Parents Should Help Pay for College

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I graduated from a 4-year state university approx. 5 years ago with over $60k in student loan debt. I worked over 20 hours a week every semester (oh thanks $6/hr) to cover my lodging and books. My parents didn't give me any money at all - not even for groceries. Fortunately I have a good job now and don't find these payments too much of a burden for my current income.
I could care less whether or not your parents help pay tuition. To each his own. The real problem is that a student's government funding in based on their parents income and how much they "anticipate" the parents will contribute. My parents did not/could not realistically give me this money and so I had to take out a large private loan to cover the difference, and oh yay, private loans have much larger (and most likely variable) interest rates.
Last thought... my parents needed the money back on their tax returns more than I did while I was in college, so they would not "let" me declare myself as independent. Try arguing that with your parents when you are 17 years old.

T of MA 4:46PM November 17, 2011

It is this kind of irresponsible thinking that has put our country in the sad state it is in. I am a 50 something father in an "affluent family" with a daughter about to go off to college (about $150K in annual income). Borrowing money to get an undergraduate degree is a bad idea. Any person with a basic understanding of finance can prove this easily. The people who advocate the accumulation of any amount of debt to pay for college are focused on the best interests of the institution not the student. If all parents refused to go along with this kind of thinking you would see the cost of a college education begin to drop almost immediately.

Mike of PA 4:22PM November 02, 2011

Unfortunately with the way the economy is, help from parents is a bit unrealistic. However, what works for one person does not work for everyone. Joining the military is an option, but even the military has tightened their standards. If a parent can't or won't help, getting a job is an option. A lot of parents have misconceptions about completing the fafsa. It does not obligate them to provide support. If you are a student in need of financial aid speak to the financial aid counselor. There are a great deal of grants out there that no one knows about. Take a class a semester. Yes, it slows down graduation, but at least you are in school. See if you qualify for independent status by speaking to your financial aid administrator. Get a job that pays for your education. Most state jobs will pay for a class or two after six to 12 months of employment. There are options that do not require parent help.

Pat of TN 7:43AM June 04, 2011

WOW the whiners on here are amazing. It's time to face adulthood! Not enough time to go to school and work? My wife is a manager at the local hospital, she managed to go to school full time to get her masters for 2 years. Did I mention that we have 3 kids ages 5,6, and 11? Did I mention that she works at her job at a min of 50 hours per week?
My parents helped me pay for my books. I joined the US Army, sacrificed 3 years of my life, fought in a war all just to get the GI Bill with the Army College Fund kicker on top. Came running out of the military into school (life awakening experience) and graduated in less than 4 years in Engineering while getting drunk and partying and working 30 hrs a week at Little Ceasars Pizza (I took 24 credit hours on several occassions)!
Wife: Well with her masters she is now in a new position over 22 hospitals. Me, I am selling the business I worked my ass off at (started at age 29) and will be reitiring at 40. My wife did not receive any help from her parents to go to college for her undegraduate studies.
Yearly Family Income: Just over $300K, 3 kids that will be facing college in a few years....well I'll pay for their books but I refuse to let them be little snot nosed brats that expect mommy and daddy to give them "everything".
Wake up kids, time to suck it up and make your own way, most parents will help along the way if you deserve to be helped...For those of you that think your parents should pay for your school....obviously they raised you wrong!
Parents: Point the ones that need some guidance and responsibility in their life to an Armed Forces recruiter!

Jesse of OH 1:22AM May 05, 2011

My husband and I have three children (twin girls and a son) who will be in college next year. Yes, we may now make $140,000 a year, but I still don’t see how we can afford paying for all or even most of their higher education. And no, we don’t have new cars, expensive jewelry, or even large screen TVs. We have normal house hold expenses: mortgage, utilities, credit card, one small car payment, and normal everyday expenses. With the economy today, pay cuts and higher insurance premiums are starting to kick in. We may be making $140,000 now but for the majority of the time our kids were growing up we didn’t. We will help them as best we can, but they will have to take on loans.
My sons first year in community college we paid for. By the end of that first year he was placed on academic probation – now he has to cover this years cost. You use it and abuse it, you lose it.

DC of WA 10:42AM December 26, 2010

As a student whose parents were not able to pay for my education because our family income is around $38-45k/year, and they didn't save up anything for it; I received a lot of financial aid. And when i needed something- overdrafted my bank account, had my car break down, had health expenses- my family came to the rescue, and provided for me.
However, I had some classmates and friends whose parents made over 100k a year, and they got literally NO financial aid, and their parents weren't willing to help them at all... not with living expenses, hardly at all with emergencies, and not with school expenses.
The system is unfair in expecting parents to pay, perhaps- but they do- and parents who are just too attached to buying yet another ridiculous big screen tv for the amount of money it cost for half my tuition, versus helping their kid, are ridiculous.
Live simply. I mean, you can save a lot of money every year just by not having a giant satellite tv package, or not needing the "new" and "better" thing all the time. I hope I never forget the lessons I learned from growing up in a family of six that was mostly at between 125-150% of the federal poverty limit. Living doesn't need to be opulent or extravagant, just because you CAN. If I made 180k a year like one of the previous posters, I'd be living on a fraction of it and investing or donating the rest.

Danette of WI 11:30PM December 17, 2010

My husband & I make about $180,000 per year and there is no way that we could have saved around $600,000 for our three kids
education. We live in the northeast where average tuition is $45,000 and up per year. Our health insurance alone costs us $30,000 per year(we are self-employed) The cost of a college education is absurd and puts incredible pressure on everyone invloved. It will be the next major bust in this country because parents have hocked their homes, taken out loans etc..... We will help our children the best we can that is all we can do

ella henson of CT 8:32PM December 17, 2010

How do parents live with themselves if they don't help their kids face the world? What, did you teach them a trade, like hair cutting or scam artist? Is there a family farm or business for them to work in? Did you arrange a good marriage for her or a large dowry from his chosen bridge? Everywhere, parents help their children settle into adulthood. If we aren't going to arrange their lives or support them forever, we have to help them get the knowledge and skills to support themselves.
The price of college has shy-rocketed compared to the value of an hour's work. Once kids could work 20-30 hours a week, vacations and holidays and pay their own way through a decent school. Now they can't do that in a minimal college.
Taking of a year or so to work full time at a low-level job is an option if they can live on next to nothing and save a lot, but there are other problems. College price will be even higher that next year--and every break disturbs the continuity of learning your major field leading to dropping out and having to re-take courses. They reduce the number of years for working and earning at a "real" job. Going to a school that's below the highest level they could be admitted to reduces the likelihood of graduation. The only thing worse from graduating in college in debt is not-graduating but still in debt.
My older son attended a private university on the proceeds of his late father's life insurance for the 3 years it would fund after he received enough AP credits to be a sophomore. He borrowed for the extra semesters he spent. The other son choose to finance himself at an instate school through scholarships and grants and high-paying summer internships. I only paid for his study-abroad experiences.
I appreciate and admire that he did that, but would have found a way for anywhere that would have admitted him. My investments in a family 8-week trip to Europe and every special learning opportunity let him qualify for all those scholarships and awards.That, and his not working in high school, academics were always the priority.

Sarah Caldwell of GA 3:38PM December 17, 2010

Today's kids need to grow up and accept responsibility for their lives. Kids expect college to be "party time" and therefore, a lot do not want to put out the effort to work and go to school. After partying all the time, THEN they complain they can't handle "working" and going to school. I told my kids that I would help them with college as long as they were helping themselves. First day at college, my son blew all his money on getting drunk and high and showing friends he was a big man on campus. It wasn't the only time. My daughter says she doesn't have the time to work and go to school and study. I found out she was spending all her time on texting, emailing, chatting, facebook, etc., and that she wanted to have more time to spend with her boyfriend. Kids want to be treated like adults -- well, THEY NEED TO GROW UP and realize life is hard work and they need to EARN things. Because they are our children does not entitle them to what we have earned.

B.G. of TX 10:36AM December 17, 2010

I wish there was a way to express to the financial aid office this exact situation. The formulas that calculate what you will be given for aid expect parents to be helping their children. For students from families that make decent money, there's often no aid for you...as they expect your parents to be able to cover it, even if they're not willing too. Its very unfair, as there's nothing the student can really do at that point but take out loans with high interest rates, as there's only so much federal loans will cover...and the parents who won't help pay for school surely won't be eager to cosign that big loan to make the rates lower. There's also the option of working, but going to school full time while working enough to even try to pay for school is a superhuman feat. You have to be full time to qualify for any decent aid, and must keep a decent GPA...which means only so many work hours can distract from studies. As for the realistic comment...even state schools these days are often out of the price range of many middle-income families. My state school is right around $20,000 a year. Most people don't have that sort of cash laying around...and good luck getting a full ride on grants and scholarships....unless you're a superstar in one way or another...loans will own your soul.

shadowtale of MI 12:15AM December 17, 2010