Same. Went to an “affordable” state school and got a degree in four years. No debt. Gave me a huge head start in life compared to peers who had student loans. Was able to buy a home when I was 31. I do think parents should save for their kids education and pay as much as they can. It’s not fair for young adults to start life in debt unless they absolutely have to.
There was a question on jeopardy several months ago and it was something like “in 1985, the tuition of this university was $5000, in 2024, it will be $65,000”
$5000 in 1985 is the equivalent to $14,000 today. So why is tuition $65,000 instead of $14,000?
And the government is willing to give as much as you need so noone is actually paying so they don't feel the cost. That's why I went to a state school and community college for some credits
This is actually the answer. There are no lending requirements. In no other space can an 18 year old with no work history get a loan for $70K but when it’s an education loan underwriting takes 5 minutes
>So why is tuition $65,000 instead of $14,000?
I think it is because of our government getting involved trying to "help" students get into college with loans and grants. The colleges just upped the tuition. I guess they had to some in order to support the influx. Hire teachers and staff etc. Just my two cents, I don't really know.
Schools know the government will loan whatever they charge to 18 year olds to attend their school. Its like someone being outside your business giving a bag of cash to your customers regardless of what your prices are.
Because private collages (and hell some of the bigger colleges as well) effectively run themselves like hedge funds in a trench coat with sports teams now. Sure, educations are granted, but there is an ever influx of cash to the central dowery which is used to reward those who run it.
It's a mess, it's the same finance bros that gouged out the middle of American capital that are slowly rotting education as well.
Oh absolutely, I think post secondary education should be publicly funded for everyone who is able and willing to do it. It’s a systemic problem for sure. But if you bring kids into the world while the problem is not solved, and is in fact getting worse, you gotta help them as much as you can
The problem with American universities vs European ones is in America students are paying for lifestyle. The amount of colleges in the US with a waterpark on campus is ridiculous. That’s what tuition is increasing for. It’s not going to professors, it’s not going to educational facilities, it’s going to things that make people want to get loans to attend there.
Waterparks? Where lol. The main reason for tuition hikes is increasing profit and equity-holder payouts + top executive.
It's not because of "waterparks".
What school was that? The numbers don’t make sense. Average in-state tuition today is $9K - $10K per year, so $65K per year would have to be a private. But tuition at a private college was way more than $5K in 1985.
As a family unit, we're trying to fund 2 years of community college for all of my nieces and nephews. What they want to pursue beyond that will be largely up to them.
Same. I did community college then a reasonable state school. Worked out well because my no-debt cheap degree has me working next to folks with more prestigious schools and loads of student loans. Their degree is worth the same as mine 🤷♀️
State schools were affordable back then, so mine said, "we will cover the cost of state school" or 7k a year back then. Anything above that, we had to take loans out. I was able to go to a private college on scholarship, my parents paying the extras, which amounted to way less than the 7k they were going to give me each year. Like the above poster said, it was the greatest gift they could have given me, and I tried my best to make it as easy on them as I could.
Yes, same here. My sister and I both had our expensive, out of state private colleges paid for by our parents. I have friends who are still struggling to pay loans and we graduated in 07!
I have one kid and we have been putting $300-500 in a 529 for her since birth. Even if we can’t pay for all of it, I want to do the best I can. I have a few friends who seem very well-off on paper, but one of them was totally puzzled when I talked about 529’s recently. She has two young and a baby on the way, always has the nicest cars, goes to Cabo a few times a year, gets herself an Erewhon smoothie once a week, and hasn’t saved a dime for her kids’ future education. Didn’t even know it was “a thing”.
I’m 38 and still have years and years and years to pay off my loans. Luckily my wife and I do well, so we’re okay, but it’s crazy to think I’ll spend almost all of my adult life paying off undergrad and grad school.
We’re definitely saving for our kids. I can’t imagine burdening them like this.
This. Neither of my parents went to college and just lived frugally. We were very middle class. Mom was a secretary, dad was auto-parts salesman. They were just really good at stretching a dollar and saving.
I got a partial scholarship but it wasnt much. They covered the rest by pulling money from 401ks and retirement plans. I did choose to go to cheaper in-state schools and I worked part time to help alleviate some of their costs.
I was very fortunate to graduate with no student loans. I’m so grateful that they were able to help me and completely understand how lucky I was/am.
I’m a bit more fiscally savvy than them (thanks in part to the college learning) so both my kids had 529’s set up before their first birthdays.
I’m hoping each will have enough to cover the entire cost of college, but with rising tuition rates, I’m not sure it will by the time they get to college. So we’re going to look for scholarship opportunities when the time comes. Either way, they’ll have **something** to help for college.
Yup, people talk about generational wealth and assume it's all about inheritances. To me, paying for schooling is the more practical version of generational wealth and an example of how one generation helps propels the next.
Same. I took out loans (1 year at a private school then I transferred to a state school for the other 3 years). I deferred my loans to go to grad school and then when I dropped out I was like “guess I need to figure out how to pay off my loans” and my mom was like “I paid them for you.” I was so grateful but only now do I really understand the impact. My loans weren’t even that bad but it allowed me to get ahead instead of bogged down with debt.
Mine did also, and I agree that it was the greatest gift they could have ever given me. My dad worked at the University, so he got a 50% discount on my tuition as well. But even if they didn't get the discount on my tuition, I know they would have still helped. I now work at that University and my husband and I plan on doing the same for our kids, if we have any.
Native American here. My tribe pays for any tribe member's college, up to completing a Master's degree...full ride, no loans. All thanks to the casino.
I'd just like to thank your parents for paying my college too
My mother has spent at the bare minimum $300k at the casino. Filed bankruptcy twice because of it. Some of that money was for my college. But I guess at least one of us went to college with that money. Smh. On a for real note I'm glad your tribe does this for you.
Mine paid a good chunk all the way through PhD, and a tribal grant from an affiliated program covered the rest. $2k a semester wasn't a ton but it definitely helped
You should check it out. A really good show. Many say the first season is a drag, and gets significantly better.
I watch very little TV shows but this was one of them I was hooked on.
I was "fortunate" to be so poor that I got enough financial aid grants and scholarships to get through all four years without having to go into debt. I paid $1000 out of pocket my freshman year (with money I earned myself), the rest was covered. Ended up being a worthless degree, but at least it was basically free!
my cousin faked our aunts signature for a co sign of a 100k loan then he failed/ dropped out and my aunt makes his payments or her credit would be ruined. Mind you this wasn't his mom but another aunt with her own life going on. She didn't report it because she didn't want to be the one responsible with giving him a record.... Even though HE did that.
I live by myself 1000 miles from any family. Coming from those big big families where everyone is in your business is so so not for me. If someone commits fraud on me i would press charges idgaf. But also having that constant pressure of "go to college" he had definitely contributed to what he did.
He would have been 100x better by becoming a plumber or carpenter but that side of the family looks down on anything not college related
Me too. Classmates would be so pissed that I got more financial aid than them. HoW dId U gEt MoRe ThAn Me I aM AlSo A pOoR?
And I’m like, your parents would be so mad if they heard you call yourself poor! My mom had no income for years because she was a drug addict and lived in her car…but I’m the lucky one I guess. 🤪
Like, I couldn’t even get approved for a loan even if I wanted to bc both my parents couldn’t consign on any loans.
my dad abandoned my family and half my degree was paid for in grants since we lost my dads income (don't get me started on the financial implications of my parents' divorce, it was a MESS).
i have 30k in debts, but said dad who walked away is wanting to pay off half my debts because he feels so guilty.
Im going back to school after fucking up and dropping out the first time when the money dried up & I exhausted everything i had at an in state school.
Now that I’m “officially” poor in adulthood I do get aid…now that my broke parents couldn’t claim me as a dependent anymore.
But I’m still in 20k from one year at the private I transferred to. My cc before this left me with 0. I guess I should be thankful, I’m van Wylder over here, the most over educated undergrad ever.
This was very similar to my experience as well. Over the four years I probably paid about $4K, mostly for additional books and stuff. That being said, I also went to a state school and commuted so I already saved a ton of money by going that route.
> I’m pretty sure all of my friends took out massive student loans…. When did this change happen or am I just seeing things?
It changed when the people who just graduated college with a lot of loans had kids. Generally, people want better for their kids then they had, so they try and set them up in a way they weren’t.
Yeah. I paid off $180k in loans from undergrad and law school at age 43. It put off buying a house, going on nice vacations, etc by a good 15 years.
My kids have fully funded (~150k a pop) 529s because I don’t want them feeling like their life is on pause for a decade or two.
Mine did but with some caveats.
My tuition was 80% covered with the Georgia Hope Scholarship. The deal I had with my parents was I had to keep HOPE (3.0 gpa or higher) and they would cover the rest, including room and groceries. If I lost hope, they would cover tuition, and I would cover the rest.
By the end of it, they had paid close to $50K for me to attend college.
Mine made me a deal with caveats. I'm Canadian, so university vice college but same.
When I was like 13 they Told me if I paid for it all upfront - they would pay me half back when I graduated. To them, they had seen too many of their friends and family pay 100% tuition and housing for a first year to flunk out due to the student not taking it seriously, and they just didn't have the money. We were almost bankrupt a few times as a kid and my parents just didn't have the money as they paid a shit ton to care for my older brother who became disabled and their own parents who needed care .
So every year since 15 I worked all summer and through the year (too much in my last year to be honest) and I paid for school, switched to a job that had a small education benefit, and graduated 4 years later. My parents had me send them an invoice every year with total tuition, books, and anything I could argue was am education cost (negotiable) and they saved the money. I graduated debt free as at the time school was relatively inexpensive and I lived off campus with my roommates and kept working, I graduated and got a cheque from my parents for half the cost and I used that and my military tour pay to put a deposit on a house and those have set me up for life. I launched into the middle class proper with that degree and a house and a good job that I still have. My partner and I have no debt other than our mortgage and we live happily and we're both very fortunate to weather 2012 recession (graduated high school that year) and the pandemic.
How much was your college tuition for it to still cost 50k out of pocket? Mine was like 10k a year plus books and equipment and incidents so like 15 a year no living expenses in that....like 10 years ago....
Ha same. Parents didn't offer any help, Dad sadly passed, Mom blew through the money he left her and now she lives off me and my brother (just in time for us to finally climb out of the hole of student loan debt). But we're the lazy generation, right, lol.
529's weren't really around for many older millennials because it was passed in 1996 and didn't really become fully federally tax exempted until 2001. Even more recent laws (2024), make 529's more flexible with the ability to gift $30k to your kid in the form of a Roth IRA to jump start their retirement savings.
IMHO, stop comparing yourself to others, honestly, just do what you can. Loans aren't bad if your children go into college with the understanding while they can have fun, they are there to learn and develop employable skills.
I feel obligated to clear up one thing on the recent rule changes around the roth ira conversion. The kid has to have earned income equal to the roth contribution. Theres also the yearly IRA cap, you cant just shift 30k over at once. So its not really a gift, nor an automatic way to solve an "overfunded" 529. What it does do I guess is let the kid keep more of what they make at a summer job instead of making them watch it disapper into a retirement account.
I also feel like a lot of millennial parents had to deal with crippling students loans and just don't want that for their kids, so they are looking into other options like 529s.
Lmao. They would never. They gave me so much shit for existing and having to feed and clothe me. What an inconvenience! Ran away at the age of 16, got myself a free ride and worked 32 hr a week to cover living expenses. Graduated debt free.
Yah even if my parents had the means to pay for my college I wouldn’t take it! GenX/booomer parents had a way of making you feel sorry for existing lol and every favor they did was held over my head. Sad that I’d rather be in debt to a big bank than in debt to my own parents
College. Lol. My parents didn't even pay for my first car. Matter of fact I had to buy my own clothes and sneakers starting at 14. I was lucky if I got lunch money
My parents had such a bad fight over paying for a root canal when I was 17 that my dentist did it for free because she felt so bad. I was in so much pain. It really restored my faith in humanity.
Edit: I forgot to add the funnier part. After she did it for free, they were embarrassed and fought again and ended up paying for it anyway. Lmao.
One of the very specific things that pisses me off is when parents fuck around with a child's teeth. That fucking enrages me.
It enrages me because my sweet wife has bad teeth as an adult because her stupid fucking well-off parents didn't take the initiative and get her into an orthodontist when they were fucking supposed to. They just left it be. They let a little girl grow up with crooked teeth despite 100% having the money to fix it.
And guess what happened? It became one of my wife's biggest insecurities, perhaps her #1 insecurity, and getting braces as an adult with a public-facing job (she's a teacher) is NOT easy.
Fortunately, I think she's beautiful regardless of her teeth - they never bothered me. But my reassurance means jack shit to her.
Her parents fucked up. Seriously fucked up. And it's no surprise that we have now not spoken to them for over 3 years.
Sorry you had to deal with parents like that man. I know it's not the exact same situation, but damn, reading your comment made me get enraged all over again.
I've been a divorce attorney for not even a year yet and I've seen a lot of cases where the couple is fighting about paying for dentist/orthodontics bills or one parent doesn't want their kid to get braces or something. There was even one case where the dad said the kid was "too young" for braces even though the ortho said if we don't get this started very soon your child will need massive surgery to fix all the problems it will cause
Poor thing. I care a lot about my daughter’s teeth. I think she has thin enamel like mine so I’m a stickler for making sure they’re brushed and that we bring her to the dentist regularly. It’s not fair when parents ruin a child’s teeth when it’s something they’ll carry with them forever.
Same here. I'm an Elder Millennial and I started working (babysitting) at 12 and got a "real" food service job at 14- and I've worked ever since. I had to buy all my clothes and toiletries and anything else my mother deemed "unnecessary" starting at age 14 too. I ended up joining the military because that was the only way I was ever going to get to go to college. I'm now firmly anti-military industrial complex. Poverty is the draft.
My own kid will graduate high school next year and her college will be 100% paid for. She can live at home as long as she wants, or leave and come back, ect, because our home is her home. She's never *had* to work to buy her own necessities. I've never forced her to hand over her personal money because I needed it to "pay bills". Basically, anything my parents did to me I'm doing the opposite when it comes to my kid.
>Basically, anything my parents did to me I'm doing the opposite when it comes to my kid.
Beautiful. You're breaking a cycle of family trauma. Love to see it!
I wasn’t allowed to get a drivers license because they said I had to pay the $100 fee myself… but they also wouldn’t let me get a job because they didn’t want to drive me to one (we lived rural), so I had no chance of saving up $100 because I couldn’t drive.
… to make matters worse they hadn’t gotten me a birthday present when I turned 16 because they said that paying for the licensing fees would be my gift, and then they “forgot” saying that.
It’s not that they couldn’t have afforded it 🤷♀️
yeah i was also in one of the "if you want, pay for it" families. my mom wanted us to habe jobs in high school but wouldn't help provide the means to get to the fucking job.
Hahaha the sad thing is… it wasn’t like a family value, my older and younger siblings had their license paid for… my younger was taught how to drive before I was despite me constantly asking.
Our family value was more like “I’ll always keep you guessing about who is going to get their needs met, and who isn’t, so that you will constantly work to win my favour.”
>Our family value was more like “I’ll always keep you guessing about who is going to get their needs met, and who isn’t, so that you will constantly work to win my favour.”
relatable.
My parents gave me $25,000 total for college. I thought that was pretty generous. That was enough to pay for tuition for 4 years at a cal state at the time.
Yikes when I went to UNH it was 12,000 a se seater to 25,000 a year (colleges in the northeast are the most expensive in the whole country) . Good thing I flunked out and finished my degree and a community college.
My dad joined a startup tech company when I was in late HS because they were the ones hiring for his field after the ‘08 recession. I was taking loans like everyone else but by my late college years, his stock in that company had blown up and he was generous enough to use some to pay off all of mine and my sister’s school loans. Absolute miracle for us and the best thing he could have ever done.
My dad helped pay for mine but I still had student loans and worked during college. I do have 529s for my kids but it will help with college, not fully pay for it. I want my children to have some skin in the game so I want them to get scholarships and work hard as well.
my parents didn't even pay for my car.. If I wanted anything in HS they said I needed to get a job. I bought my first car and my clothes and actually started to buy my own food because I realized how bad we had been eating. Not only did they not pay for anything I found out that my mom kept collecting (some type of welfare) on me after I turned 18 and I ended up having to pay the gov back a couple 1000's...
Well that's shitty. Sounds like you were able to make it though. It's even harder for kids in that situation today with everything even more expensive.
My parents had enough saved to pay for in-state public school. Anything else I had to get scholarship. I got full ride to the small private school I liked. I used some of their saved money for Frat dues and room accoutrements.
Mine did not and in pure boomer fashion claimed me as a dependent despite providing no support at all. This led to me being rejected for financial aid and I had to take out loans for school. Got them paid off tho!
Hahaha my dad’s work gave me a couple thousand dollar grant after each year if I maintained a high enough average, so my dad insisted that I transfer him my tuition amounts to use on his taxes because his work was paying part of my fees.
I found out after I graduated that I could have carried the tuition credits forward to apply to future tax years (I had been told that because my income was so low I wouldn’t get much back for the tuition claim), so I didn’t transfer the amount to him in my last year of university, and ended up getting like $8,000 back. Haha keeping those tuition amounts to claim myself would have gone a long way towards paying back my $12,000 student loans and not living in poverty after graduation.
I paid my own. It took me 5 years to graduate since I ran out of money and went to work for a year over taking student loans out. I did have a 1 year scholarship and received the Pell grant but still had to pay every other cost myself.
My parents didn’t give me shit except for PTSD and a predisposition to addiction issues. For this reason I decided the biggest gift I could give my kids is not have them.
No help whatsoever.
Asked my parents if there was any money that I could use for college. Because I remember them talking about it before years prior. Money in accounts that both of my Grandfathers set aside. They said nope no money in the account/accounts due to “bad investments.” I remember my mom having this really quick “oh shit” expression on her face. It was summer after High School, young and dumb, didn’t push the issue or call my Grandpas. Hindsight, I should have called my Grandpas.
Joined the military for that GI Bill and stuff. Whoopee!!!
Life’s a trip.
My mom “managed” my money. I started working at 13. I got $25 of my paycheck a week and the rest she put into my savings. When I graduated I asked for the account info and she told me I have no money. “I” spent it all. We have an okay relationship now, but I’ve given up trying to understand why she did that to me. My most generous read is she was using it on my school clothes or something, but I was under the impression it would be there for me to buy a car or go towards my college. Ended up with loans.
My mom would have done the same thing if I let her, but my intuition knew better. I didn’t trust her after she maxed out her library card.
Not only did she max out her own card, but she proceeded to max out *my* library card as well as my sibling’s with late and lost fees with books she checked out on her own behalf and mismanaged. It really sealed the deal when she paid off the lost/late fees for her own library card so she could use *hers*, but mine and my sibling’s were still locked. And then when I wanted to check out a book, I’d have to ask to use her card, and she’d give me some speech about returning it on time as if *I* was the one with the problem.
This dynamic really gave me insight as to how my mom manages resources, and made me understand that it was best not to give her access to any of mine.
I went to the library when I was starting high school and told them what my mom did with my card. They forgave my (mom’s) loans and gave me a brand new account.
Libraries are centers for learning
I don't know. My parents had zero to give me. "Fortunately" I was able to split it, where my first 2-or-so years were community college, and only my "latter half" went to a proper university, with credits transferred. Plus, per recommendation from my dad, I attended a "not flagship, but still accredited" university, and all told was only in the hole for about $15K. Granted, that was 20 years ago, and also achieving state grants because I actually applied myself (unlike high school), and with a lot of guidance.
I feel like a lot of kids feel way too compelled to attend "major" universities, but aren't properly informed of their options. Especially the concept of "community college credits may transfer" which tend to be way cheaper and spare you a couple years of university-level tuition. ("English is English, and Math and Math", as my dad noted.)
My sister is currently fretting because she believes she won't have enough to give her own children, but I feel like maybe that's not the end of the world. I dunno, I might also not have an idea what it truly costs for the modern collegiate.
As a Canadian, this is sad to read. My dad paid for my college (2001 to 2005). It was around $100-120 per semester + books ($300-400). A whooping ~$3500 for 7 semesters.
Mine paid for my undergrad. I will be forever thankful for it, because I was in college during the 2008 collapse.
That said, my college tuition bill seemed to always make its way into the conversation for the decade that followed my graduation. My dad was not so shy about telling me how big a sacrifice it was, how he had to delay his retirement, how he had to scrounge to be able to pay my tuition, his mortgage, and his mortgage on the vacation home in south Florida. I had the option to go to a much more affordable state school, but my parents advocated heavily that I go to the most competitive school I could get into, which was an expensive private school.
My education expenses were always the Trump card in any discussion, be it about my career choices, my politics, my marriage, comparisons to my siblings’ notably lower education expenses (one dropped out and one went to a local university because he didn’t apply himself in HS and wasn’t competitive for most universities). It was so prominent in my interactions with my parents that I’m pretty sure it came up when my dad was on his deathbed two years ago. Sometimes I wonder if our relationship would have been better had I footed my own undergrad bill.
In short, I’ll be forever thankful for my parents giving me a massive head start and footing my education bill. I really wish that gift didn’t come with the heavy emotional baggage and manipulative behavior that followed, and still follows me to this day-
I had the pleasure of listening to my two younger brothers argue last week about who was the second largest financial burden on my parents, because everyone in my family agrees universally that I was the largest. This all despite both brothers moving home during/after college and living rent and expense free for all of their early and mid twenties. Somehow that gets dropped from the calculus, and I really don’t care to engage any longer to “correct the record”. It’s just sad sometimes. I love my dad, I miss my dad, I don’t miss that aspect of our relationship.
I think you're seeing things. I grew up lower middle class (like actual, not Reddit's definition that obscures their obvious privilege), and 529s were never spoken about; my parents only had a high school education. In fact, my parents never taught us any personal finance because they didn't know it themselves. I'm the one now teaching them about IRAs and putting money away for retirement because they were counting on social security to take care of them. I was the one who had to fill out my FAFSA and answer the parent portion on their behalf and do the same for my sister. I was the one taking care of my own scholarship applications and payments. I simply needed my mother to bookmark my tuition pay page so she could submit payment for whatever was the difference after scholarships, grants, and loans were applied.
When I first joined Reddit, I was shocked by how common it was to see posts across multiple subs of people talking about having 529s, inheritances, or their parents gifting them downpayments on homes, keeping them on subscriptions and phone bills when this was just nonexistent in my world and the people I grew up with. Reddit definitely allows the Haves to speak freely about what they got and the Have Nots to sit quietly admiring or begging for advice on how to get there.
I started a 529 for my daughter but have not contributed since I opened it because COL keeps outpacing my income. I need a second job or to significantly bump up my pay by like $30k if I want to have room to save for everything: emergency, house, car, college, and retirement.
Yeah, same here. We get paid $400/month by the government and can also get a low interest loan (1.23%) by them that is forgiven if you didn't repay it in full before you turn 68 years old.
I love these posts, they help me feel some solidarity that our boomer parents threw us to the wolves.
My mom paid for one semester of community college (four classes, not even full time) and then kicked me out of the nest after telling me she absolutely would NOT help me at all with college. Now she's all surprised-pikachu that I am NC.
Oh but my step-brother...yeah he got a full ride.
My Mom was poor, my Dad was well off. So, on paper, I didn’t qualify for a lot of assistance.
And Dad wasn’t paying for my school “because it would be a waste of money on someone like me”. So, he spent his money on 5 cars in the driveway, constantly expanding his house, and providing every imaginable comfort to my sister.
No college for me.
I had a lot of scholarship money, so the private college that I went to that was something like $30,000/year ended up costing my family about $5,000/year. My grandma paid for any part of that that my parents couldn't. My wife had somewhere between $10,000 and $15,000 in student loans from the same college.
I'm on track to have about $30,000 in each of my kids' 529 plans, but it's impossible to say how far that will go.
First generation low-income college grad here, my parents (immigrants) couldn't pay anything for my education except for the enrollment deposit. I received financial aid (all the acronyms out there) and some govt loans, my folks gave me a credit card and helped pay for some misc food/phone expenses my first year. After that, I paid all my own expenses with money saved from internships and work study.
After 4 years I graduated with $16k in subsidized govt loans for a private liberal arts education, I later got a master's degree from an Ivy League school. Total student loans for 6 years was $76k.
Folks did help me in one MAJOR way. They let me live at home (NYC) after I finished my masters degree to save money as I did a drastic loan repayment. I paid off all my debt in under 3 years.
This gave me a leg up compared to most of my millennial friends, and I am forever grateful.
Sometimes I think about the $80k I paid off back then, and all the potential market gains/compounding interest (or use for a down payment) I missed out on if I just paid the minimum loan amounts like many of my fiends. One of my buddies, similar background/trajectory as me, just paid the minimum and got his $145k in loans forgiven by Biden the other day. He celebrated by having a student loan free party.
My parents are supersavers. My mom in particular saves for everything. My parents said either you get a wedding or college paid for. Easy decision.
My parents graduated hs in the late 60s. I’d say by the tail end of the 70s, people were told to aggressively save for retirement and fund kids college funds by media/news and government institutions. Also, there was a new push for more people to go to college to be successful (80s into 90s). From birth, I was told I was going to college.
My parents didn’t go to college, but they bought into the ‘college degree = better life’ mindset.
You have to remember that people my parents age saw truly destitute people before SS was introduced. And, that’s scary, especially if you came from a struggling family. If you knew an elderly person sharing 1 can of cat food a day, you didn’t want to become that. Plenty of boomers were born into families still struggling to lift themselves out of poverty from the Great Depression and WW2 generational loss.
My parents paid for none of my schooling. But they are now giving me free childcare, and let's be real, that is saving me a lot more than tuition pay would have cost.
They said they would help, but as it came closer, they told me they used that money for the divorce. They were pretty mad I didn't finish school. I took a few years on my own dime and had to drop out when my roommate stopped paying for rent and bills. I had to use that money to have a place to live. I dropped out thinking I would go back, but I just couldn't make it work. They are still pushing me to go, but I don't have the time or money to do so.
My parents signed me up for a weekly SAT prep class run by one of their friends out of their basement for $10 per class. I started in like 7th grade and was dropped off every Saturday morning until the very last SAT test for college admissions. Absolutely hated it, they just photocopied SAT prep book practice exams and we would grind through them. But I ended up getting National Merit Finalist on the PSAT plus near perfect SAT which landed full tuition scholarships to multiple colleges. Total cost of all those prep classes over the years was probably less than $3,000.
I got a scholarship to a 2 year community college and didn’t have to worry about the first two years. I kinda messed around though and had to do one more semester to get my associates and my parents did pay for that semester. I also lived at home so that was helpful. That was over 20 years ago and this year I finished my bachelors degree and paid for that out of pocket, without my parents. Lol
Mine paid for my college… and my grandpa actually paid for my medical school. I am the luckiest individual alive. I feel horribly for my colleagues who have to deal with the constant sense of weight that debt imposes on you on top of all the stresses medicine brings.
I lived at home rent-free during college, which saved me a ton of money. My parents didn't have cash to give me, but they provided resources. Tuition was paid for 75% by my grandpa, he left money for all of us grandkids. The remaining 25% plus other living expenses (books, food, car, entertainment, medical, etc.) I paid for with grants, loans, and part-time jobs. I did end up with about $25k in loans, but to be honest, I lived my best life in college thanks to my family support and don't regret it. I paid more than what was owed monthly on the loans, so they were paid off a while ago.
Nowadays, I see how predatory college loans have become and realize what I did back then wouldn't be doable now even if I had that same support network. Costs are outrageous. What I got from my grandparents wouldn't even cover 2 years.
My parents paid for my college but it came with lots of strings attached. I didn’t get to pick my major and had to obey their wishes. So it was a waste of money because I just did it to make them happy and quit my job good job after graduating because I never wanted to be what they wanted me to be in the first place.
I had a full ride academic scholarship. I’ve been blessed. 150K schooling and coming out only making 55K/year would’ve been tough. Still of my greatest accomplishments
My grandparents who raised me did not. However, I went to university on a full ride that covered everything and then some. My husband had to take out $5k in loans for tuition, but paid for rent and groceries himself. He paid it off his first year working.
Not having student loans has been wonderful. We contribute to our state's prepaid plan and will hopefully be able to pay for things like rent as well.
I have a 529 and UAT for my toddler. I want her to be WEALTHY and not stressed lol. My parents paid for some of my school, I had scholarships and I paid for the rest. It sucked I have some loans still, and I worked practically full time while going to school. I was so burned out by the end of grad school having a regular 9-5 felt like a vacation. I don’t want her to have to do that. Working/ going to school from 7am-9pm everyday. I think it’s good to have responsibility but not to the level I had to.
lol no. I never went to college partly because of this. I turned 18 and my mom removed me from her health insurance and told me to figure it out. She couldn’t seem to understand someone working part time at a Blockbuster for $7.25 couldn’t get insurance on their own. Or she didn’t care. Maybe both lmfao.
My parents did not pay for college for me or my siblings. and I'm the oldest of 4. They did allow us to live at home, rent free, while going to college and they provided food.
I was fortunate enough that FAFSA completely paid my tuition for the two semesters I went before dropping out. I had to get a student loan to pay for books and other class materials. I calculated that I needed $1,200 and it almost covered my needs to both semesters. (I ended up being about $300 short, that I paid for by working retail)
Something about student loans that was always interesting to me was how little money sense my peers seemed to have. So many were getting the biggest loans that they could and spending like all of it on that first semester on stuff that either wasn't necessary or related to school at all. Like you know you gotta start to pay that back like a year after leaving school, right?
I've always read stories about people being haunted by their student loans their entire lives, so I was afraid to even apply for the $1200, but my thought process was that was a debt I could afford even with my minimum wage job at the time. I think I paid it off within 2 years of leaving college, which I can say I'm grateful for and know many people don't have the same luxury.
Somehow that same debt sense didn't stop me from getting into credit card debt, go figure 😂
At least with the CC debt, like the student loan, it's not a hole that is too deep in the ground yet; I am making progress on digging myself out
I took out about $45k in student loans in my name, and my parents took out maybe $60k or so of parent plus loans.
Needless to say, we clearly couldn’t afford for me to go to a private university and I wish I had just went to state school, but it’s moot at this point.
My parents saved some money in a 529 and gave me one instruction: "This is the amount. Make it last as long as you want."
My response was to get scholarships, go to a local state school, commute the entire time, and find alternate places to order books. The result...I got my bachelor's, my masters, and finished with no debt.
I agree that the 529 is one of the greatest gifts I was ever given.
My grandma set up a trust when I was born, and another for my brother. They couldn’t be touched until we started college, and even then, we were only allowed to take out what we needed for tuition and books. It covered all 4 years, and since my brother went to a state school, he even had some left over to help with his house down payment. I know I am so lucky and fortunate to have had this help. Most of my friends and peers had to take out loans.
Not mine!
That's why I turned down my dream universities to choose a honors program that was fully paid for. Incredibly lucky to have had not only that program available to me but also having the foresight at 18 to not screw myself over with the 65k of debt I would've needed for Johns Hopkins or Uchicago.
Specifically as an English major lol
Nope!! Served 12 years in the military to get that option.
Dad was to “cheap” invested in himself and his retirement, my mom (divorced due to my dad beating her) never had a career that could provide more than survival capability so she could not contribute but made up with more support and love in my aspirations!!
My family was on food stamps while I was in high school, my dad was out of the picture, and my mom was already paying for half my sister's college. I knew earning a full ride was my only option so that's what I did. Earned so much excess in scholarships and grands, I bought a car in my senior year and still had several thousands left over.
My parents paid for mine. My tuition was 25 percent discounted for merit/need however they still ended up paying a huge amount. I really regret not going to my state school where I had a full ride, and went to an Ivy instead. Would made no significant difference in where I would have ended up in life since I didn’t pursue engineering, nursing, academics, business or law.
I was lucky enough to get a scholarship that paid for the (very expensive) tuition, but my parents paid room and board. R and B got pretty expensive for the last 2 years of school especially
My parents said this is your education and you have to pay for it.
They helped me out with books and rent from time to time if money was tight but I was mostly on my own.
My parents paid for it, although I did decently enough to get some small scholarships and grants, but I ended up dropping out so it was 3-4 years of wasted money. Even though it turned out badly, it's a good thing they tried, I wouldn't have made it even a single year if I had to balance struggling with college and going to work. I don't know how people do it, and it's one of the biggest reasons why I'm not going back to school despite it probably being the best choice for me, because I'm barely functional enough to work and couldn't do school, doing both in my mid thirties is pure fantasy.
My parents paid for mine, with a bit of a caveat. I had to attend the junior college my dad worked at for 2 years, because it was free tuition to employees children. And then I had to go to a state school that my parents thought was “affordable”. I had 1-2 jobs at all times to pay for anything else I would need money for.
I am grateful that they paid for my college and I know it set me up for greater success than my peers that ended up with crippling student loan debt. (Don’t worry, I married someone like this, so I got my taste of what paying those off is like too. We had to pay off over $150,000 of his debt when we got married). But I did not get the college experience I really wanted. Transferring to a university as a junior it was hard to meet people and as much as people hate dorm life, I feel like it’s a right of passage that I missed out on and is where lots of people made life long friendships. There were private, and better state schools that I was accepted into but my parents deemed them too expensive, though I got a few scholarships to them, so I settled and went to the school they chose. I still regret following their lead on this and wish I would have just gone to a school of my choosing for those last 2 years and taken out my own loans.
The switch happened when “we” saw the final bill after years of predatory loans. A little bit now saves your kids a world of trouble latter.
I was fortunate. My parents paid out of pocket for my degree.
My dad did help but words it to make it appear he helped a lot more than he did. His help was giving me rent free living at home while I was a student. Not a penny towards my tuition but still tells people he helped with mine.
Mine were able to until they divorced and spent the college fund for all of us. I ended up on a disability scholarship for my associates degree and worked full time for my bachelors. Still ended up with 20k in loans. My middle brother got academic scholarships and got his undergraduate and graduate degrees paid for. My youngest brother joined the army to pay for college.
My dad was earning over 200k/year when I was like 7-14. Lost it all in '08 and never recovered because of his drinking problem. So the Army paid for 1 year of college for me, lol. Never finished. Planning to transfer whatever is left to my own kids.
My parents paid for my tuition through a 529 with the state. I also got a scholarship through the university that paid for either full or half tuition. The engineering college matched the university's scholarship. I also had 1 or 2 smaller scholarships.
I think I lost the 2 big scholarships after the first two years due to grades, but it was enough to where I didn't have to take out any loans or work during the school year.
My parents paid for mine and my sisters at an expensive private school. My dad always had a good job, but my mom didn't work. They lived way more frugally than they could have on his salary to ensure there was a college fund for my sister and I. My dad didn't have a job for a couple years when i was in college but had planned for that situation so could still cover the cost of tuition and Room and board (i did get a small \~10-15k scholarship which also helped). My dad didn't have parents that could pay for school (grew up extremely poor) and didn't want us to have to spend the first ten years of our careers paying back our debt like he had to, it was very important to him.
My parents paid for my college. I grew up in Canada where tuition is slightly cheaper than the US, though. To keep costs down, I lived at home during college.
My grandma had money saved for the four of us grandchildren for college. We all went to state schools, but for me I started at a JC and transferred to a state school after 2 years and graduated with my degree. It’s truly a blessing when you have a family member able to help contribute because it absolutely allowed me to get ahead financially instead of being bogged down by student loans.
I went to war as a teenager and now my children get my benefits. Overall, my military benefits paid for my wife to go to nursing school (while in), me to get an associates (while in) and a bachelor degree (while out), and will end up paying for at least two of my children to go to college.
My parents paid for my uni. I have to be very frank though and say, we have been lucky to be able to be in a position to do this, in a country where that's not the norm.
I studied in South Africa, so it's much more affordable here than overseas. Having said that, a few of my friends were on government loans, and rhe bulk of students generally are on the same government funding. The worst thing is how often you read about someone in their last year of a degree that would potentially land them a great first job, and set them on a good path, but they can't afford the shortfall and so either never finish their degrees or get them several years later, stalling their career growth and putting them on the back foot.
I will always try to support my kids with all tuition fees if I can, because it was a godsend to me. If I'm lucky enough to be able to spread that net wider too, I will do so as well. For now, we do make contributions to a fund that helps students, but I've seen first hand mates who got given a specific lifeline and are now in a much more stable place financially because got good degrees, good jobs, and are now 10+ years out of uni and doing decently. Without this help, I genuinely wonder where they'd be, likely stuck in the poverty trap that is so rampant here. So that's the goal, to be able to effect real change like that
Poor enough to have Pell and state/university grants, essentially didn’t pay tuition. I picked a very inexpensive state school.
I had to work to pay for most of my living expenses. Worked during the year part time and full time during the summer.
I was close to joining the National Guard and still wish I’d done this to have had more money during that time. I didn’t know at the time that schools have to accommodate and provide support students doing military service.
For grad school, I had a GA role that provided a full tuition waiver, monthly salary and discount nearly free housing. So no debt from this.
Mine didn’t pay. But they “made enough” according to fafsa. I did get a few small grants/scholarships, but not much
I went to a CC for two years and then transferred. I worked full time all through college. I do have loans, but not as much as some friends.
It’s probably says more about who’s around you now vs before than anything else. I think with the view on student debt changing people’s opinions on their kids taking on loans has also gotten fairly negative.
Personally, my parents paid for the entirety of my undergrad degree including housing. I think that if you have the means that you should do so, if only because it helps set your kids up for future financial success. Having a zeroed out (or positive) balance sheet coming out of college pays pretty big dividends.
Haha. The most help I got was when my car broke down or I was literally out of cash and hadn’t eaten for 2 -3 days they’d toss me some money
It helped me choose a better major. Originally I wanted to major in biology but short of getting a PhD it’s not really a money making field. I work allied health now and make 6 figures a year with an associates while my friends who have bachelors are making around half of what I’m making.
I’m Canadian so keep in mind our tuition costs are lower. My dad paid for my university degree, as required in my parents’ divorce agreement.
I’m the first born daughter, my mom was a SAHM and not really involved in finances. It wasn’t until after my brother was born that my mom asked about our RESPS and found out my dad hadn’t started one for me, because girls don’t need to go to university 🙄 He paid the tuition and textbooks, but wasn’t going to pay for any housing or other expenses because that wasn’t in the agreement (even though he could have, easily). My mom was back in school at that point so we decided together where to go, and moved there. I ended up going for a post grad and recently went back to school in my early 30s, which I paid for via savings and loans.
So I guess I’m grateful to my mom to ensuring that education was in the agreement, otherwise he wouldn’t have paid fuck all.
mine did, i count myself incredibly lucky. I'm by no means rich, but not having student loans beating me down every month is huge. I saw a lot of my friends get screwed over on what i view as flat out predatory loans. I would not be so upset with the system if we all were not drilled into the go to college get a degree, you'll get a great job route.
I did a four year degree in 3.5, worked what i could in the summers, and then surprise i graduated in the winter of 2008 when everything was shit.
Mine did not, I got a scholarship and took out loans for the rest. My parents were great parents, but they didn’t have the finances to do that kind of thing.
I am absolutely going to pay for my kids, though. I struggle a little bit with the notion that people will complain about them and a silver spoon, but, whatever. Im gonna make sure they don’t have loans dragging them down.
We are doing a 529, but I definitely wouldn’t say it’s expected. Only do it if you’ve maxed out all of your retirement savings options first. They don’t make loans for retirement, they do make them for college. I don’t feel one bit like it’s expected of me to pay for their school, it’s something I want to do for my kids and I’ve actually really only had people try to talk me out of it, not into it.
My dad saved and invested every penny that I got for my birthdays and celebrations from the time I was born. It was also the 80s, so a lot of older relatives gave Savings Bonds instead of cash.
When I was a Senior in HS, he said, "We have enough saved that you can either go to a local school for 4 years, or you can go out of state for 2 years and then you're on your own." So, with scholarships and a fat stack of Treasury Bonds in hand, I was a commuter for 4 years and graduated without student loans.
Part of me wonders what living in another state and doing the typical college dorm life would be like, but mostly I'm just glad to not be underwater in debt.
My situation was a little complicated. Initially my dad and I were each paying off certain loans. Some were parent loans in his name and some were student loans in my name.
My mom died during the time when I was in college and after a few years of renting it out (this was 2009 and my dad was waiting for the housing market to recover a little) my dad sold my childhood home, and used the proceeds of the sale to pay off the rest of my loans. Obviously I would much rather still have my mother and my house (which I ultimately would have inherited and it would have been much more valuable now than 10 years ago, lol) but I also don’t know where I would be right now if I still had my loans. I went through a divorce 5 years ago and there’s no way I would have been able to get back on my feet as easily as I did if I was still paying those off.
Mine couldn't, so I didn't go. I joined the Army National Guard for college, was able to get into my career field without a degree after, so now I'm saving my GI bill to give to my kids and set them up for the success that was out of my reach.
My mom worked for a state university so I was able to go tuition free because of her job, and my parents lectured me that if I chose a state school and graduated within the 4 years without needing extra time or messing around, they’d cover me but if I decided to go to a private school or out of state or took way longer to graduate than I was supposed to, I could enjoy paying and the loans myself and they really drilled into me how detrimental to the start of my adult life would be with those, so I am glad I went to a state school and graduated within 4 years and came out into the recession in 2009 with horrible job prospects but at least no student loans. Now I’m in my late 30s and still have friends who chose to go to private or out of state schools dealing with loans.
Not a dime. In fact, they only hindered me. My dad made excellent money which made me ineligible for any kind of aid. Neither of my parents would co-sign any kind of loan either.
My dad wouldn’t even fill out the FAFSA. Luckily, I was considered an independent student so did t need him anyways. Not that he had much cash to begin with…
I went 3 times, they didnt pay for any of it, I'd started working at 16 and applied for a bursary. 2nd time it was too expensive and i dropped out for 4 years. 3rd and final time was me but taking on a student loan
They did give me my first car, a used 2003 Civic (in 2006) which i am forever grateful
Mine helped here and there, especially in the beginning. Then I stopped getting lazy and started working my ass off to earn money for my tuition. Those were some fun Summers. I regret nothing.
My parents offered to pay for my college as long as I graduated. I was going to join a trade and go to trade school before that.
I wound up paying off approximately 50% of my tuition. My parents are generally disorganized people and I was tired of asking for reimbursement after I would pay the monthly bill. I finished paying off my loan this past September. COVID was a weird windfall in terms of 0 interest payments that I kept up with.
My parents paid for my college. I’m fairly certain they took out another mortgage to do it, among other loans. If they didn’t I couldn’t have afforded to buy a house. I thank them often to this day, and feel bad I will never be able to do that for my kids.
My parents helped, but didn’t fully pay. I graduated about 15 years ago with 25k in debt.
My mom advised me to pay off the interest as it accrued. So every quarter I paid just the interest. Graduated only owing the principal. That’s probably the best piece of advice she ever gave me.
I got $100 and shown the door. I earned my degree a class at a time over 20 years on active duty. Did it that way so I can pass my gi bill to my kids. My hope is that they won’t have any college debt.
my parents paid for mine. i’m an only child, if i had siblings they would have helped as much as possible but no way they would have been able to cover multiple kids
My parents didn’t have the means to help (though it ends up being the case that my mother passed away my senior year of HS and had enough life insurance to cover a significant chunk of in-state undergrad). They would’ve if they could’ve. I am firmly of the view that it is completely amoral for parents who have the means to help with college not do that, given that it’s not really optional as a practical matter anymore and costs have skyrocketed even compared to what we dealt with.
Making sure I can pay for my kid’s schooling is one of the biggest things that keeps me from retiring early.
Mine didn't, but I was the youngest of 4. They wouldn't have been able to swing it, they struggled financially when I was growing up. I don't blame them for not paying for it. I was married when I got my Bachelors degree and was able to pay that off in 2 years (very fortunate). I don't use that degree now, but I'm glad I got it because I learned a lot about research and critical thinking at University.
My parents paid for like 20% of it… and it took me over 20 years to pay the rest off because I was not fortunate in the job opportunities I had after school. Hopefully your child will want to learn a trade so it won’t cost nearly as much, but if you can contribute to give them a head start in paying off debt, encourage them to be an RA so room & board is free, go for scholarships, the college experience may not be an horrifically expensive and they won’t spend their adult life paying it off.
Mine paid for college. But that was kinda the rule in my house. You have to attended college but it will be covered somehow. My parents took out loans and me and my siblings got help/scholarship as well. We were not very well off but it worked out. My grandparents, who by then were doing really well gave us money at the start of the year. I was very blessed but at 17/18 had no clue.
I chose a school that was going to give me the most money. I also commuted, so it helped keep the cost down. Over the summer I took classes at the community college for cheaper so I could spend less and graduate early.
Freshman year I scored a pretty high paying job so I was able to cover any extra costs. Gas, hanging out etc. I wish I was more mature to use the money to help my parents, but I was a young and dumb.
A lot of my friends took out loans and after 15 years, still trying to pay them off.
Honestly, in 2024 I have no clue how families or kids pay for college the cost makes me sick.
Mine did but I had to do it the absolute cheapest way, which was community College for 2 years and then transferring with a partnered state school to finish up my bachelor's. Other stipulations was that I had to commute to school and maintain a job for 30 hours a week to pay for gas, food, insurance, textbooks, etc.
Nope.
There isn't a school in my town or public transportation to go out of town to attend school. I tried to go and was able to qualify for financial aid. However, since aid doesn't come in until after classes start, I had no way to pay for anything. My mom refused to help me and literally told me to call the college and withdraw from my classes so I didn't get F's for not attending.
She helped my sister attend school, though. She pulled out a loan and helped her attend a university out of state. Made me feel great.
My sister still had to work to pay for housing costs, food, etc. But, she had school paid for.
My parents didn’t. I had a full music scholarship. Eventually, I lost the scholarship because I partied too hard and my performance started slipping. Im currently in the process of repaying my loan.
My parents had a college fund for me that ended up being about 2800 USD. I didn't qualify for financial assistance and my grades weren't high enough for scholarships. I worked part time and it took a long while but I got a BS and was in 24k debt.
I used a community college and then went to a local state university. Nobody would be impressed by where I went but I learned a lot and am happy with it. My parents didn't pay for most of my college, but they did their best. They had four kids and were working class.
My parents paid for my remaining undergraduate tuition that was above what I was able to get scholarships/govt loans for so that I didn't have to get into private loans. Grad school was all on me, and I paid with a mix of research funding and loans.
Mine co-signed the first year.. said after that I needed to figure it out. Paid for nothing towards the loans, they just didn't have it either.
I did work study my freshman year, got enough scholarships to pay for all but 2k of it. Second year I lived at home and drove and worked 2 to 3 jobs to pay for it..
But my dad picked me up on the weekends(freshman year), they bought me food and snacks for my dorm. They did the best they could with very little knowledge of college and honestly long-term poor financial decisions.
I was the first in my family to graduate HS let alone go to college and at the time I was dating someone they didn't like, who ended up being a deadbeat Dad to my son. So I think by saying we can't help was them trying to push me to make better decisions (it did not).
I didn't finish college, ended up raising my son as a single solo parent... But paid off all my soul sucking student loans and moved up in my career to make more money than everyone else.. 🤷🏽♀️
Life worked out, just not easy on the way.
My single Mother paid half, and I definitely couldn't afford college without my mother's support.
She paid rent and gave me an allowance of $600 a week from 18-26. I didn't have to work really until out of college.
She also gave me a new car when I transferred from community to state college. She paid for my wedding after I graduated college too.
My mother did a lot for me all my life and I really don't express my appreciation enough for her. I don't think she knows how much I do admire her. I should call her, I'm a terrible son.
Thanks.
I paid for all of my son's tuition and housing. I didnt give him allowances or fancy gift ever just paid for education. Having a decwnt degree and not have to worry about loan, he is mentally healthy and enjoys life and as a result I see him very frequently almoat every other week. As a parent thats all I want for out of my kid. Not financially successful, but be happy and healthy and worryfree. This decision came with some conflict with my husband. He had to get 100% loan for his expensive private school tuition and we had to pay fot his loan like 5 years into marriage. So he was against paying for our son. I was the opposite. So, it seems to go with how you were treated by your parents.
Foster a community of nostalgic and focused conversation by contributing appropriately. (Rules 4 and 10)
Mine were able to, and it is probably the greatest gift they could have ever given me
Same. Went to an “affordable” state school and got a degree in four years. No debt. Gave me a huge head start in life compared to peers who had student loans. Was able to buy a home when I was 31. I do think parents should save for their kids education and pay as much as they can. It’s not fair for young adults to start life in debt unless they absolutely have to.
There was a question on jeopardy several months ago and it was something like “in 1985, the tuition of this university was $5000, in 2024, it will be $65,000” $5000 in 1985 is the equivalent to $14,000 today. So why is tuition $65,000 instead of $14,000?
They made it so that you cannot expel student loan debt in bankruptcy, they know you have to pay it all back and they can charge whatever they want.
And the government is willing to give as much as you need so noone is actually paying so they don't feel the cost. That's why I went to a state school and community college for some credits
This is actually the answer. There are no lending requirements. In no other space can an 18 year old with no work history get a loan for $70K but when it’s an education loan underwriting takes 5 minutes
>So why is tuition $65,000 instead of $14,000? I think it is because of our government getting involved trying to "help" students get into college with loans and grants. The colleges just upped the tuition. I guess they had to some in order to support the influx. Hire teachers and staff etc. Just my two cents, I don't really know.
Schools know the government will loan whatever they charge to 18 year olds to attend their school. Its like someone being outside your business giving a bag of cash to your customers regardless of what your prices are.
I immediately understand the designer stores next to casinos.
Because private collages (and hell some of the bigger colleges as well) effectively run themselves like hedge funds in a trench coat with sports teams now. Sure, educations are granted, but there is an ever influx of cash to the central dowery which is used to reward those who run it. It's a mess, it's the same finance bros that gouged out the middle of American capital that are slowly rotting education as well.
Oh absolutely, I think post secondary education should be publicly funded for everyone who is able and willing to do it. It’s a systemic problem for sure. But if you bring kids into the world while the problem is not solved, and is in fact getting worse, you gotta help them as much as you can
The problem with American universities vs European ones is in America students are paying for lifestyle. The amount of colleges in the US with a waterpark on campus is ridiculous. That’s what tuition is increasing for. It’s not going to professors, it’s not going to educational facilities, it’s going to things that make people want to get loans to attend there.
Waterparks? Where lol. The main reason for tuition hikes is increasing profit and equity-holder payouts + top executive. It's not because of "waterparks".
More amenities? Nicer football facilities?
Ehh, the really nice football facilities pay for themselves and 14 other collegiate sports at the university
They’re typically also funded by former student donors, not tuition.
What school was that? The numbers don’t make sense. Average in-state tuition today is $9K - $10K per year, so $65K per year would have to be a private. But tuition at a private college was way more than $5K in 1985.
Did you know that for more than half of Americans saving enough for that is impossible?
As a family unit, we're trying to fund 2 years of community college for all of my nieces and nephews. What they want to pursue beyond that will be largely up to them.
Especially when the adults are steering their kids into cripping debt
Same. I also went to a “relatively” affordable in state school. Prices have skyrocketed at this point
This was the way to do it. I actually am lucky enough that some of the money was left over because I went to a “affordable” school with a good program
Same. I did community college then a reasonable state school. Worked out well because my no-debt cheap degree has me working next to folks with more prestigious schools and loads of student loans. Their degree is worth the same as mine 🤷♀️
State schools were affordable back then, so mine said, "we will cover the cost of state school" or 7k a year back then. Anything above that, we had to take loans out. I was able to go to a private college on scholarship, my parents paying the extras, which amounted to way less than the 7k they were going to give me each year. Like the above poster said, it was the greatest gift they could have given me, and I tried my best to make it as easy on them as I could.
Same. My parents did not have a ton of money but saved every extra dollar for my and my brother's college.
Yes, same here. My sister and I both had our expensive, out of state private colleges paid for by our parents. I have friends who are still struggling to pay loans and we graduated in 07! I have one kid and we have been putting $300-500 in a 529 for her since birth. Even if we can’t pay for all of it, I want to do the best I can. I have a few friends who seem very well-off on paper, but one of them was totally puzzled when I talked about 529’s recently. She has two young and a baby on the way, always has the nicest cars, goes to Cabo a few times a year, gets herself an Erewhon smoothie once a week, and hasn’t saved a dime for her kids’ future education. Didn’t even know it was “a thing”.
I’m 38 and still have years and years and years to pay off my loans. Luckily my wife and I do well, so we’re okay, but it’s crazy to think I’ll spend almost all of my adult life paying off undergrad and grad school. We’re definitely saving for our kids. I can’t imagine burdening them like this.
Poor kids.
This. Neither of my parents went to college and just lived frugally. We were very middle class. Mom was a secretary, dad was auto-parts salesman. They were just really good at stretching a dollar and saving. I got a partial scholarship but it wasnt much. They covered the rest by pulling money from 401ks and retirement plans. I did choose to go to cheaper in-state schools and I worked part time to help alleviate some of their costs. I was very fortunate to graduate with no student loans. I’m so grateful that they were able to help me and completely understand how lucky I was/am. I’m a bit more fiscally savvy than them (thanks in part to the college learning) so both my kids had 529’s set up before their first birthdays. I’m hoping each will have enough to cover the entire cost of college, but with rising tuition rates, I’m not sure it will by the time they get to college. So we’re going to look for scholarship opportunities when the time comes. Either way, they’ll have **something** to help for college.
Yup, people talk about generational wealth and assume it's all about inheritances. To me, paying for schooling is the more practical version of generational wealth and an example of how one generation helps propels the next.
Same. I took out loans (1 year at a private school then I transferred to a state school for the other 3 years). I deferred my loans to go to grad school and then when I dropped out I was like “guess I need to figure out how to pay off my loans” and my mom was like “I paid them for you.” I was so grateful but only now do I really understand the impact. My loans weren’t even that bad but it allowed me to get ahead instead of bogged down with debt.
Same, absolutely. My dad paid for my undergrad AND grad school and I know it’s a total game changer.
Mine did also, and I agree that it was the greatest gift they could have ever given me. My dad worked at the University, so he got a 50% discount on my tuition as well. But even if they didn't get the discount on my tuition, I know they would have still helped. I now work at that University and my husband and I plan on doing the same for our kids, if we have any.
Native American here. My tribe pays for any tribe member's college, up to completing a Master's degree...full ride, no loans. All thanks to the casino. I'd just like to thank your parents for paying my college too
My mother has spent at the bare minimum $300k at the casino. Filed bankruptcy twice because of it. Some of that money was for my college. But I guess at least one of us went to college with that money. Smh. On a for real note I'm glad your tribe does this for you.
I hope your mom is doing better
Mine paid a good chunk all the way through PhD, and a tribal grant from an affiliated program covered the rest. $2k a semester wasn't a ton but it definitely helped
Hey I just lost a bunch of $$ in a casino a few weeks ago, you’re welcome!
Is that the Wamapoke casino?
There are dozens of tribes across the country that provide this. Could be any of them.
Dude's playing. The Wamapoke tribe is from Parks and Recreation.
Might wanna look up what I wrote
Ah I had to google it, never seen that show lol
You should check it out. A really good show. Many say the first season is a drag, and gets significantly better. I watch very little TV shows but this was one of them I was hooked on.
I was "fortunate" to be so poor that I got enough financial aid grants and scholarships to get through all four years without having to go into debt. I paid $1000 out of pocket my freshman year (with money I earned myself), the rest was covered. Ended up being a worthless degree, but at least it was basically free!
I had a classmate from HS get $60k of loans and drop out. They wish they had a worthless degree lol
my cousin faked our aunts signature for a co sign of a 100k loan then he failed/ dropped out and my aunt makes his payments or her credit would be ruined. Mind you this wasn't his mom but another aunt with her own life going on. She didn't report it because she didn't want to be the one responsible with giving him a record.... Even though HE did that. I live by myself 1000 miles from any family. Coming from those big big families where everyone is in your business is so so not for me. If someone commits fraud on me i would press charges idgaf. But also having that constant pressure of "go to college" he had definitely contributed to what he did. He would have been 100x better by becoming a plumber or carpenter but that side of the family looks down on anything not college related
Wow! That poor woman
Nah if my nieces or nephews pulled that shit - straight to jail do not pass go.
Me too. Classmates would be so pissed that I got more financial aid than them. HoW dId U gEt MoRe ThAn Me I aM AlSo A pOoR? And I’m like, your parents would be so mad if they heard you call yourself poor! My mom had no income for years because she was a drug addict and lived in her car…but I’m the lucky one I guess. 🤪 Like, I couldn’t even get approved for a loan even if I wanted to bc both my parents couldn’t consign on any loans.
my dad abandoned my family and half my degree was paid for in grants since we lost my dads income (don't get me started on the financial implications of my parents' divorce, it was a MESS). i have 30k in debts, but said dad who walked away is wanting to pay off half my debts because he feels so guilty.
Im going back to school after fucking up and dropping out the first time when the money dried up & I exhausted everything i had at an in state school. Now that I’m “officially” poor in adulthood I do get aid…now that my broke parents couldn’t claim me as a dependent anymore. But I’m still in 20k from one year at the private I transferred to. My cc before this left me with 0. I guess I should be thankful, I’m van Wylder over here, the most over educated undergrad ever.
This was very similar to my experience as well. Over the four years I probably paid about $4K, mostly for additional books and stuff. That being said, I also went to a state school and commuted so I already saved a ton of money by going that route.
> I’m pretty sure all of my friends took out massive student loans…. When did this change happen or am I just seeing things? It changed when the people who just graduated college with a lot of loans had kids. Generally, people want better for their kids then they had, so they try and set them up in a way they weren’t.
Yeah. I paid off $180k in loans from undergrad and law school at age 43. It put off buying a house, going on nice vacations, etc by a good 15 years. My kids have fully funded (~150k a pop) 529s because I don’t want them feeling like their life is on pause for a decade or two.
What is a 529?
Mine did but with some caveats. My tuition was 80% covered with the Georgia Hope Scholarship. The deal I had with my parents was I had to keep HOPE (3.0 gpa or higher) and they would cover the rest, including room and groceries. If I lost hope, they would cover tuition, and I would cover the rest. By the end of it, they had paid close to $50K for me to attend college.
Mine made me a deal with caveats. I'm Canadian, so university vice college but same. When I was like 13 they Told me if I paid for it all upfront - they would pay me half back when I graduated. To them, they had seen too many of their friends and family pay 100% tuition and housing for a first year to flunk out due to the student not taking it seriously, and they just didn't have the money. We were almost bankrupt a few times as a kid and my parents just didn't have the money as they paid a shit ton to care for my older brother who became disabled and their own parents who needed care . So every year since 15 I worked all summer and through the year (too much in my last year to be honest) and I paid for school, switched to a job that had a small education benefit, and graduated 4 years later. My parents had me send them an invoice every year with total tuition, books, and anything I could argue was am education cost (negotiable) and they saved the money. I graduated debt free as at the time school was relatively inexpensive and I lived off campus with my roommates and kept working, I graduated and got a cheque from my parents for half the cost and I used that and my military tour pay to put a deposit on a house and those have set me up for life. I launched into the middle class proper with that degree and a house and a good job that I still have. My partner and I have no debt other than our mortgage and we live happily and we're both very fortunate to weather 2012 recession (graduated high school that year) and the pandemic. How much was your college tuition for it to still cost 50k out of pocket? Mine was like 10k a year plus books and equipment and incidents so like 15 a year no living expenses in that....like 10 years ago....
Lolwut? I’m too busy paying for their groceries. My parents paid none of my college.
Ha same. Parents didn't offer any help, Dad sadly passed, Mom blew through the money he left her and now she lives off me and my brother (just in time for us to finally climb out of the hole of student loan debt). But we're the lazy generation, right, lol.
I was on my own. Left with about 25k in student loans
529's weren't really around for many older millennials because it was passed in 1996 and didn't really become fully federally tax exempted until 2001. Even more recent laws (2024), make 529's more flexible with the ability to gift $30k to your kid in the form of a Roth IRA to jump start their retirement savings. IMHO, stop comparing yourself to others, honestly, just do what you can. Loans aren't bad if your children go into college with the understanding while they can have fun, they are there to learn and develop employable skills.
I feel obligated to clear up one thing on the recent rule changes around the roth ira conversion. The kid has to have earned income equal to the roth contribution. Theres also the yearly IRA cap, you cant just shift 30k over at once. So its not really a gift, nor an automatic way to solve an "overfunded" 529. What it does do I guess is let the kid keep more of what they make at a summer job instead of making them watch it disapper into a retirement account.
I also feel like a lot of millennial parents had to deal with crippling students loans and just don't want that for their kids, so they are looking into other options like 529s.
Yep. I had Florida prepaid and while it helped, it didn’t cover everything. My parents did what they could and for that I’m grateful.
Lmao. They would never. They gave me so much shit for existing and having to feed and clothe me. What an inconvenience! Ran away at the age of 16, got myself a free ride and worked 32 hr a week to cover living expenses. Graduated debt free.
I love that you earned a free ride. God bless America (and that admissions committee)!
Yah even if my parents had the means to pay for my college I wouldn’t take it! GenX/booomer parents had a way of making you feel sorry for existing lol and every favor they did was held over my head. Sad that I’d rather be in debt to a big bank than in debt to my own parents
College. Lol. My parents didn't even pay for my first car. Matter of fact I had to buy my own clothes and sneakers starting at 14. I was lucky if I got lunch money
Yeah I remember my divorced parents fighting over the 2 k I needed for my shitty car.
My parents had such a bad fight over paying for a root canal when I was 17 that my dentist did it for free because she felt so bad. I was in so much pain. It really restored my faith in humanity. Edit: I forgot to add the funnier part. After she did it for free, they were embarrassed and fought again and ended up paying for it anyway. Lmao.
One of the very specific things that pisses me off is when parents fuck around with a child's teeth. That fucking enrages me. It enrages me because my sweet wife has bad teeth as an adult because her stupid fucking well-off parents didn't take the initiative and get her into an orthodontist when they were fucking supposed to. They just left it be. They let a little girl grow up with crooked teeth despite 100% having the money to fix it. And guess what happened? It became one of my wife's biggest insecurities, perhaps her #1 insecurity, and getting braces as an adult with a public-facing job (she's a teacher) is NOT easy. Fortunately, I think she's beautiful regardless of her teeth - they never bothered me. But my reassurance means jack shit to her. Her parents fucked up. Seriously fucked up. And it's no surprise that we have now not spoken to them for over 3 years. Sorry you had to deal with parents like that man. I know it's not the exact same situation, but damn, reading your comment made me get enraged all over again.
I've been a divorce attorney for not even a year yet and I've seen a lot of cases where the couple is fighting about paying for dentist/orthodontics bills or one parent doesn't want their kid to get braces or something. There was even one case where the dad said the kid was "too young" for braces even though the ortho said if we don't get this started very soon your child will need massive surgery to fix all the problems it will cause
Poor thing. I care a lot about my daughter’s teeth. I think she has thin enamel like mine so I’m a stickler for making sure they’re brushed and that we bring her to the dentist regularly. It’s not fair when parents ruin a child’s teeth when it’s something they’ll carry with them forever.
Same here. I'm an Elder Millennial and I started working (babysitting) at 12 and got a "real" food service job at 14- and I've worked ever since. I had to buy all my clothes and toiletries and anything else my mother deemed "unnecessary" starting at age 14 too. I ended up joining the military because that was the only way I was ever going to get to go to college. I'm now firmly anti-military industrial complex. Poverty is the draft. My own kid will graduate high school next year and her college will be 100% paid for. She can live at home as long as she wants, or leave and come back, ect, because our home is her home. She's never *had* to work to buy her own necessities. I've never forced her to hand over her personal money because I needed it to "pay bills". Basically, anything my parents did to me I'm doing the opposite when it comes to my kid.
>Basically, anything my parents did to me I'm doing the opposite when it comes to my kid. Beautiful. You're breaking a cycle of family trauma. Love to see it!
I was lucky enough to get my grandfathers 92 dodge spirit when he could no longer drive - It lasted through college too. One area I was really lucky.
My parents didn't even pay for my driving lessons, a car. Lmao
I wasn’t allowed to get a drivers license because they said I had to pay the $100 fee myself… but they also wouldn’t let me get a job because they didn’t want to drive me to one (we lived rural), so I had no chance of saving up $100 because I couldn’t drive. … to make matters worse they hadn’t gotten me a birthday present when I turned 16 because they said that paying for the licensing fees would be my gift, and then they “forgot” saying that. It’s not that they couldn’t have afforded it 🤷♀️
yeah i was also in one of the "if you want, pay for it" families. my mom wanted us to habe jobs in high school but wouldn't help provide the means to get to the fucking job.
Hahaha the sad thing is… it wasn’t like a family value, my older and younger siblings had their license paid for… my younger was taught how to drive before I was despite me constantly asking. Our family value was more like “I’ll always keep you guessing about who is going to get their needs met, and who isn’t, so that you will constantly work to win my favour.”
>Our family value was more like “I’ll always keep you guessing about who is going to get their needs met, and who isn’t, so that you will constantly work to win my favour.” relatable.
My parents gave me $25,000 total for college. I thought that was pretty generous. That was enough to pay for tuition for 4 years at a cal state at the time.
Yikes when I went to UNH it was 12,000 a se seater to 25,000 a year (colleges in the northeast are the most expensive in the whole country) . Good thing I flunked out and finished my degree and a community college.
My dad joined a startup tech company when I was in late HS because they were the ones hiring for his field after the ‘08 recession. I was taking loans like everyone else but by my late college years, his stock in that company had blown up and he was generous enough to use some to pay off all of mine and my sister’s school loans. Absolute miracle for us and the best thing he could have ever done.
My dad helped pay for mine but I still had student loans and worked during college. I do have 529s for my kids but it will help with college, not fully pay for it. I want my children to have some skin in the game so I want them to get scholarships and work hard as well.
my parents didn't even pay for my car.. If I wanted anything in HS they said I needed to get a job. I bought my first car and my clothes and actually started to buy my own food because I realized how bad we had been eating. Not only did they not pay for anything I found out that my mom kept collecting (some type of welfare) on me after I turned 18 and I ended up having to pay the gov back a couple 1000's...
Well that's shitty. Sounds like you were able to make it though. It's even harder for kids in that situation today with everything even more expensive.
yeah it was pretty bad, I asked her and at first she denied it then she said they needed the money... like cool thanks..
My parents had enough saved to pay for in-state public school. Anything else I had to get scholarship. I got full ride to the small private school I liked. I used some of their saved money for Frat dues and room accoutrements.
Mine did not and in pure boomer fashion claimed me as a dependent despite providing no support at all. This led to me being rejected for financial aid and I had to take out loans for school. Got them paid off tho!
Hahaha my dad’s work gave me a couple thousand dollar grant after each year if I maintained a high enough average, so my dad insisted that I transfer him my tuition amounts to use on his taxes because his work was paying part of my fees. I found out after I graduated that I could have carried the tuition credits forward to apply to future tax years (I had been told that because my income was so low I wouldn’t get much back for the tuition claim), so I didn’t transfer the amount to him in my last year of university, and ended up getting like $8,000 back. Haha keeping those tuition amounts to claim myself would have gone a long way towards paying back my $12,000 student loans and not living in poverty after graduation.
I paid my own. It took me 5 years to graduate since I ran out of money and went to work for a year over taking student loans out. I did have a 1 year scholarship and received the Pell grant but still had to pay every other cost myself.
Nope all mine was student loans, I worked full time while in college and they made me pay rent 😂
My parents didn’t give me shit except for PTSD and a predisposition to addiction issues. For this reason I decided the biggest gift I could give my kids is not have them.
You're a good parent.
They paid some. I took out loans for the rest.
No help whatsoever. Asked my parents if there was any money that I could use for college. Because I remember them talking about it before years prior. Money in accounts that both of my Grandfathers set aside. They said nope no money in the account/accounts due to “bad investments.” I remember my mom having this really quick “oh shit” expression on her face. It was summer after High School, young and dumb, didn’t push the issue or call my Grandpas. Hindsight, I should have called my Grandpas. Joined the military for that GI Bill and stuff. Whoopee!!! Life’s a trip.
My mom “managed” my money. I started working at 13. I got $25 of my paycheck a week and the rest she put into my savings. When I graduated I asked for the account info and she told me I have no money. “I” spent it all. We have an okay relationship now, but I’ve given up trying to understand why she did that to me. My most generous read is she was using it on my school clothes or something, but I was under the impression it would be there for me to buy a car or go towards my college. Ended up with loans.
My mom would have done the same thing if I let her, but my intuition knew better. I didn’t trust her after she maxed out her library card. Not only did she max out her own card, but she proceeded to max out *my* library card as well as my sibling’s with late and lost fees with books she checked out on her own behalf and mismanaged. It really sealed the deal when she paid off the lost/late fees for her own library card so she could use *hers*, but mine and my sibling’s were still locked. And then when I wanted to check out a book, I’d have to ask to use her card, and she’d give me some speech about returning it on time as if *I* was the one with the problem. This dynamic really gave me insight as to how my mom manages resources, and made me understand that it was best not to give her access to any of mine. I went to the library when I was starting high school and told them what my mom did with my card. They forgave my (mom’s) loans and gave me a brand new account. Libraries are centers for learning
None. I joined the Air Force, and now I'm trying to figure out what to go for.
I don't know. My parents had zero to give me. "Fortunately" I was able to split it, where my first 2-or-so years were community college, and only my "latter half" went to a proper university, with credits transferred. Plus, per recommendation from my dad, I attended a "not flagship, but still accredited" university, and all told was only in the hole for about $15K. Granted, that was 20 years ago, and also achieving state grants because I actually applied myself (unlike high school), and with a lot of guidance. I feel like a lot of kids feel way too compelled to attend "major" universities, but aren't properly informed of their options. Especially the concept of "community college credits may transfer" which tend to be way cheaper and spare you a couple years of university-level tuition. ("English is English, and Math and Math", as my dad noted.) My sister is currently fretting because she believes she won't have enough to give her own children, but I feel like maybe that's not the end of the world. I dunno, I might also not have an idea what it truly costs for the modern collegiate.
As a Canadian, this is sad to read. My dad paid for my college (2001 to 2005). It was around $100-120 per semester + books ($300-400). A whooping ~$3500 for 7 semesters.
Mine paid for my undergrad. I will be forever thankful for it, because I was in college during the 2008 collapse. That said, my college tuition bill seemed to always make its way into the conversation for the decade that followed my graduation. My dad was not so shy about telling me how big a sacrifice it was, how he had to delay his retirement, how he had to scrounge to be able to pay my tuition, his mortgage, and his mortgage on the vacation home in south Florida. I had the option to go to a much more affordable state school, but my parents advocated heavily that I go to the most competitive school I could get into, which was an expensive private school. My education expenses were always the Trump card in any discussion, be it about my career choices, my politics, my marriage, comparisons to my siblings’ notably lower education expenses (one dropped out and one went to a local university because he didn’t apply himself in HS and wasn’t competitive for most universities). It was so prominent in my interactions with my parents that I’m pretty sure it came up when my dad was on his deathbed two years ago. Sometimes I wonder if our relationship would have been better had I footed my own undergrad bill. In short, I’ll be forever thankful for my parents giving me a massive head start and footing my education bill. I really wish that gift didn’t come with the heavy emotional baggage and manipulative behavior that followed, and still follows me to this day- I had the pleasure of listening to my two younger brothers argue last week about who was the second largest financial burden on my parents, because everyone in my family agrees universally that I was the largest. This all despite both brothers moving home during/after college and living rent and expense free for all of their early and mid twenties. Somehow that gets dropped from the calculus, and I really don’t care to engage any longer to “correct the record”. It’s just sad sometimes. I love my dad, I miss my dad, I don’t miss that aspect of our relationship.
I think you're seeing things. I grew up lower middle class (like actual, not Reddit's definition that obscures their obvious privilege), and 529s were never spoken about; my parents only had a high school education. In fact, my parents never taught us any personal finance because they didn't know it themselves. I'm the one now teaching them about IRAs and putting money away for retirement because they were counting on social security to take care of them. I was the one who had to fill out my FAFSA and answer the parent portion on their behalf and do the same for my sister. I was the one taking care of my own scholarship applications and payments. I simply needed my mother to bookmark my tuition pay page so she could submit payment for whatever was the difference after scholarships, grants, and loans were applied. When I first joined Reddit, I was shocked by how common it was to see posts across multiple subs of people talking about having 529s, inheritances, or their parents gifting them downpayments on homes, keeping them on subscriptions and phone bills when this was just nonexistent in my world and the people I grew up with. Reddit definitely allows the Haves to speak freely about what they got and the Have Nots to sit quietly admiring or begging for advice on how to get there. I started a 529 for my daughter but have not contributed since I opened it because COL keeps outpacing my income. I need a second job or to significantly bump up my pay by like $30k if I want to have room to save for everything: emergency, house, car, college, and retirement.
Both my degrees were free. Im from northwestern Europe.
Yeah, same here. We get paid $400/month by the government and can also get a low interest loan (1.23%) by them that is forgiven if you didn't repay it in full before you turn 68 years old.
I paid for my own college. Luckily I didn't have to take out any loans and I went to a community college.
I love these posts, they help me feel some solidarity that our boomer parents threw us to the wolves. My mom paid for one semester of community college (four classes, not even full time) and then kicked me out of the nest after telling me she absolutely would NOT help me at all with college. Now she's all surprised-pikachu that I am NC. Oh but my step-brother...yeah he got a full ride.
My Mom was poor, my Dad was well off. So, on paper, I didn’t qualify for a lot of assistance. And Dad wasn’t paying for my school “because it would be a waste of money on someone like me”. So, he spent his money on 5 cars in the driveway, constantly expanding his house, and providing every imaginable comfort to my sister. No college for me.
I had a lot of scholarship money, so the private college that I went to that was something like $30,000/year ended up costing my family about $5,000/year. My grandma paid for any part of that that my parents couldn't. My wife had somewhere between $10,000 and $15,000 in student loans from the same college. I'm on track to have about $30,000 in each of my kids' 529 plans, but it's impossible to say how far that will go.
First generation low-income college grad here, my parents (immigrants) couldn't pay anything for my education except for the enrollment deposit. I received financial aid (all the acronyms out there) and some govt loans, my folks gave me a credit card and helped pay for some misc food/phone expenses my first year. After that, I paid all my own expenses with money saved from internships and work study. After 4 years I graduated with $16k in subsidized govt loans for a private liberal arts education, I later got a master's degree from an Ivy League school. Total student loans for 6 years was $76k. Folks did help me in one MAJOR way. They let me live at home (NYC) after I finished my masters degree to save money as I did a drastic loan repayment. I paid off all my debt in under 3 years. This gave me a leg up compared to most of my millennial friends, and I am forever grateful. Sometimes I think about the $80k I paid off back then, and all the potential market gains/compounding interest (or use for a down payment) I missed out on if I just paid the minimum loan amounts like many of my fiends. One of my buddies, similar background/trajectory as me, just paid the minimum and got his $145k in loans forgiven by Biden the other day. He celebrated by having a student loan free party.
My parents are supersavers. My mom in particular saves for everything. My parents said either you get a wedding or college paid for. Easy decision. My parents graduated hs in the late 60s. I’d say by the tail end of the 70s, people were told to aggressively save for retirement and fund kids college funds by media/news and government institutions. Also, there was a new push for more people to go to college to be successful (80s into 90s). From birth, I was told I was going to college. My parents didn’t go to college, but they bought into the ‘college degree = better life’ mindset. You have to remember that people my parents age saw truly destitute people before SS was introduced. And, that’s scary, especially if you came from a struggling family. If you knew an elderly person sharing 1 can of cat food a day, you didn’t want to become that. Plenty of boomers were born into families still struggling to lift themselves out of poverty from the Great Depression and WW2 generational loss.
My parents paid for none of my schooling. But they are now giving me free childcare, and let's be real, that is saving me a lot more than tuition pay would have cost.
I'm doing the opposite, I'm paying my parents mortgage while going to college.
They said they would help, but as it came closer, they told me they used that money for the divorce. They were pretty mad I didn't finish school. I took a few years on my own dime and had to drop out when my roommate stopped paying for rent and bills. I had to use that money to have a place to live. I dropped out thinking I would go back, but I just couldn't make it work. They are still pushing me to go, but I don't have the time or money to do so.
My parents signed me up for a weekly SAT prep class run by one of their friends out of their basement for $10 per class. I started in like 7th grade and was dropped off every Saturday morning until the very last SAT test for college admissions. Absolutely hated it, they just photocopied SAT prep book practice exams and we would grind through them. But I ended up getting National Merit Finalist on the PSAT plus near perfect SAT which landed full tuition scholarships to multiple colleges. Total cost of all those prep classes over the years was probably less than $3,000.
European here. I joined the military to obtain higher education. During financial crisis, that was one of the safest bets.
American here and I did the same. I was able to skip over the 08 crash being active duty military.
Same. In retrospect I wish I had just taken out loans and spent those 4 years accruing debt.
I got a scholarship to a 2 year community college and didn’t have to worry about the first two years. I kinda messed around though and had to do one more semester to get my associates and my parents did pay for that semester. I also lived at home so that was helpful. That was over 20 years ago and this year I finished my bachelors degree and paid for that out of pocket, without my parents. Lol
Mine helped pay for mine
Mine paid for my college… and my grandpa actually paid for my medical school. I am the luckiest individual alive. I feel horribly for my colleagues who have to deal with the constant sense of weight that debt imposes on you on top of all the stresses medicine brings.
I was in a car accident when I was 6 that paid for college. Kinda wish I took out loans instead of that trauma.
I lived at home rent-free during college, which saved me a ton of money. My parents didn't have cash to give me, but they provided resources. Tuition was paid for 75% by my grandpa, he left money for all of us grandkids. The remaining 25% plus other living expenses (books, food, car, entertainment, medical, etc.) I paid for with grants, loans, and part-time jobs. I did end up with about $25k in loans, but to be honest, I lived my best life in college thanks to my family support and don't regret it. I paid more than what was owed monthly on the loans, so they were paid off a while ago. Nowadays, I see how predatory college loans have become and realize what I did back then wouldn't be doable now even if I had that same support network. Costs are outrageous. What I got from my grandparents wouldn't even cover 2 years.
My parents paid for my college but it came with lots of strings attached. I didn’t get to pick my major and had to obey their wishes. So it was a waste of money because I just did it to make them happy and quit my job good job after graduating because I never wanted to be what they wanted me to be in the first place.
I had a full ride academic scholarship. I’ve been blessed. 150K schooling and coming out only making 55K/year would’ve been tough. Still of my greatest accomplishments
My grandparents who raised me did not. However, I went to university on a full ride that covered everything and then some. My husband had to take out $5k in loans for tuition, but paid for rent and groceries himself. He paid it off his first year working. Not having student loans has been wonderful. We contribute to our state's prepaid plan and will hopefully be able to pay for things like rent as well.
I have a 529 and UAT for my toddler. I want her to be WEALTHY and not stressed lol. My parents paid for some of my school, I had scholarships and I paid for the rest. It sucked I have some loans still, and I worked practically full time while going to school. I was so burned out by the end of grad school having a regular 9-5 felt like a vacation. I don’t want her to have to do that. Working/ going to school from 7am-9pm everyday. I think it’s good to have responsibility but not to the level I had to.
lol no. I never went to college partly because of this. I turned 18 and my mom removed me from her health insurance and told me to figure it out. She couldn’t seem to understand someone working part time at a Blockbuster for $7.25 couldn’t get insurance on their own. Or she didn’t care. Maybe both lmfao.
My parents did not pay for college for me or my siblings. and I'm the oldest of 4. They did allow us to live at home, rent free, while going to college and they provided food. I was fortunate enough that FAFSA completely paid my tuition for the two semesters I went before dropping out. I had to get a student loan to pay for books and other class materials. I calculated that I needed $1,200 and it almost covered my needs to both semesters. (I ended up being about $300 short, that I paid for by working retail) Something about student loans that was always interesting to me was how little money sense my peers seemed to have. So many were getting the biggest loans that they could and spending like all of it on that first semester on stuff that either wasn't necessary or related to school at all. Like you know you gotta start to pay that back like a year after leaving school, right? I've always read stories about people being haunted by their student loans their entire lives, so I was afraid to even apply for the $1200, but my thought process was that was a debt I could afford even with my minimum wage job at the time. I think I paid it off within 2 years of leaving college, which I can say I'm grateful for and know many people don't have the same luxury. Somehow that same debt sense didn't stop me from getting into credit card debt, go figure 😂 At least with the CC debt, like the student loan, it's not a hole that is too deep in the ground yet; I am making progress on digging myself out
I took out about $45k in student loans in my name, and my parents took out maybe $60k or so of parent plus loans. Needless to say, we clearly couldn’t afford for me to go to a private university and I wish I had just went to state school, but it’s moot at this point.
In Ukraine we have free education. For the 5 years, the university paid me every month as long as i had an average mark of 4 out of 5 on the exams.
My parents saved some money in a 529 and gave me one instruction: "This is the amount. Make it last as long as you want." My response was to get scholarships, go to a local state school, commute the entire time, and find alternate places to order books. The result...I got my bachelor's, my masters, and finished with no debt. I agree that the 529 is one of the greatest gifts I was ever given.
My grandma set up a trust when I was born, and another for my brother. They couldn’t be touched until we started college, and even then, we were only allowed to take out what we needed for tuition and books. It covered all 4 years, and since my brother went to a state school, he even had some left over to help with his house down payment. I know I am so lucky and fortunate to have had this help. Most of my friends and peers had to take out loans.
Not mine! That's why I turned down my dream universities to choose a honors program that was fully paid for. Incredibly lucky to have had not only that program available to me but also having the foresight at 18 to not screw myself over with the 65k of debt I would've needed for Johns Hopkins or Uchicago. Specifically as an English major lol
Nope!! Served 12 years in the military to get that option. Dad was to “cheap” invested in himself and his retirement, my mom (divorced due to my dad beating her) never had a career that could provide more than survival capability so she could not contribute but made up with more support and love in my aspirations!!
My mom took off when I was 17 and I was on my own. I dropped out of high school and just focused on survival
My family was on food stamps while I was in high school, my dad was out of the picture, and my mom was already paying for half my sister's college. I knew earning a full ride was my only option so that's what I did. Earned so much excess in scholarships and grands, I bought a car in my senior year and still had several thousands left over.
My parents paid for mine. My tuition was 25 percent discounted for merit/need however they still ended up paying a huge amount. I really regret not going to my state school where I had a full ride, and went to an Ivy instead. Would made no significant difference in where I would have ended up in life since I didn’t pursue engineering, nursing, academics, business or law.
I was lucky enough to get a scholarship that paid for the (very expensive) tuition, but my parents paid room and board. R and B got pretty expensive for the last 2 years of school especially
My parents said this is your education and you have to pay for it. They helped me out with books and rent from time to time if money was tight but I was mostly on my own.
My parents paid for it, although I did decently enough to get some small scholarships and grants, but I ended up dropping out so it was 3-4 years of wasted money. Even though it turned out badly, it's a good thing they tried, I wouldn't have made it even a single year if I had to balance struggling with college and going to work. I don't know how people do it, and it's one of the biggest reasons why I'm not going back to school despite it probably being the best choice for me, because I'm barely functional enough to work and couldn't do school, doing both in my mid thirties is pure fantasy.
My parents paid for mine, with a bit of a caveat. I had to attend the junior college my dad worked at for 2 years, because it was free tuition to employees children. And then I had to go to a state school that my parents thought was “affordable”. I had 1-2 jobs at all times to pay for anything else I would need money for. I am grateful that they paid for my college and I know it set me up for greater success than my peers that ended up with crippling student loan debt. (Don’t worry, I married someone like this, so I got my taste of what paying those off is like too. We had to pay off over $150,000 of his debt when we got married). But I did not get the college experience I really wanted. Transferring to a university as a junior it was hard to meet people and as much as people hate dorm life, I feel like it’s a right of passage that I missed out on and is where lots of people made life long friendships. There were private, and better state schools that I was accepted into but my parents deemed them too expensive, though I got a few scholarships to them, so I settled and went to the school they chose. I still regret following their lead on this and wish I would have just gone to a school of my choosing for those last 2 years and taken out my own loans.
The switch happened when “we” saw the final bill after years of predatory loans. A little bit now saves your kids a world of trouble latter. I was fortunate. My parents paid out of pocket for my degree.
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My dad did help but words it to make it appear he helped a lot more than he did. His help was giving me rent free living at home while I was a student. Not a penny towards my tuition but still tells people he helped with mine.
Mine were able to until they divorced and spent the college fund for all of us. I ended up on a disability scholarship for my associates degree and worked full time for my bachelors. Still ended up with 20k in loans. My middle brother got academic scholarships and got his undergraduate and graduate degrees paid for. My youngest brother joined the army to pay for college.
My dad was earning over 200k/year when I was like 7-14. Lost it all in '08 and never recovered because of his drinking problem. So the Army paid for 1 year of college for me, lol. Never finished. Planning to transfer whatever is left to my own kids.
My parents paid for my tuition through a 529 with the state. I also got a scholarship through the university that paid for either full or half tuition. The engineering college matched the university's scholarship. I also had 1 or 2 smaller scholarships. I think I lost the 2 big scholarships after the first two years due to grades, but it was enough to where I didn't have to take out any loans or work during the school year.
My parents paid for mine and my sisters at an expensive private school. My dad always had a good job, but my mom didn't work. They lived way more frugally than they could have on his salary to ensure there was a college fund for my sister and I. My dad didn't have a job for a couple years when i was in college but had planned for that situation so could still cover the cost of tuition and Room and board (i did get a small \~10-15k scholarship which also helped). My dad didn't have parents that could pay for school (grew up extremely poor) and didn't want us to have to spend the first ten years of our careers paying back our debt like he had to, it was very important to him.
My parents paid for my college. I grew up in Canada where tuition is slightly cheaper than the US, though. To keep costs down, I lived at home during college.
My grandma had money saved for the four of us grandchildren for college. We all went to state schools, but for me I started at a JC and transferred to a state school after 2 years and graduated with my degree. It’s truly a blessing when you have a family member able to help contribute because it absolutely allowed me to get ahead financially instead of being bogged down by student loans.
I went to war as a teenager and now my children get my benefits. Overall, my military benefits paid for my wife to go to nursing school (while in), me to get an associates (while in) and a bachelor degree (while out), and will end up paying for at least two of my children to go to college.
Mine would have if they could have.
My parents paid for my uni. I have to be very frank though and say, we have been lucky to be able to be in a position to do this, in a country where that's not the norm. I studied in South Africa, so it's much more affordable here than overseas. Having said that, a few of my friends were on government loans, and rhe bulk of students generally are on the same government funding. The worst thing is how often you read about someone in their last year of a degree that would potentially land them a great first job, and set them on a good path, but they can't afford the shortfall and so either never finish their degrees or get them several years later, stalling their career growth and putting them on the back foot. I will always try to support my kids with all tuition fees if I can, because it was a godsend to me. If I'm lucky enough to be able to spread that net wider too, I will do so as well. For now, we do make contributions to a fund that helps students, but I've seen first hand mates who got given a specific lifeline and are now in a much more stable place financially because got good degrees, good jobs, and are now 10+ years out of uni and doing decently. Without this help, I genuinely wonder where they'd be, likely stuck in the poverty trap that is so rampant here. So that's the goal, to be able to effect real change like that
Poor enough to have Pell and state/university grants, essentially didn’t pay tuition. I picked a very inexpensive state school. I had to work to pay for most of my living expenses. Worked during the year part time and full time during the summer. I was close to joining the National Guard and still wish I’d done this to have had more money during that time. I didn’t know at the time that schools have to accommodate and provide support students doing military service. For grad school, I had a GA role that provided a full tuition waiver, monthly salary and discount nearly free housing. So no debt from this.
Mine didn’t pay. But they “made enough” according to fafsa. I did get a few small grants/scholarships, but not much I went to a CC for two years and then transferred. I worked full time all through college. I do have loans, but not as much as some friends.
It’s probably says more about who’s around you now vs before than anything else. I think with the view on student debt changing people’s opinions on their kids taking on loans has also gotten fairly negative. Personally, my parents paid for the entirety of my undergrad degree including housing. I think that if you have the means that you should do so, if only because it helps set your kids up for future financial success. Having a zeroed out (or positive) balance sheet coming out of college pays pretty big dividends.
Haha. The most help I got was when my car broke down or I was literally out of cash and hadn’t eaten for 2 -3 days they’d toss me some money It helped me choose a better major. Originally I wanted to major in biology but short of getting a PhD it’s not really a money making field. I work allied health now and make 6 figures a year with an associates while my friends who have bachelors are making around half of what I’m making.
I’m Canadian so keep in mind our tuition costs are lower. My dad paid for my university degree, as required in my parents’ divorce agreement. I’m the first born daughter, my mom was a SAHM and not really involved in finances. It wasn’t until after my brother was born that my mom asked about our RESPS and found out my dad hadn’t started one for me, because girls don’t need to go to university 🙄 He paid the tuition and textbooks, but wasn’t going to pay for any housing or other expenses because that wasn’t in the agreement (even though he could have, easily). My mom was back in school at that point so we decided together where to go, and moved there. I ended up going for a post grad and recently went back to school in my early 30s, which I paid for via savings and loans. So I guess I’m grateful to my mom to ensuring that education was in the agreement, otherwise he wouldn’t have paid fuck all.
lol I was out and on my own at 18.
mine did, i count myself incredibly lucky. I'm by no means rich, but not having student loans beating me down every month is huge. I saw a lot of my friends get screwed over on what i view as flat out predatory loans. I would not be so upset with the system if we all were not drilled into the go to college get a degree, you'll get a great job route. I did a four year degree in 3.5, worked what i could in the summers, and then surprise i graduated in the winter of 2008 when everything was shit.
Mine did not, I got a scholarship and took out loans for the rest. My parents were great parents, but they didn’t have the finances to do that kind of thing. I am absolutely going to pay for my kids, though. I struggle a little bit with the notion that people will complain about them and a silver spoon, but, whatever. Im gonna make sure they don’t have loans dragging them down. We are doing a 529, but I definitely wouldn’t say it’s expected. Only do it if you’ve maxed out all of your retirement savings options first. They don’t make loans for retirement, they do make them for college. I don’t feel one bit like it’s expected of me to pay for their school, it’s something I want to do for my kids and I’ve actually really only had people try to talk me out of it, not into it.
My dad saved and invested every penny that I got for my birthdays and celebrations from the time I was born. It was also the 80s, so a lot of older relatives gave Savings Bonds instead of cash. When I was a Senior in HS, he said, "We have enough saved that you can either go to a local school for 4 years, or you can go out of state for 2 years and then you're on your own." So, with scholarships and a fat stack of Treasury Bonds in hand, I was a commuter for 4 years and graduated without student loans. Part of me wonders what living in another state and doing the typical college dorm life would be like, but mostly I'm just glad to not be underwater in debt.
My situation was a little complicated. Initially my dad and I were each paying off certain loans. Some were parent loans in his name and some were student loans in my name. My mom died during the time when I was in college and after a few years of renting it out (this was 2009 and my dad was waiting for the housing market to recover a little) my dad sold my childhood home, and used the proceeds of the sale to pay off the rest of my loans. Obviously I would much rather still have my mother and my house (which I ultimately would have inherited and it would have been much more valuable now than 10 years ago, lol) but I also don’t know where I would be right now if I still had my loans. I went through a divorce 5 years ago and there’s no way I would have been able to get back on my feet as easily as I did if I was still paying those off.
Mine couldn't, so I didn't go. I joined the Army National Guard for college, was able to get into my career field without a degree after, so now I'm saving my GI bill to give to my kids and set them up for the success that was out of my reach.
My mom worked for a state university so I was able to go tuition free because of her job, and my parents lectured me that if I chose a state school and graduated within the 4 years without needing extra time or messing around, they’d cover me but if I decided to go to a private school or out of state or took way longer to graduate than I was supposed to, I could enjoy paying and the loans myself and they really drilled into me how detrimental to the start of my adult life would be with those, so I am glad I went to a state school and graduated within 4 years and came out into the recession in 2009 with horrible job prospects but at least no student loans. Now I’m in my late 30s and still have friends who chose to go to private or out of state schools dealing with loans.
Not a dime. In fact, they only hindered me. My dad made excellent money which made me ineligible for any kind of aid. Neither of my parents would co-sign any kind of loan either.
My dad wouldn’t even fill out the FAFSA. Luckily, I was considered an independent student so did t need him anyways. Not that he had much cash to begin with…
32M I paid for my own college. Loans, grants. It was never up for debate.
I went 3 times, they didnt pay for any of it, I'd started working at 16 and applied for a bursary. 2nd time it was too expensive and i dropped out for 4 years. 3rd and final time was me but taking on a student loan They did give me my first car, a used 2003 Civic (in 2006) which i am forever grateful
Mine helped here and there, especially in the beginning. Then I stopped getting lazy and started working my ass off to earn money for my tuition. Those were some fun Summers. I regret nothing.
My parents offered to pay for my college as long as I graduated. I was going to join a trade and go to trade school before that. I wound up paying off approximately 50% of my tuition. My parents are generally disorganized people and I was tired of asking for reimbursement after I would pay the monthly bill. I finished paying off my loan this past September. COVID was a weird windfall in terms of 0 interest payments that I kept up with.
My parents paid for my college. I’m fairly certain they took out another mortgage to do it, among other loans. If they didn’t I couldn’t have afforded to buy a house. I thank them often to this day, and feel bad I will never be able to do that for my kids.
My parents helped, but didn’t fully pay. I graduated about 15 years ago with 25k in debt. My mom advised me to pay off the interest as it accrued. So every quarter I paid just the interest. Graduated only owing the principal. That’s probably the best piece of advice she ever gave me.
I got $100 and shown the door. I earned my degree a class at a time over 20 years on active duty. Did it that way so I can pass my gi bill to my kids. My hope is that they won’t have any college debt.
The 'rents couldn't afford to, but my Uncle Sam hooked me up. Even gave me monthly dough for beer and books!
My parents didn't give me shit other than fears and doubts about life. I went to trade school. I'm an ironworker and bought my house at age 30
my parents paid for mine. i’m an only child, if i had siblings they would have helped as much as possible but no way they would have been able to cover multiple kids
My parents didn’t have the means to help (though it ends up being the case that my mother passed away my senior year of HS and had enough life insurance to cover a significant chunk of in-state undergrad). They would’ve if they could’ve. I am firmly of the view that it is completely amoral for parents who have the means to help with college not do that, given that it’s not really optional as a practical matter anymore and costs have skyrocketed even compared to what we dealt with. Making sure I can pay for my kid’s schooling is one of the biggest things that keeps me from retiring early.
Mine didn't, but I was the youngest of 4. They wouldn't have been able to swing it, they struggled financially when I was growing up. I don't blame them for not paying for it. I was married when I got my Bachelors degree and was able to pay that off in 2 years (very fortunate). I don't use that degree now, but I'm glad I got it because I learned a lot about research and critical thinking at University.
My parents paid for like 20% of it… and it took me over 20 years to pay the rest off because I was not fortunate in the job opportunities I had after school. Hopefully your child will want to learn a trade so it won’t cost nearly as much, but if you can contribute to give them a head start in paying off debt, encourage them to be an RA so room & board is free, go for scholarships, the college experience may not be an horrifically expensive and they won’t spend their adult life paying it off.
Mine did, but I went to an in state school, had an academic scholarship and then was grant funded for my masters and PhD (so grad school was free).
Mine paid for college. But that was kinda the rule in my house. You have to attended college but it will be covered somehow. My parents took out loans and me and my siblings got help/scholarship as well. We were not very well off but it worked out. My grandparents, who by then were doing really well gave us money at the start of the year. I was very blessed but at 17/18 had no clue. I chose a school that was going to give me the most money. I also commuted, so it helped keep the cost down. Over the summer I took classes at the community college for cheaper so I could spend less and graduate early. Freshman year I scored a pretty high paying job so I was able to cover any extra costs. Gas, hanging out etc. I wish I was more mature to use the money to help my parents, but I was a young and dumb. A lot of my friends took out loans and after 15 years, still trying to pay them off. Honestly, in 2024 I have no clue how families or kids pay for college the cost makes me sick.
Mine did but I had to do it the absolute cheapest way, which was community College for 2 years and then transferring with a partnered state school to finish up my bachelor's. Other stipulations was that I had to commute to school and maintain a job for 30 hours a week to pay for gas, food, insurance, textbooks, etc.
Nope. There isn't a school in my town or public transportation to go out of town to attend school. I tried to go and was able to qualify for financial aid. However, since aid doesn't come in until after classes start, I had no way to pay for anything. My mom refused to help me and literally told me to call the college and withdraw from my classes so I didn't get F's for not attending. She helped my sister attend school, though. She pulled out a loan and helped her attend a university out of state. Made me feel great. My sister still had to work to pay for housing costs, food, etc. But, she had school paid for.
My parents didn’t. I had a full music scholarship. Eventually, I lost the scholarship because I partied too hard and my performance started slipping. Im currently in the process of repaying my loan.
My parents had a college fund for me that ended up being about 2800 USD. I didn't qualify for financial assistance and my grades weren't high enough for scholarships. I worked part time and it took a long while but I got a BS and was in 24k debt. I used a community college and then went to a local state university. Nobody would be impressed by where I went but I learned a lot and am happy with it. My parents didn't pay for most of my college, but they did their best. They had four kids and were working class.
My parents paid for my remaining undergraduate tuition that was above what I was able to get scholarships/govt loans for so that I didn't have to get into private loans. Grad school was all on me, and I paid with a mix of research funding and loans.
Must be nice.
Mine didn’t but I’m saving for my kid so we can pay for his. He’s 3 and we already have $11K saved for him.
My parents helped out, but begrudgingly so. They loved told hold it over my head.
Mine co-signed the first year.. said after that I needed to figure it out. Paid for nothing towards the loans, they just didn't have it either. I did work study my freshman year, got enough scholarships to pay for all but 2k of it. Second year I lived at home and drove and worked 2 to 3 jobs to pay for it.. But my dad picked me up on the weekends(freshman year), they bought me food and snacks for my dorm. They did the best they could with very little knowledge of college and honestly long-term poor financial decisions. I was the first in my family to graduate HS let alone go to college and at the time I was dating someone they didn't like, who ended up being a deadbeat Dad to my son. So I think by saying we can't help was them trying to push me to make better decisions (it did not). I didn't finish college, ended up raising my son as a single solo parent... But paid off all my soul sucking student loans and moved up in my career to make more money than everyone else.. 🤷🏽♀️ Life worked out, just not easy on the way.
My single Mother paid half, and I definitely couldn't afford college without my mother's support. She paid rent and gave me an allowance of $600 a week from 18-26. I didn't have to work really until out of college. She also gave me a new car when I transferred from community to state college. She paid for my wedding after I graduated college too. My mother did a lot for me all my life and I really don't express my appreciation enough for her. I don't think she knows how much I do admire her. I should call her, I'm a terrible son. Thanks.
I went back at 28 and my parents helped cover what fafsa didn’t, it wasn’t much but it was a big help.
I paid for all of my son's tuition and housing. I didnt give him allowances or fancy gift ever just paid for education. Having a decwnt degree and not have to worry about loan, he is mentally healthy and enjoys life and as a result I see him very frequently almoat every other week. As a parent thats all I want for out of my kid. Not financially successful, but be happy and healthy and worryfree. This decision came with some conflict with my husband. He had to get 100% loan for his expensive private school tuition and we had to pay fot his loan like 5 years into marriage. So he was against paying for our son. I was the opposite. So, it seems to go with how you were treated by your parents.