Also, from the vantagepoint of myself and extended family, I find it odd books are separated from college tuition and fees.
IMO, doing that is like buying a car by only paying for the car chassis without paying for the engine or the fuel to run it.
Doesn’t make much sense as my family and I personally view college tuition & fees and books required for the college courses to be so closely related as to be one and the same.
DO agree that anything outside of college tuition & fees and books are to be paid for by the student.
So far, neither S1 or D1 has wanted to spend “their” money on a spring break trip…but both are happy to travel in the summer on the family vacation funded by the parents.
We didn’t take this approach–what we care about is work ethic, and as long as that is demonstrated (through good grades and valuable activities), I don’t see a need for them to have financial skin in the game.
No, we are committed to fully paying for college. Our D has a strong work ethic and actively seeks out work opportunities. She has already earned a signficant amount of money in her teen years, and what we’ve done is put it aside for her (along with other money she’s gotten over the years, such as grandparent gifts) into an account that she will have when she graduates. The plan is for her to use it to help pay rent on an apartment (or a down payment) in the city or any other life expenses she incurs. She’s an excellent saver and because of this (and her work ethic), we are happy to pay her tuition–and are aware that we are among the fortunate ones in that we are able to do so.
@Lauriejgs I’d like to suggest considering a ROTH IRA for your kids, up to $5500/year (but not to exceed earned income). Never too early to start saving for retirement!
@Madison85, thank you! Actually, our D already has a Roth IRA with a few hundred dollars in it. Our S will probably open one this year, when he (hopefully) gets his first job.
Re Post 65 - Actually it can be much higher than $5500, as earned income is not the limit for investing. Each parent, grandparent etc. can contribute 14k/yr tax free.
Opened accounts when wife found out she was pregnant with each DS and started before they were born, then attached SSN number etc when born. Get grandparents in on it and each kid could get up 56k/yr to invest for 21 or 22 years before graduating college.
When in college switch gifts to pay college tuition and the kid makes 60k a year from investments, at least, while in college and then when they graduate they are on their own in a major way. Then they can pay for grad school if they want to go.
My parents had made it very clear to me right from the start that they would finance my college expenses on their own - whether that meant through savings, cash flow, or loans. I could’ve, in theory, gone to any school I was admitted to without any direct burden on my own shoulders since any debt incurred would hypothetically be in my parents’ names.
However; I was awarded a full merit scholarship to a university, that, while it was not my first choice, allowed me the opportunity to attend school without putting me or my parents in debt. My parents were adamant from the jump that they didn’t want me to shoulder any debt - this came from their own personal philosophy that people shouldn’t have to venture into the beginning of young adulthood with debt, especially of the non-dischargeable variety. (This is obviously an ideal scenario but is not tuned to everyone’s specific circumstances or realities). But I didn’t want them to be in debt either. I thought that it would be horribly selfish to make my parents go into debt for my education when I was provided the opportunity to attend school without debt even being a factor. My parents have worked incredibly hard to provide for me - I didn’t want to “pay them back” by putting them in a situation where they could potentially jeopardize their retirement. I’d feel too guilty. Even if they didn’t need loans and used cash flow and savings, they’d still have to make some serious lifestyle sacrifices that wouldn’t sit right with me. So I took the scholarship.
Now I have “all my skin in the game” (I don’t know if I’m altering the expression properly - I just came across it last week on CC… lol) with my scholarship because I need a 3.2 to maintain it. My classes are my job and my priority - my performance in them is crucial to retain my sole funding for my schooling. I think it is sort of a blessing really; because for one, I don’t have to worry about FAFSA and EFCs and loans, etc and two, my scholarship is a huge incentive to actually stay motivated and on top of my game in my classes.
I don’t know if I am “contributing” to my education in the conventional sense - because I’m not actively working for wages that are paid to my school’s Bursar - nor am I signing for loans or anything like that; but I like to tell myself that I’m putting myself through college on my own, I suppose, lol.
Earning a scholarship is certainly a contribution by the student for the student’s college education. Actually, the larger scholarships are often the largest possible contributions that the student can make, compared to typical earnings that the student can earn from typical jobs available while the student is in college, or the limited amounts of federal direct loans that the student can get.
Absolutely you are contributing and have ‘skin in the game.’ My kids also must maintain their scholarships and I wish they didn’t have so much pressure on them to do that, but that’s the reality of our situation.
A friend introduced me to this concept of having the student take out some loans to be invested in the process a few years ago when her daughter started college, and at the time I thought that was a really good idea. However, when it came time for my kids to borrow money I didn’t think it was such a good idea. I saw that my kids would have a lot of motivation to do well in school. They have to keep their grades up and they have to pay for books and expenses which means they might need jobs.
I don’t think the ‘skin’ needs to be money or loans. It can be things like applying for that extra scholarships, taking the maximum number of classes to graduate on time, choosing cheaper options when offered for housing, meal plans, or travel.
D’s “skin in the game” is happening during the application process. She knows there are XX dollars for college and that amount may not fund her first choices. By doing everything in her power to get the best package out there, she is “contributing”. She is also aware that depending on her choice, she may have to contribute much more and give up things such as spring break or study abroad (if not covered by FA), even travel home for those long weekends, and take out student loans. OTOH, if she choices a school that offers a great package, she’ll not have to do work study, will have some extra spending $ in her pocket from her summer job, and will not incur debt for her undergraduate. She may, in either case, have to maintain a certain GPA for scholarships and again that is on her. Regardless, she is expected to work full time over the summer months for books and other incidentals and after the first semester of college, we’ll visit the option of work study if offered.
It is not required to have work-study in order to have a part time job while attending college. However, work-study students get preference for work-study-eligible jobs, due to the subsidy (i.e. it is cheaper for the employer to hire a work-study student than a non-work-study student paid the same amount). You and he may want to investigate the relative availability of jobs for those without work-study eligibility at each campus.
Well, per the schools NPC, he is eligible for work study, but I have found w/ DD, that doesn’t mean he will get it. I would prefer the actual “work study” over just a part time job.
He will be taking engineering, probably full course load, but I would like him to try if it is offered. If he just has to look for a part time job, I am less inclined for him to work.
I know many here keep talking about “summer jobs” but around here, they are the hardest to get. So not something I have any expectation of him having during college.
Some of the type of jobs kids at college can get are working in a computer lab, or if they are very good at some in demand subjects, tutoring. I know at the school my DD goes to, a tutor may have students not show up (so can study during that time). Ditto with computer lab - can study at slow times. An easy job I had was at college nursery (for students’ pre-school children) - could pick up a few hours here and there.
If students look during spring break for summer job if they don’t have something already lined up. Sometimes have to get creative in finding something.
My DD has two room-mates that both get ‘allowances’ at college. We will see if either gets a job next summer. Not our way of thinking. DD has a college fund and has had a job that continues every summer.
My older son in computer science had internships in CA where the companies paid for housing or paid so much that housing wasn’t an issue. My younger son had a campus job over the summer than included either free or very nominal dorm rent. He did the same job all three summers except each summer with a promotion and a lot more responsibility. A student in engineering should be able to find a job that allows him to save money over the summer.
My kids stayed on campus the summers after Freshman and Sophomore year- cheap housing in someone’s cruddy sublet (most students signed year long leases close to campus but left in late May so they were happy to have someone living in their apartment to defray expenses over the summer) and relatively high paying jobs on campus.
Laralei- encourage your son to start looking now for summer jobs where he is. Professors work 12 months a year, and often need editors, fact-checkers, researchers over the summer. College Alumni Relations offices are open 12 months a year and often need computer/data help, graphics, marketing assistance over the summer. The campus libraries have shorter hours but are open for business year round. Etc. My kids would not have been able to find jobs which paid as well if they’d come home (plus transportation costs- on campus they either took the free shuttle or walked to work) even though they wouldn’t have had to pay rent or feed themselves. Plus the campus summer jobs were full time, and the minimum wage jobs at home would have been 20 hours a week max.
