<p>Sometimes having to pass on an unpaid internship in order to earn money is necessary to pay for college, just like not being able to go on spring break because you have to work or needing to get a small job during the school year is.</p>
<p>People make decisions all the time based on financial need. Vacation in Paris, France or Paris TX? Drive a BMW or a VW? It is a goal of mine to have my children borrow as little as possible, but that doesn’t mean that my kids can expect me to pay more than we’ve agreed that I will, or that they’ll get to do every internship or summer abroad or winter session program they want to.</p>
<p>It may be a great opportunity, but just not in the budget or not what you agreed to pay. The only question isn’t ‘can I afford it’ but ‘should I afford it’?</p>
<p>Sure. But the point is that it is not mutually exclusive for a kid to have skin in the game and take an unpaid internship. You can make that part of the kid’s “skin” to cover it – if they know that in advance, they can plan for it. Of course some kids are working flat out just to cover their tuition, room, and board. But for a family that can afford to cover most of that for a kid, it is something to consider. It is a lot tougher for kids who haven’t had internship or work experience related to the major to land a job post-graduation than it used to be.</p>
<p>The BEST way is personalized for the student and family. If the kid can get and keep merit aid, that’s a great deal of help for everyone. If said kid earns money over summers and some during the school year, all the better. </p>
<p>If sib gets no merit but gets a job on campus as soon as she arrives, that’s definitely a stake too. </p>
<p>Our folks had us get whatever merit and FAid we could. After we graduated from grad/pro school, they repaid us the amount of the loans, to my surprise. I had a huge stake in my education–undergrad and pro, as did all my sibs. .</p>
<p>We are trying very hard to pay for D1 and D2 to attend college without taking out any loans. Because I was one of those parents who thought a perfect GPA and high test scores would get a full scholarship anywhere, we didn’t save a lot for college. Boy was that dumb! They both attend the same school, and we are thankful for scholarships and FA, but are still paying WAY more than we had ever thought! Both girls work in the summer and babysit regularly for extra money. My oldest has worked 10-12 hours a week during school and 30-40 hours during breaks to earn money for extras and living expenses. She is quitting her job for the next semester to have extra study time to prepare for the MCAT. My youngest is a freshman and we have asked her not to work during this first school year except for the occasional weekend babysitting job. College is a big adjustment, and I don’t want them to barter study time for $! Both are , at this time, planning on med school so they will have lots of debt after that. It’s working for our family so far. My girls don’t get to do the things at their school that a lot of their peers do…go out to fancy restaurants, movies whenever, shopping trips, break trips, etc, but they are going to their dream school. : )
It’s something you have to figure out and, as in our case, make adjustments as we go.</p>
<p>Our dd is expected to contribute a percentage of her total costs of attendance. Because of her impulsive spending nature she asked us to make her payment amount fixed and have to be paid to the college. So we calculated the dollar amount of the percentage and split it into two semesters. She has until the last payment of each semester to pay her portion directly to the college.</p>
<p>She also pays for her own books and spending money. We pay all room & board as well as necessary items: toiletries, clothes, food, etc. </p>
<p>Next year she wanted to get an off campus house. The house required a 12 month lease which made the house cost the same as the dorm room and meal plan we are paying for this year. We told DD that we would continue to pay the same amount- so we will pay the lease charges, but she would be responsible for all her own food next year. She was okay with that, so she made the decision to take on the extra cost.</p>
<p>We’ve always been VERY upfront with her about what we can afford, and that our “bank” is closed in four years and if she needs an additional year or semester it will have to be self-funded.</p>