Every family is different. We plan NOT to pay for college, D. opted to apply to colleges that we knew would offer her great Merit awards. She did not apply outside of this group. We would have paid the balance, but ended up paying only for her living expenses, the tuition was covered by Merit scholarships. That plan took many years, actually the first step took place when D. was 5 y o. I told her that the school is her most important thing and if she wants to continue with all the fun activities (she had many, including competitive sport, her favorite), she better do the homework first and do it very well. This stuck with her all thru graduating from college.
In appreciation for her hard work and wise decision choosing UG, we paid for her Med. School. So, she has graduated from Med. School 2 days ago debt free. She mentioned yet again, that some in her Med. School class who decided to attend at Ivy / Elite for UG, regret this decision that in most cases resulted in large student loan (after Med. School in may be in $200k - $300k easily)
So, at the end, I may say, that we actually planned to pay for 4 years, but they were not D’s college years.