Ahh…that’s a very different kind of typical. You’re asking how to pay for college when you don’t have the savings or earnings (or both) to cover what the kid wants. This typical is, sadly, far more typical. So,
- Figure out what you can contribute per year. Do not rob your retirement to build up this number and make sure you allow for some space for at least one big unplanned expense (for me, it was my parked and unoccupied car getting hit and totaled by a distracted driver–hello car payment).
- Give your child that number. That is her budget. I caution against adding the student loan amount to that as loans are generally the first piece put into the financial aid offer.
- Limit your search to A. colleges that will cost that number or less (at least 2) either because of guaranteed merit or because that’s just the price of those schools and B. colleges that could cost that number if your daughter receives some competitive merit, with the understanding that those will be off the table if not in budget.
A lot of us here followed the money. Not saying it’s easy, but really, set the budget early so the kid has time to adjust before spending a lot of time and money on applications for schools that can’t work out.