paying for child's college

[Goldy1]

I was just thinking how ironic that the more I save, the less likely my child will get financial aid one day. My child is a toddler, but just a random thought. Well, that's how it goes;not poor and not rich.
WE make about 55 or so K a year(dh is only one working)so saving for college is kind of tough.

[Frugal]

That is the way it always has been. The more you need financial aid, the less the colleges are willing to give it to you. Sometimes, they give a bunch of aid to those who look poor on paper, but forget the middle-class kids whose parents have no extra money to give them, who are completely on their own paying for college. Nothing is fair in college financial aid...and I have the student loans like so many others- to prove it.

[LuckyRobin]

I hope to be able to directly pay for my kids' colleges, but they know and have known from a young age that they are expected to go to the local state university (and possibly 2 years at the local community college first) because we will get a discount for being both state and county residents. They are good schools, fortunately. We will never qualify for financial aid with DH's income. It has been a fact of our lives for the last five years. Hopefully the kids can get scholarships to help. I had very little help from my parents and I never qualified for aid because of their income. I put myself through by working and getting scholarships, so I know it can be done, but I wish it had been a bit easier.

[Eric80]

Your so right in saving now because by the way things are going the air we now breath we will have to pay for so keep going. Even if it's not much you'll make a huge difference for your toddlers future! Good thinking!

[tripods68]

Sorry to say at that income it's impossible to save for anything let alone for college. I rather see you focus on your retiremet nest egg instead. With inflation and souring college costs in the next decade, it will be far more difficult to afford a 4-year college education anymore. With the slump in the housing market which will take decade and stalled wages the last 30 years, the outlook only gets dimmer and dimmer.

[snafu]

I paid for my university costs, DH paid + scholarships, grants, TA. We have 2 DKs currently in university and while we've helped with transportation and unexpected/extra fees, DSs have a combination of scholarships/grants and worked summers since HSch + part time. 1st two years local community college transfer courses [1st year is all general studies] 3rd & 4th year local U. The may squeak thru without student loans or v/small loan. DS 1 will do grad work away but will work 2 years to fund going to another city.

We see a huge difference between our sons and their friends. Our kids operated their own landscape/services businesses for experience as entrepreneurs, wait staff in better restaurants and bank staff. I think I learned more than our guys who seem to know business rules. Unlike their friends, they took courses that lead to employment...not anthropology, Fine Arts, music appreciation etc.

Several friends didn't have a high enough average 1st year and will need an extra year, but they seem ok as parents are paying the shot! The kids who went to other cities seem more mature as they had to make their own decisions and manage the unexpected results. The other side was we had to listen to the worries of their parents.

I suggest if you have teen, you burn into their psyche that they will need to earn funds for college tuition with your help for extras. They need experiences in the 'real' world for themselves. You don't want to see them leave school with the burden of $90,000. debt.

I was horrified when my kids proudly arrived home with jobs cleaning the local theatre between shows but they got priceless knowledge about working as a team with four others. The best thing about jobs as dishwasher, bus boy and restaurant wait staff was the realization that folks without high school diplomas + journeymen papers or university degrees could be dead ended unless they had financial backing for their dreams. The worst from my perspective was sums earned on tip-out.

[photo]

Don't forget that there are merit-based scholarships available. There are also even "almost free rides" available, but of course, they are very few. There are also thousands of very small scholarships that go unclaimed each year, either because no one qualified for them or no one applied!

I have four kids, and my eldest just graduated this May. Two more are in college now with one still in high school. They've all received various merit-based scholarships paying about 25-35% of total costs. The EFC (Estimated Family Contribution)) is always so ridiculously high for everyone that we quit filling out the FAFSA.

For any parents of upcoming college students, Fastweb.com is one of the greatest sites that covers all kinds of scholarships.