<p>I actually will be following my sisters’ footsteps. She made each child take a GSL each year, if they carried a 3.0 (notice it is an overall GPA) and no F’s she repaid the GSL immediately. However, if they did not it was her kids responsibility. In the end, she paid back every semester. I think if kids are also invested there is a motivation to do well, which in the end helps for Grad school or getting a job.</p>
<p>MLEVINE, has anyone suggested that you see your HS counselor for advice on financing, or schools to apply to that might offer merit aid?</p>
<p>My husband dropped out of college, joined the USAF (during Vietnam) and went back to school on the benefits. While the benefits aren’t as good today, unfortunately, they would help get you through school in a somewhat timely manner. Look into ROTC also.</p>
<p>And I sincerely hope this comment does not set off anti-war comments. A bright kid doesn’t have to have the worst, most dangerous jobs in the military.</p>
<p>What I think the best thing for parents to do is to save as much money by the time their kids are 18 through investments and what not. Then tell the kid they have x amount of money. I would give them it to spend on college and any left over AFTER they graduate will be theirs. If the kid wants to go to an expensive school and burn through the money, they can. If they want to go to something more affordable and pocket the rest in the stock market, they can also do that. </p>
<p>With that said, besides supporting the kid with money for living expenses, i think that should be the only financial burdent that should be left to the parents during the college years.</p>
<p>ROTC scholarships, for large $$$ are going to engineers. So if that is your field than you should look into it.Remeber though you are making a pact with the service, at least 5 yrs of service. If you can’t do that, don’t dot the i’s or cross the t’s.</p>
<p>Out of curiosity, can the student sue his/her parents to force them to pay 45K annually for the college tuition? Or if the parents are divorced, can one parent sue the other for equal share of college fund?</p>
<p>It doesn’t seem that anyone suggests this option. I wonder if there is legal ground for the lawsuit. 
</p>
<p>Please comments. Thank you.</p>
<p>A lawsuit would take money! :)</p>
<p>You are joking right?</p>
<p>If the parent has a UGMA, than it is the childs to do whatever they wish at 18I have explained to my kid, that it is their money, if they do not use it for college, they will not see squat in my will. They know that there is alot more money there.</p>
<p>Is this selfish of me, I don’t think so. I put the money aside for that reason and if they chose to disrespect me or my husband, than I will re-evaluate the whole pic</p>
<p>Unless your parents entered into a contract to pay your way through college (whether it be part of a child support settlement or otherwise) or they are keeping you from distributions from your trust fund or UGMA, IMHO suing them for support after age 18 and HS graduation for a $47,000 per year college stipend wouldn’t pass the “giggle test”. ;)</p>
<p>(“Giggle Test” - a lawsuit so humorous to a judge that he/she laughs it out of court -my definition)</p>
<p>or [Word</a> Spy - giggle test](<a href=“http://www.wordspy.com/words/giggletest.asp]Word”>http://www.wordspy.com/words/giggletest.asp)
giggle test (GIG.ul test) n. A symbolic test used to determine whether something is legitimate or serious.</p>
<p>3to go,</p>
<p>I agree with your senitments on your post. You just say things nicer than me…
</p>
<p>I do get more than a little miffed when met with whining complaining behavior. I do go black and white when faced with those who are too busy complaining how hard their lives are when if they looked around a bit, they might quiet down. It’s the old " I complained about my shoes, till I met a man with no feet." </p>
<p>Sometimes reading these kids “tragic” situations and their unwillingness to be part of their own solution does get to me.. faced with problems, you work towards solutions… </p>
<p>If your problem is paying for school and mom and dad can’t or won’t pay, you find another way, if it’s important to you.. Never once told anybody it was easy, it’s not. It’s really really hard, but not impossible. It’s just a different road to travel. </p>
<p>Yes, I have trouble understanding why a parent wouldn’t pay for college, but I’m not that parent. Whatever is going on in their relationship with their kids is far more complex and multi directional than expressed here. Here we only get one way communication and we have to trust the person doing the complaining is giving us the honest whole story from 360 degrees… </p>
<p>Sometimes that’s like listening to the four time divorcee telling how it was always her husband’s fault for the failure…</p>
<p>“Duh?”</p>
<p>exactly frazzle, exactly…</p>
<p>Re suing parents for tuition: even if there’s a divorce/sep agreement saying dad has to pay $100,000 for tuition, the agreement is usually between mom and dad, not the kid.</p>
<p>Muffy - I have seen all kinds of arrangements in the divorce decrees and agreements between parents with respect to college. Many require that irrevocable college trusts be set up for the sole benefit of each of the children. Others, one parent is off the hook when child turns 18. This is not a place to generalize.</p>
<p>However, suing good ole mom & dad for the cost of a fancy college education . . . still might not pass the giggle test.</p>
<p>Another option I don’t think has been mentioned: Find a job at a corporation large enough to have tuition reimbursement as a benefit. </p>
<p>H comes from a wacky family – dad was a drunk; mom selfish & focusing on new hubby. I’m often amazed at how well most of the kids have done. Two of his stepsisters didn’t have the grades for scholarships, so they took clerical jobs & earned degrees at night. Many, many promotions were earned as they were completing those degrees. Bright, capable employees can stand out without the full set of credentials.</p>
<p>MLEVINE, here is another reason to explore the military option.</p>
<p>I have a feeling that there are in this world SOME parents who will insist that their kid go to a good school so they can pat themselves on the back and brag about it (X is at Prestige U). They naturally assume that very few people will ask them who is paying for the kid’s education. If the parents have obvious means, people will assume that they are providing the money. These parents get bragging rights without putting out a dime.</p>
<p>Now X decides not to take on huge debt to satisfy parents’ ego, and begins making contact with recruiters. If X joins, then that’s going to sound a whole lot different to parent’s peers, isn’t it? Same for the case where X enrolls at CC.</p>
<p>I’d go for it.</p>
<p>Treetop, while I have utmost respect for the military & those who choose to serve, it is not a decision to take lightly. Perhaps I misread your post, but it seems that you are suggesting the military as a way to stick it to the selfish parents. Recruits, or ROTC candidates, really have to want the military & be emotionally & physically prepared for its rigors.</p>
<p>Spite is not a good reason to join the military.</p>
<p>shrinkrap – i don’t know. i don’t know what crackpot decided college should cost 45K+ a year. it’s like they were all sitting around smoking and said…hey…dudes…what if we…</p>
<p>As much as a value college, i still believe it is incredibly extreme. But the problem is that they have a captive audience. People would still pay for harvard if they had to cut off their arms. Sure, it would be less people, and they wouldn’t have much of a football team, but it would still happen. </p>
<p>The ONE thing I do like about high tuition is that those who are exceedingly wealthy (like millions) have to pay it all whereas those beneath the poverty line pay nothing. Where the magic breaks down is everyone inbetween. The FAFSA is not an accurate assessment of what you can pay. If you are on the cusp of affording and not affording (according to the FAFSA), you’re screwed. And as we have been discussing, those kids with millionaire parents who won’t pay are also screwed.</p>
<p>I’m suggesting he contact recruiters and call parent’s bluff. ML might like what he/she sees, maybe not. Maybe parents can not afford college for the kid and their lifestyle is a sham. Maybe not. People are weird about their finances, and college financing is when they get to reveal all to their kid, or not.</p>
<p>A small contribution to the discussion:</p>
<p>Data on college costs, 1982-1992.</p>
<p><a href=“College Board - SAT, AP, College Search and Admission Tools”>College Board - SAT, AP, College Search and Admission Tools;
<p>Between 1982 and 1991, the cost of attending a private university rose by 107%. The cost of attending a private 4-year college rose by 97%; at a public university, 78%.</p>
<p>A fun theoretical alternative that some had kicked around on this board prior: find another student in the same situation and get married. If you have no qualms about viewing marriage as a contract rather than some sanctified right, it can get you around quite a few of the hurdles here- you no longer are a dependent to your parents because you have a dependent.</p>