Why pay for kids college?

[Wampuscat]

A 3-year enlistment in any branch of the military will pay for you a first rate college degree. The whole college experience thing is a waste of time in my opinion. That said, I paid for my Associates Degree working as a contractor 6 days a week and attended school at night. Now I work as a chemical plant operator making twice as much as our chemical engineers who BTW will be paying on their school loans forever.

[gemini2759]

We paid both our son's bachelor's degrees. They both went on to get masters on their own and are on their own doing well. No regrets.

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[Cullstuff]

Why pay for kids college?

To help them get ahead. They will have to maintain grades, part time work, etc as part of the deal. Maybe have them get small manageable loans for skin in the game and learning.

IMO - all the college kids that can’t finds jobs are those that got silly degrees and/or simply choose NOT to work. Those with ridiculous loans probably drug it out a little too long. EVERYONE I graduated with had a job lined up. Our university helped you write a resume, mock interviews, and completely armed you with the tools you needed for a career/find work. I had 2 professors that showed job postings for different companies every week during final senior semester. Seems like there was always a career fair going on where big companies came in to find YOU.

My .02

[EarleyBird]

I can't speak for anyone else, but my thinking is like this....No one told me that I had to go to school so I didn't. Wife and I killed ourselves trying to get to this point in our life.

We value hard work and will expect the kids to have skin in the game, but I want them to have it easier than I did. We have been blessed to the point that our kids have never done without. That is not something I can say about my own upbringing. Food, clothes shoes....these were not things we always had. I don't want them going through that.

My raising taught me that I could do without a lot and that hard work makes most things possible.

My hope and prayer is that my children never have to do without nor work as hard for anything in their life.

I don't see the point in them having to learn the hard way as I did. My children are small and I still have a lot to learn about being a parent but this is my current motivation.

So if you see me driving an old or cheap car and wearing cheap clothes, know that I have two degrees to pay for.

Solid post! Maybe the best one in the thread.

Our oldest son got his Masters in Finance Friday night and never asked for a dime from us. He got through most of his undergrad with scholarships and monthly payments out of his own pocket. He has just under $30k in loans for the whole five years and two degrees. All because we raised him to understand the value of hard work, not to major in minor things, and to have a goal. Our daughter is following the same path. That bad one though, the 17 y/o, says to hell with college; he just wants to work cows and shoe horses. He'll find his little azz in trade school learning HVAC and Refrigeration in about a year! Thing is, the youngest is likely the smartest of the three; he just isn't built for college.

[hopedale]

My opinion is to pay for it if it doesn’t hinder or set back your retirement. No parent is obligated to pay for their kid’s college education. Period.

I was fortunate to be able to pay for both of my sons college but it came with rules.

First, you better make your grades or your *** is coming home and that gravy train is over.

Second, I only paid for their college expenses. This included tuition, books and living expenses. I sat them down and we figured out line item by line item what their monthly living expenses should be and I sent that amount of money to their checking account on the first of every month.

They got zero spending money from me. I told them to get a summer job and whatever they saved from the summer is what they had to party with during the school year. I liked this because it taught them to save and then budget their spending over a period of time.

Both of them came to realize not long after they graduated how fortunate they were to not only have the education they wanted but they got to start their life off debt free. Nearly all of their friends were in a different boat.

I also told them if they decided to pursue a Masters degree I would help with that as well. Neither decided to go that route.


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x2

My oldest just finished, and her sister has about 2 more to go. Everything you've laid out for your boys is spot on.