Do most of your parents help you pay for college?

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I’m a dancer, I make roughly 8-10k a month working full time during the summer. It’s completely possible to earn much more than minimum wage if you look in their right avenues. If you feel that you’re limited to retail and fast food then you’ll remain in fast food and retail. Having job experience is a plus but there are so many different options out there for work. I was making $15/hr in high school for cleaning houses and dog sitting. The only minimum wage job I’ve ever had was when I was 14.</p>

<p>Maybe you need to have the jobs come to you rather than you coming to the jobs. I’ve been self employed since high school (housekeeping isn’t exactly formal employment) and I’ve always made more than those that try to find traditional jobs.</p>

<p>My dad is paying for my education. I will probably try to help out when I can. </p>

<p>When it comes down to parents paying for their child’s education, i believe they should. After having a kid that person’s life is not about him/her it’s really about the kid and that person should do anything he/she possibly can to give their child food,shelter,clothes and an education. For anyone who says, “you’re 18 now so deal with your problems” has qualities of a very bad parent. That’s like saying a kid is a burden that you have to take care of only because the law tells you to and just wait 18 years until you can finally throw that child out the door legally.</p>

<p>Turning 18 doesn’t automatically mean a person is ready for the world and needs no support anymore. </p>

<p>btw yes i’m aware that some people don’t have enough money to help pay for college and they really are worried about making rent every month and wondering if they’ll have enough money to put food on the table the next wk and/or if the heat will go off. For someone in that situation it is totally understandable that the parent can’t afford to pay but parents who’re not in situations like that should always try their best to just pitch in a little, especially when they told their child they will.</p>

<p>oh and for all the people saying i have it worse quit complaining: Firstly I’m sorry to hear that, but it’s okay if you say it to make the girl feel better but please don’t say it as, quit your **<strong><em>ing cause i have it worse and i’m superior cause i don’t complain. Just because there is someone who has it worse doesn’t mean someone can’t be upset about their situation. If someone loses an arm and complains, are you going to say *</em></strong> because there are people who were born without an arm and legs.</p>

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<p>Hmm…
losing an arm vs. relatively small debt
telling someone not to care about losing an arm vs. telling someone to shut up about their relatively small debt</p>

<p>somehow seems like a poor comparison</p>

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<p>All at once during the academic year (each around 2-3 days a week) and then during the summer I have two (one full time, one only 3 days a week).</p>

<p>Your mom is buying you a car. Why don’t you have her pay off your student loans instead of buying you a car? Clearly you have confused priorities.</p>

<p>My parents are paying for college, thankfully.</p>

<p>Mmm well my scholarship helps…but other than that, yes regretably I’m dependent on my 'rents. Not really my “fault” though. I was born into a family that had one kid and immediately started a college fund.</p>

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<p>:p This is sad. The sense of entitlement that some of you people have is disheartening…</p>

<p>My parents are. They promise me that they will support me for 4 years and than after that it is my responsibility to find a way to pay for other expenses. I plan on going to medical school to so I expect a lot of loans. As for if parents should or should not pay for their child college expectation it depends on the parents. Mine are upper middle class (as least for the moment who knows in this economy) and I am an only child so yes they have the money to pay for my college expenses but for others they might not be so lucky. Your parents aren’t entitled to pay for your college tuition because legally you’re 18 and suppose to be out on your own. I think it is a privilege if they do though so I consider myself lucky.</p>

<p>It’s like my parents always tell me- An education is one of the best investments a person can make. Take out the loans and be happy about it!</p>

<p>every since i was a freshman in high school ive held at least a 20hour/week job and have purchased everything i own with my own hard earned money.</p>

<p>reillytheman, we are in the same boat. Except I don’t ever buy anything because it goes to my mom for bills… but obviously with a middle income this would be different, and I don’t have any hard feelings about that. At least not while I’m contemplating $50,000 yearly scholarships. You win some, you lose some.</p>

<p>as long as you (or someone else) has the means and is willing to pay for your education, then i don’t think it’s bad if someone pays your whole way. Just because you’re technically an adult doesn’t mean you are ready to get earn enough to pay 200K of college tuition off the bat. What’s important is that you make the most out of your college education, regardless of whoever pays for it. Many of my college friends have a hard time getting good grades in college because they need to pay their way while working 25-30 hrs a week. I guess it depends on your work ethic, your courseload, and how much your grades matter to you if you consider paying your tuition yourself.</p>

<p>I don’t pay anthing now (program at college gives me free tuition), but if i transfer, I will have to pay the full amount every year. I have enough money in my savings to pay for a year at private school, but will defiintely not be able pay off 40-50K a year and still manintain a very high GPA, especially at the schools I want to xfer to. So I’ll ned to rely on my parent in helping me get loans. I think that if your parents help you pay for school, the best way to repay them is to achieve the most out of your education =)</p>

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<p>That quote can work both ways actually. My parents are doing the investing.</p>

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<p>Well yeah, if someone is going to hand me $100k or whatever, that’s a good thing. That’s not the issue in the thread though.</p>

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<p>But like any investment, it’s not smart if you can get equal or greater return for less money. You shouldn’t go to a school that costs $50k a year if you can’t pay a significant chunk of that up front.</p>

<p>What if you can’t pay a significant chunk of anything?</p>

<p>OP – I think your mother is not sharing with you her full financial picture. </p>

<p>I see you live in southern California. I do too. We are experiencing the greatest economic downturn since the early 1930s at present. Most middle market companies I work with are down 15-20% in employees and revenue. Restaurants are much, much worse… some are down 40% and more, most down 25%, compared to 2 years ago.</p>

<p>To complicate things, many southern Californians habitually used a Home Equity Line of Credit on to meet expenses their earnings could not support. It didn’t matter much when the price of their home went up 15-20% every year for years on end. But the SoCal “use your home as a bank” party ended in late 2007. When home prices dropped 35%-40% between early 2007 and early 2009, these loans (called HELOCS) were frozen and families could no longer dip into that credit for additional monthly spending money. At almost the same time, retirement investment accounts lost about 40% of their value in 2008. No more borrowing against that equity either… both parties OVER.</p>

<p>That’s all a long winded way of saying your mother is likely not only not able to pay for your college, she is likely going FURTHER into debt each month that this recession continues (revenue at the restaurant is way down), and might have to sell the restaurant and start over.</p>

<p>Consider that context when you ask your question.</p>

<p>Parents aren’t responsible to pay for their child’s college but I think they should. </p>

<p>I think there should be like an “unwritten rule” or cycle were parents pay for their child’s college and when the child grows up they should pay for their children’s college.</p>

<p>^^ In Asian cultures education is highly stressed! I would say this “rule” is already within the culture. I know many parents (not just Asians) will unconditionally pay for their kids education. This assumes they have enough…even those that don’t have enough money will try their hardest to at least support their kid.</p>

<p>^ Yeah I’m Asian too, maybe that’s why I believe it lol.</p>