<p>@SteveMA “My parents did not contribute a dime to my education though. I had ample choices and worked my butt off to pay for a private school, that cost a heck of a lot less net then the state schools I applied to thanks to some nice scholarships. The rest I covered with loans.”</p>
<p>I’m curious if you think your kids could work their way through college now and take out the loans they need to pay for anything they couldn’t cover through their wages?</p>
<p>My husband worked for Hostess (his union was not the one on strike) and his salary has paid for our oldest daughter’s college costs so far (she’s a junior). We are currently trying to figure out how to pay her last year (after cashing in some small investments to finish out this year) and start paying for our younger daughter’s first year of college. </p>
<p>My older daughter had a job at a daycare this summer and worked 30-40 hours a week but only at minimum wage. That was definitely not enough to pay for her tuition and she goes to the cheapest state university but it is across the state from us so she has to live there (she received a couple scholarships the first year but they were not renewable). As far as I know, the only loans she qualifies for are Federal Direct loans and the maximum is $5,500/year. I don’t think she could get any other loans since her work is sporadic (during the summer for a few months and with a job on campus as a tour guide but she only gets a few tours a week @ minimum wage–enough to have a little spending money in her pocket and that’s about it). Most of the on campus jobs are work study which she does not qualify for but maybe she will now that my husband is out of work. The college is in a sad, pathetic little town with few businesses for the 12,000+ college students to find work (they don’t even have a movie theater or major store other than a Safeway grocery store).</p>
<p>My younger daughter started working earlier this year and only works two-three hours a day after school (she worked a little more during the summer). She gets $10/hour (not much higher than Washington’s minimum wage) and is saving for college but that’s not going to give her much money for the first year and she’ll have to give up her job to go to college.</p>
<p>I just want to point out that it is not as easy as it once was to put oneself through college these days. Also, in this economy, I don’t think it is wise to take out a bunch of loans without a great prospect of finding a living wage job in the future. As a parent, I know I am not comfortable taking out any loans for my kids because who knows when/if my 48 year old husband is going to be able to find work again and if so, will it even be more than minimum wage?</p>