<p>THUMPER1 - I completely agree with you - it is a dose of reality - with just a spoonful of humor</p>
<p>With thanks to the nephew who's wedding website inspires the following:</p>
<p>He & fiancee want to go to Hawaii for honeymoon, and are selling shares so that their friends & family can make this possible. ($60 for 100 air miles; $100 for 1/2 night's lodging; you get the drift). His parents have not shown their faces in public since this went out.</p>
<p>But, hey, S2 is a good kid, he's worked hard. He deserves the best college money can buy. And why should we have to sacrifice? We have this great kid, and we've worked really hard too. OK, CC'ers, this is your chance to make our dreams come true. </p>
<p>Thanks in advance!</p>
<p>lol
My H and I paid for whole wedding ourselves- including reception- we didn't have a honeymoon although we did stay at the local Hilton for one night- but slept in seperate beds, because I was ill ( no not a hangover-) we recently celebrated our 25th anniv
I haven't heard of the selling shares- but my sister inlaw and her husband did set up a money tree at their housewarming- this was also the 2nd home they had purchased- they were still owners of the first and renting it out-
I politely declined.
* however- we are thinking of retirement and would like to travel a bit while we have our health- there will be a coffee can on our porch for those who wouldlike to contribute*</p>
<p>you can tell the previous post was a joke because we haven't bought coffee in a can since 1983- we do have coffee cans- but we would have to dump the nails out of 'em
:)</p>
<p>ROTFLMBO! okay, lighten up folks. it is obviously a joke:) too bad his son isn't a daughter though..we could maybe work this out:)..ducking from the slams i imagine will come. life is too short not to find humor in our moments of pain..ouch the pocket book hurts!</p>
<p>Don't let your college-bound offspring stop at marriage. Encourage them to adopt some children. Fellow college students with wealthy parents would make good candidates. Then the lack of wealth could be spread around. Side benefit? Colleges could advertise, "We're one big, happy family!"</p>
<p>lol:) so if everyone adopts each other in college..who pays the teacher's salaries?</p>
<p>Sorry NJ, but you are taking the wrong approach altogether. The trick is to use short-sheeting and drug therapy to keep your children from growing beyond the age of 11 or 12. If you follow that advice, you will always have children who love you as much as you love them--and you will never get a college tuition bill.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I tried this, DESPERATELY, and dammit, it simply didn't work. <em>sigh</em></p>
<p>Thankfully, despite the fact that they've continued to grow, they <em>STILL</em> love me as much as I do them, but uh, yeah, I get LOTS of various bills...<em>lol</em>.</p>
<p>NJ~ I got it, I <em>REALLY</em> got it, and yes, I can understand your feelings... ~b.</p>
<p>lefthandofdog--it is NOT hard to get a college education in this country--quite the contrary. ANYBODY who is willing to put forth a minimum of effort and who is flexible about where they go and what they do can get a bachelor's degree. There are community colleges. There are commuter schools where tuition is affordable and kids can live at home. There are ROTC scholarships. There are programs where kids who serve in the military get educational benefits. This is probably the easiest place in the world to get a college education. There are places where it is free, or even subsidized, but admissions are selective. I am not aware of any other nation in the world that will allow anybody who will do the work to get a bachelor's degree.</p>
<p>There are quite a number of state schools where kids can get a full ride for as little as a 29 on the ACT. Tell your kids to start studying.</p>
<p>Will marriage really get you off the hook? I'm not sure if it is different now, but we were married for several years and already had a child when H started professional school. He was 29 years old and had not lived in his home state for 10 years--yet his financial aid application asked for his parents' income. They were shocked and told us it was none of our business when we asked his parents for this information--yet they had to tell us. His parents were quite poor with younger kids still in college--but I remember it was estimated that they contribute something like $300/year--which of course they never did, and we never expected them to since we were adults.</p>
<p>NJ....I have a daughter. Of course, I would have to say that she does not want to gain instate residency in NJ (sorry). Maybe we could arrange a marriage and NJ son would become a resident of OUR state. DD won't be here anyway..college is in CA. Do you suppose they would notice that the happy husband and wife do not reside in the same state??</p>
<p>thumper1 - Thank you for your kind offer! Would 3 goats be enough? It is fitting that on July 4 I reaffirm my right as an American to COMPLAIN!!! Isn't that what it's all about? Can't I kvetch a little as I write those checks? whether they be made out to the tax collector or the electric company or the college of musical knowledge? We have been saving for college for a long time, and with help from generous grandparents have significant savings, but far short of the $180k for each child (4 X $45k) that would represent full funding at many of the most expensive schools. Just mulling over options, some semi-serious, others obviously not serious.</p>
<p>ahh.. found it online! I was reading this yesterday. The letter writer sounds a tad bitter that her family was saddled with loans, but now families with similar financial need will receive grants. We can all say that she did not have to send her daughter to Penn and could have chosen a less expensive school, but I think she has a valid point. </p>
<p>scroll down the page to: </p>
<p>But What Took So Long?</p>
<p>" .... When I spoke with the financial-aid officer in charge of our daughters financial aid package and pointed this out, I was told how lucky I was that we had been offered such generous loans; otherwise, a school like Penn would be out of reach for families like us. ...."</p>
<p>Atomom--that's true for proffessional school, but for undergrad, marriage automatically makes you an independent student.</p>
<p>NJres--being a parent can also make you independent, so that's another route your kids could consider...</p>
<p>NJres:</p>
<p>I read that article and do not see why the family is angry. The parents chose to send their daughter to Penn. With choice comes consequences. They did not have to saddle themselves with $55k debt.
Universities have not always been as well endowed as they are now. I remember the time when Yale had to cut down on window washing and lawn mowing in order to conserve funds during a time of financial crisis. Universities have not always been as well endowed as they are now. Penn now has the funds to provide more financial assistance than it used to have. What's the point of comparing one's situation with that of others? Sometimes we buy something at full price only to find, shortly later, that it is available on sale. Or we find that our computer that is a few years old cost more than a more recent and more powerful one. That's life.</p>
<p>PS: You'll need six goats, right? How much goat cheese could they produce?</p>
<p>I guess it's hot and I'm getting cranky. I do see why the family is angry, although that might be too strong a word. They're pointing out that people in the same situation as they were a few years ago are being treated better today. They're not asking for redress. I do think there's a difference between finding your computer has dropped $1,000 in price and a $55,000 educational debt. Bad timing in both instances but the consequences of one are much harder (as the letter writer pointed out, student not able to travel or free to choose lower paying work).</p>
<p>I guess I should define "hard" (previous post). I agree there are many entry points to higher education in this country. I sometimes think it would be easier if it was clear upon h.s. graduation, after attaining certain grades/scores, that you would be admitted to "x" college (more like the European system) and that it was affordable. Read this board to see the effort that goes into finding an affordable match - I don't see it as 'easy'. It takes a ton of work. I agree it's worth it; I still see it as hard work (when you consider that 'our' kids are still attending to the academic aspect like their European counterparts but must also cultivate their e.c.s and play the courtship game that leads to a spot in the fall.) </p>
<p>Feel free to disagree. And to the OP - go ahead and kvetch. Isn't that what an anonymous board is for?</p>
<p>I don't see the justification of this family feeling anger towards the financial issues they were/are in - but more confused - or maybe lack of understanding - a school needs the financial where with all to change loans to grants - looks like maybe Penn did not have that where with all a few years ago - and is now able to offer the type of incentive they can now to lower income students. Of more concern would be the WHY this family choose to have their kiddo attend a high priced school - knowing that they would have loans to pay back - and mortgaging their futures - retirement, etc....... was a choice they made - They could have made another choice and not be in this position right now.</p>
<p>Debt - with an average of $12k per year does not sound that bad initially - then when the total tally is on paper - $55k - woah does it open ones' eyes - still alot less than if a family/student was footing the WHOLE bill of over $150K - YIKES............ that would have been grounds to look at another school with a more reasonable cost for sure - but alas......... they made that choice</p>
<p>6 goats - uuummm a good business - to fund the Goat Scholarship LOL</p>
<p>One of my friends, whose kids were driving her nuts, raised this interesting question: Wouldn't it be nice if we could just adopt a college graduate, with all expenses paid, and a full set of pre-packaged memories of them growing up?</p>
<p>DAAAAAAD ya mean no real diapers to change too??? ROFL Aren't they working on robots that could certainly fill this bill LOL.</p>
<p>Lefthandofdog:</p>
<p>They did not have to take on the burden. Their daughter could have attended their state school for the amount of debt they are incurring. As for European universities, are they willing to pay the taxes or endure the lack of choice and the restrictions on who can attend and where? </p>
<p>We could kvech about the taxes we paid before the tax rates dropped and compare what we paid then with what people in the same tax bracket are paying now. Bad timing on our part. And we did not even have a choice about whether to pay or not.</p>