<p>Geez, somehow I read the title as “donating your body to your child’s college” . . . I think I need coffee!</p>
<p>We donate to our alma maters and to those of our kids, and encourage them to do the same. We’ve been very blessed with the generosity of others and want to pass that on.</p>
<p>I donate to my undergrad school but not grad; H does neither. We do not donate to our kids’ schools while they are in attendance. I have donated specifically to the religious group that D sporadically attends; the rabbi assures me that my contributions are being used solely for that organization.</p>
<p>I do try not to snort in amazement when the student worker calls for a contribution to the school that is slowly eating away our retirement funds, however.</p>
<p>We gave every year to our alma mater - figured the education we got was worth far, far more than what we paid at our state U.<br>
Have never donated to our kid’s schools until this year when we sent $ to D2’s college - specific to their department that is our field but not D2’s major, and because our state U has dropped our field. Sent a copy of that check back with the next solicitation from our U. Silly payback, but supporting the education of kids in our field (which we feel is important).</p>
<p>I give to the parents fund at my DD university. There is so much need and so much emergency funding required at this time. DD does have a small academic achievement scholarship, but I would give regardless. I donate direct to the schools foundation and dont answer the robocallingcallcentermoneymaking phone calls.</p>
<p>I do not donate to my college. I barely made it through school because I had to pay for everything myself. I couldn’t get any financial aid (due to some quirks of the FAF that then existed with respect to small business inventories and income) and my parents couldn’t afford to help, so I missed out on a lot because I had zero spending money and worked a great deal. I begged my schools for aid and got none - I couldn’t even get an on-campus job - while I saw others who had a lot more than I did get plenty of financial aid. So I now find better places for my money. OTOH, we give very generously to DH’s alma mater, which was generous with aid that allowed him to get through school. I will not give to my children’s alma maters. Tuition is enough, and if they choose to give once they graduate, they can do so.</p>
<p>I don’t think my parents give to their universities, just because they both went to big state schools and don’t feel that connected. They do however donate generously to charities and state funds that provide educational opportunities or scholarships to underprivileged high school students, as they are both in public instruction and that’s a cause very important to them. </p>
<p>As for me, I can barely afford to donate, being a new grad and all. But I try to give something to the college fund every year, even if it’s just $10. Yes, I already paid plenty in tuition, room and board and other fees, but what most people don’t realize is that even at private colleges, tuition and room and board does not come close to covering what it costs to educate, house, and feed even a full paying student. </p>
<p>At Smith for example, even though the cost is pretty high, that only covers 60% of the actual cost of a student. The rest has to be covered through other means, primarily through alumnae donation. So every student, even the full-pay students, get a 40% discount off the top that’s then made up for out of donations. I loved Smith, I owe it a lot for all that it gave me, and I want it to keep being a great college with enough financial aid to put it within reach of students who need it most and can least afford it. So I plan to keep donating, maybe only at the $10 level for now, but eventually at higher levels as I make more money and have more disposable income (and need more tax deductions). </p>
<p>I don’t expect my parents to do this however, they’ve already given plenty by funding my education.</p>
<p>I dont give to my kids’ universities - that will be their decision when they graduate and have their own money to contribute.
At both schools there is an effort to get the parents filled with school spirit - this just puzzles me - I have no strong connection to either of their schools and although I think they are great schools I will never really feel strong school spirit for them like I do for my own alma mater.</p>
<p>No, we do not donate to our own schools nor to our children’s schools! That would mean donations to six different colleges for our family. Not with multiple job losses and putting four children through college. We make plenty of sacrifices as it is. For us, I guess charity has to start at home, but we are not alone, I am sure!</p>
<p>We don’t give currently because we just don’t have TO give – but our son’s school has been great and I sure have a happy heart about what they are doing. I’d love to be able to support another kid the way mine has been helped. </p>
<p>Perhaps in years to come . . .</p>
<p>I do not donate to my own universities because they are huge, wealthy institutions. I think that they are fine but I would rather help out smaller, less wealthy institutions that impress me.</p>
<p>I do not donate to my son’s university because I have been disappointed with how it is run.</p>
<p>I’m like you OP, I give modestly to my school - also a UC - because like you I am grateful for the education I received there at a very low cost. If I had more to give I would, it’s a great system that’s hurting right now. D attends a private to which I don’t (and wouldn’t) donate anything more beyond tuition.</p>
<p>I give to my alma mater as I feel it really did great things for me. I got a great education, worked very hard, played sports, made lifelong friends, and got an education in how to walk in the corridors of power in the world. I loved it as did almost all of my friends, and it has the highest percentage of alumni donations of any university in the world. I don’t donate to either of my two grad schools. Not sure why as I have gotten lots of benefit from the one at which I got my PhD and later taught. But, they don’t ask. I did donate this year a bit to my son’s school because I am so pleased at how well they have treated him.</p>
<p>To the OP’s question: you’re not under any moral obligation to give to child’s college, IMHO. However, you can’t blame them for trying. The fact is some parents DO feel very close to their kid’s alma maters so it’s worth it for them to solicit parents.</p>
<p>I’ve always given a small ($10-$50) amount to my ug college. H has given sporadically or rides my coat tails (same school). I give sporadically to my grad school, again token amounts. H hasn’t given to his grad school (but he didn’t finish).</p>
<p>In recent years we have given larger amounts to our ug school. Could it be considered a bribe to get kids in? Maybe, but it was more a matter of having paid off the house and having a company that did matching. Still waiting to see if “bribe” works for DS. jk! jk!!</p>
<p>And I’d expect kids to donate to their colleges if they want, but I’ll stick to mine. I made a small ($20) donation just so they can get their participation numbers up, but I think they’ve spent more that $20 soliciting it.</p>
<p>We reserve part of our charitable giving each year for the colleges we attended - but we donate more to our kids’ schools, and I expect that will continue. Two attended the same (pricey) OOS public, and we think it’s a great school, so we write a couple of pretty modest checks each year. It’s hard to say no when those earnest college kids call you, even at dinnertime. (No problem saying no the the local symphony when they call at 7 PM, so I guess the school knows how to play us.)</p>
<p>D2 had a generous scholarship at a private school we think a lot of; we donate there, too. Though she only graduated a year ago, so does she - we spotted her name in a recent report. And my mom still donates to the college I graduated from more than 30 years ago! </p>
<p>There are a lot of worthwhile organizations out there looking for donations. I suppose we feel a strong personal connection to these particular schools, so we support them instead of some of the other non-profits asking for our support.</p>
<p>I have donated to my D’s NYC private high school (where I also attended), even though the tuition is high. I learned more there than in college or in my 2 grad schools.</p>
<p>I have donated many years to my college and my grad school, small donations usually, since I had a good time there and learned a great deal that has helped me professionally. Also, there is a slight possibility still that my D might apply to one of them in the future for grad school. My college made a wrong decision (IMHO) recently, so my donations there going forward will be smaller than in the past.</p>
<p>I do not donate to my law school. It did and does nothing for me. I hated it there, too.</p>
<p>As to my D’s future college, we will be paying full freight, but we will likely donate a bit.</p>
<p>What really bothers me the most about donations to any “cause” is that people like me and you think long and hard about donating, to whom, and how much, and then some movie star or corporation or etc. donates in one fell swoop more than the donations of 10,000 people. Sure it makes us “normal” people feel good to donate, but I’d rather my D get a direct benefit from my earnings, as Voltaire said “we must tend our own garden.” So I prefer to donate to her rather than to any “cause”.</p>
<p>At this point, we’re paying 1.5+ pricey private U tuitions, so are not even thinking about making any further investments/donations to any university. Maybe down the road, we will revisit, particularly after our kiddos are settled and have jobs & places to live.</p>
<p>I make (nominal) donations to my school and do the same for both DD’s schools. They gave some nice merit aid and I like to show some appreciation.</p>
<p>We don’t as a rule make donations to any of the schools (undergrad/grad etc) attended (we the parents)
and yet do make a donation to our students’ school (private)</p>
<p>Don’t know what we will do for college --my spouse hates to do the donation thing–feels we pay enough in tuition</p>
<p>My parent’s never gave to my college (donations)</p>
<p>My inlaws have given to our students’ schools–the grandparents get solicitation letters.</p>