all the students attending only top universities? I suppose we could use the modern classification of IV league schools, or even go so far as top 50 institutions. Very broad guess, but AFAIK, it couldn't be more than 0.8%? So the rest of the 99%+ are doomed to failure and unable to achieve a middle class salary or better?
Then you have folks here on C-D touting trade schools. I don't know much about trade schools, but it seems like they'd have some issue of only being able to accept so many newcomers every period. And even if they could take that many students/apprentices, you'd have the same issue here of too many students seeking that type of work and not enough demand to fulfill those.
Why is it okay for 18 yo's to go off to WAR and DIE for causes they had no part in creating.....but it is NOT okay for them to do something much LESS risky such as have a real part in paying their own way through college without having to live at home to do it?
Why is this age group coddled ridiculously so if they're college-bound....but damn if almost every single one of us on here knows of a young person that's been killed in the line of duty???
I don't get it.
FWIW, while these "kids" who join the military have it harder than civilians in many ways, housing, board, and other expenses are sometimes covered one way or another. Some of them need further adjusting when transitioning to civilian life about income, finding a place to live, etc.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ss20ts
In reality, ivy league and the snooty falooty schools only matter if you run in certain circles. I live near Cornell and another snooty falooty school. The snooty falooty school is FULL is spoiled brats! They're slightly better than the summer tourists though. Cornell has a large student body from other countries so they don't at like brats like the richie kids here. Yes, many of those foreign students have parents paying for their education, but they don't act like you're something from the bottom of their shoe from the most part.
I don't put much faith into the ivy league. George Bush graduated from one of them! What's that tell you? He never seemed like a bright guy to me.....certainly not Yale or Harvard material. And he graduated from both! Maybe the coke fried his brain.....or the Bush's $$$$$ paved the way for him. He does have some nice paintings nowadays. Apparently, he's channeling his inner Bob Ross.
Are we talking about Bush II/Bush Jr.? News say he was our nation's first president with an MBA. Given the stigma of MBAs, that right there may be a major contributing factor to our perception of him
Then you have folks here on C-D touting trade schools. I don't know much about trade schools, but it seems like they'd have some issue of only being able to accept so many newcomers every period. And even if they could take that many students/apprentices, you'd have the same issue here of too many students seeking that type of work and not enough demand to fulfill those.
Many trades schools have plenty of openings for each session. Trade school programs are usually a few months to several months long. They aren't 4 years long so students get in and out much faster.
Are we talking about Bush II/Bush Jr.? News say he was our nation's first president with an MBA. Given the stigma of MBAs, that right there may be a major contributing factor to our perception of him
GW. Didn't know he had an MBA while he was in office and I still thought he was an idiot. Terrible public speaker. Didn't stop him from becoming president for 2 terms. He did provide endless entertainment for the late night comedians.
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Maybe the coke fried his brain.....or the Bush's $$$$$ paved the way for him. He does have some nice paintings nowadays. Apparently, he's channeling his inner Bob Ross. 
