Not a Parent - But Curious

How many of you are planning on paying for your children’s college, and why did you make that decision?

We are paying for both kids. It is a natural decision stemming from our belief that education is vital to their success and happiness. We began saving and investing for this as soon as our first child was born.

I’m a senior who plans on attending a university that costs around $40,000 a year, and I’m confident that with student loans, a part-time job, and a great starting salary after graduation($80,000), I’ll be able to pay it off myself. I actually feel that I would be “cheating” at independence, if my parents paid for me.

Do you ever think that your kids might be missing out on an opportunity to be self-reliant?

Is debt required to be self-reliant? I am very grateful that my parents are mostly covering my costs because then I’ll have less hanging over my head after I graduate.

No. I did as you are planning. My parents could not pay. The loans were higher than I planned and it took 12 years to pay them.

That is why I decided to pay for my kids. You will have a lot of chance at independence when you graduate from college, trust me;)

My parents paid their EFC. I plan to pay my EFC.

I don’t see not saddling my kid with a house payment plus a car payment worth of debt as standing in the way of her self-reliance. No 17yo is an island.

“$40,000 a year, and I’m confident that with student loans, a part-time job, and a great starting salary after graduation($80,000), I’ll be able to pay it off myself.”

Wait, are you planning on loans of around $40K/year? So you will graduate with around $160K in debt??

Honestly, I don’t think it’s that big of a deal for a college student to deal with debt. For me, I made a decision: Cut my salary in half. If I make $80,000, then I will live off of $40,000. In 5 years I can be completely debt free.

As a senior whose parents aren’t planning on paying for my college, I was hoping that more parents shared their situation haha.

My parents are paying for mine because the value of a degree outweighs my the cost of education. My grandpa thought the same thing when he sent all 6 of his children through college making 70k a year while my grandma was in the middle of serious, life-threatening health conditions. My other grandpa thought the same even though he had to take out loans while he was starting up a new career path due to a health condition that made him no longer able to fly planes.

If your parents do not have the means to pay for college and you have to pay for it on your own, that’s one thing. But if they do and you’re refusing to take their help, that seems like a decision you’d regret when you’re paying 1000+ a month.

I think that is way too much debt and hope you will reconsider, but will leave it at that.

I had a set amount that I told my D I could pay toward college. With that knowledge, we looked for schools that would be affordable (either because of merit or great financial aid) with little to no loans. It worked out well for her. I did not want her to have the crushing debt that you will face.

They have a very high EFC, but because of medical bills/loans/etc don’t have much free cash. They said they would help me out with various things like a few hundred dollars here and there, but not the main cost.

You cannot borrow that much without a cosigner, usually a parent.

Also, $80,000 pay at graduation is optimistic outside of engineering, CS, or elite industries like Wall Street. Some will go to payroll and income taxes, and some may be needed to pay employee share of benefits.

Well my major is Computer Engineering(#2 highest paying first year), and I have already received 2 internship offers from tech companies, while still in high school

Families are different.

Some parents share your point of view: ‘I put myself through school, so can my kid.’ Many others can’t help with their children’s tuition because they simply don’t have the means. Others feel it’s their responsibility as parents to pay for their kids’ schooling.

Accept that not everyone feels like you do, and not every student can count on lucrative internships and/or 80K/year salaries right out of college.

There’s no need to judge, or brag.

You are cheating independence either way. You can be in emotional debt to your parents (since that’s how you choose to see it, but that really is entirely your choice) or you can be in actual financial debt to banks.

Taking on loans is not independence…it means you will have to get a job when you graduate to pay back your loan. That may mean missing an opportunity at a startup which has great potential but lousy pay. It may mean giving up the opportunity to travel. You also can’t assume that your $80k job will be there in four years.

Also, have you actually put together a budget to confirm that your plan is possible? Look at loan types and requirements to make sure you even qualify and be realistic about how much you can earn working part time.

I’m not judging, I just was hoping that I wasn’t alone in the paying for college-by-myself boat.

If my parents were able to pay, I’m sure I would take the help. I was just hoping it was more common for parents to not pay than it apparently is.

@project21 I’m confused whether you are paying for college on your own because you have to or you want to.

My older son studied computer science and got a job offer that would allow him to pay off any amount of debt relatively quickly, but my younger son’s talents lay in a much less well paying field where the best jobs are in high rent areas. Not his fault.

But honestly I paid their tuition because I believe if you can afford it, it’s the right thing to do. My parents paid for my education and I am passing on that gift. We consider ourselves blessed to be able to afford it with relatively little belt-tightening.

Honestly, I had no problems becoming independent while being debt-free and neither did my kids, though the youngest after trying out his original employment has now gone in a different direction. (His IR degree was useful either way.) The oldest had CA internships across the country for two summers and now lives their permanently.

“I’m not judging, I just was hoping that I wasn’t alone in the paying for college-by-myself boat”

You’re not. Pay a visit to a community college campus. Or the state U. You’ll find plenty students paying for their own education (and plenty who aren’t happy about it.)