How did you or will you pay for college?

[Jenny in Florida]

For myself, a million years ago, I did my first couple of years at community college in California, which was virtually free at that time. My parents paid for my books and whatever token fees were necessary. I then transferred to a small, private liberal arts college, where I got some scholarship money, a Pell grant and then covered the rest with a boatload of student loans. After a year there, due in part to the need to move to a different city and in part to the unsustainable finances of it, I transferred again and spent three more semesters at a large, state university. Again, I got some scholarship money and Pell grants and worked part-time on and off, but had to take out loans to cover the balance (although the gap was much smaller than it had been at the private college).

After graduation, I rapidly fell behind in paying off my loans, got in way over my head financially and made messes that have followed me and held me back in various ways for the intervening three decades. My fault, of course. I should have handled things better, but I was absolutely determined not to let anything similar happen to my own kids. So . . .

Our daughter surprised us by "needing" to go to college much earlier than we had anticipated and by discovering that the only really appropriate option for her was a small, residential, liberal arts college 800 miles from home. She got scholarships that covered about half of her tuition, and we paid what we could out of pocket and then took out PLUS loans to cover the gap for the first and second years. After that, we were unable to qualify for yet more PLUS money and ended up having to put the loans for the last two years in her name. (Yes, student loans carry lower interest rates and better consumer protections, but I had a gut-level reaction against saddling her with loans that might come back to haunt her.) She graduated eight years ago, and we anticipate paying off both sets of loans within the next four years.

She is now paying her own way through graduate school.

Our son hasn't finished his B.A. yet. He did a year of dual enrollment at our local community college, which was free except for books, then spent two years at a medium-sized private liberal arts university. Same story: He got a decent chunk of scholarship money, and, because I had started back to work once he finished homeschooling, we were able to cover most of the rest out of pocket, with him taking a small amount of loans in his name (having learned our lesson about the interest rates and consumer protections). After those two years, the school he had chosen lost its charm, and he came back home and completed an associate's degree at the community college; he had some of the state scholarship money left, and we covered the rest out of pocket. He then tried transferring to the local campus of the state university, which we covered out of pocket. After a semester, he decided he was ready to take a break while he figured out his long-term plan.

We are now paying off the loans in his name. We have made it clear that we are happy to cover reasonable tuition costs for another year or two if/when he decides to finish up the bachelor's, but that we're not up for footing the bill for all of his living expenses. When/if he does return, we will cover that tuition out of pocket. 

Last year, I finally got my own ancient student loans out of default, and I should have those paid off in another eight or nine years. I'm currently enrolled part-time in a graduate certificate program, for which I am paying out of pocket.

So, yes, you read that right: We are currently paying three sets (four, if you count my daughter's student loans and the PLUS loans in different columns) of student loans and paying graduate tuition for me. Let's just say we live pretty frugally in most other ways.

Edited February 22, 2019 by Jenny in Florida

[DawnM]

Oh, and you did ask how I paid for college (and I will mention DH).

My parents paid for all of my undergrad.  They paid half of my first grad program (went right out of undergrad) but then I paid for my subsequent two grad programs.  I was working full time while going to the 2nd grad programs and went to school at night.

DH's parents paid for. his first year while he was at the local school but then he paid for the rest of his college (they paid 100% of his sister's undergrad.....but I am not bitter....um, yeah, I am, just a little .)

When I graduated, I asked my dad if I could pay him back for college and he said "YES!  You can pay me back by paying for your own children's colleges someday!"  I have never forgotten that and we have done our best to come up with a plan (local school when I wasn't working was the plan, and now I am working to pay for away colleges.)

Edited February 22, 2019 by DawnM

[Momto6inIN]

11 hours ago, moonflower said:

merit aid sufficient to cover tuition at instate schools where they could live at home or with relatives, at a minimum

Just a heads up ... this was not true for us at all. My oldest DS is a high achiever. Not a perfect SAT score, but it was darn close. NMF, great transcript, and only $1000 merit aid at the local U. Granted he is in a very competitive major and he likely would have received some aid had he chosen a less competitive one. But I don't know any student who received most of their tuition from merit aid, and I know a lot of stellar students.

Merit aid is not handed out like candy, and you cannot count on it regardless of how smart and high scoring your kids are. Not saying you need to do anything different with your parenting and/or involvement in the process ... but if that is what you are counting on for financing you are likely to be very very surprised. 

 

Edited February 22, 2019 by Momto5inIN

[Joker]

We got lucky with ds and he received three different merit scholarships to our local university (IU). They cover 100% of his tuition and half his room & board. We paid the rest ourselves this first year but we're going to have him take out that amount in federal loans the next three years so we can save for dd who is a junior now. We're not counting on aid for her so we will see. We plan on paying the loans off for him after graduation if all goes well, but if not he won't be saddled with very much.

 

[moonflower]

28 minutes ago, Momto5inIN said:

Just a heads up ... this was not true for us at all. My oldest DS is a high achiever. Not a perfect SAT score, but it was darn close. NMF, great transcript, and only $1000 merit aid at the local U. Granted he is in a very competitive major and he likely would have received some aid had he chosen a less competitive one. But I don't know any student who received most of their tuition from merit aid, and I know a lot of stellar students.

Merit aid is not handed out like candy, and you cannot count on it regardless of how smart and high scoring your kids are. Not saying you need to do anything different with your parenting and/or involvement in the process ... but if that is what you are counting on for financing you are likely to be very very surprised. 

 

 

Definitely, if I lived in a state where automatic merit aid were different, it would be harder for the kids for sure and they'd be more likely to have to rely on other ways of funding college.  For our local university, ACT 28 and GPA 3.75, automatic merit aid is $5k (leaving about $2k tuition to finance).  Granted, who knows what will be available in 5-10 years, or what the cost and loan situation will look like!  For us, college is something the kids will navigate and pay for themselves.

[GailV]

Me: Back when college costs were sane (yes, I'm that old) my parents paid. Dh lived at home and worked to contribute to his, but, as I said, that was back when a few hundred dollars could make a huge difference.

Dds: Attended/attend private university that hands out lots of merit scholarships.  Both got scholarships for over half the costs of tuition and room/board. We pay for the rest via 509 savings. Travel costs to the area are low, as is COL in the area (important when they move out of the dorms into local housing).

Older dd has graduated and is out in the real world.  While she was in school she thought it was nice that we were paying the entire tab so she didn't need to take out loans.  Now that she's out earning her own way, comparing budgeting notes with her peers, she REALLY thinks it's AMAZING that she has no student loan debt.  It's given her a whole new perspective on life; she realizes the trajectory of her career can be totally different because of this. She has spontaneously written us lovely notes about it.  (None of which is to say everyone should pay for their kids' school, but, rather, to say that our kids appreciate that this is a life-changing gift.)

[Storygirl]

I had a full tuition scholarship plus an additional scholarship that covered a portion of my room and board at a LAC. I had high stats, and this was in the late 80s, early 90s. I think it's worth noting that this school no longer offers that kind of merit aid. Their top scholarship today is $30,000 per year. Which sounds great until you see that the COA is $60,000 per year.

I went to graduate school directly after college graduation. I was awarded a half tuition scholarship and paid for the rest with a student loan. I ended up $12,000 in debt. I did not have a high paying career, and my student loans added financial hardship in my twenties and limited some of my choices. I hated the loans.

Our oldest is a junior. She will qualify for no merit scholarships (despite heavy studying, her ACT scores are predicted to be low). Our family will not qualify for need-based aid. She does work a part-time job at Chick-fil-A, which has a college scholarship program, so if she is still working there in another year, she will apply for that. I think it's a one-time $2,500 award. It would be nice, but a drop in the bucket.

We are really struggling through these decisions now. DD is not showing initiative in thinking about college or choosing a course of study or potential career. She will listen to me talk about it but contributes little thought of her own. Although I think it is a lot for a 17 year old to be expected to make a career plan, we also feel that the cost of university is too steep for us to pay for her to go off to a four-year school on full pay without having a sense of direction. DH makes a nice salary, but it would not be wise to allot our money in that way. Especially because she has three younger siblings to be educated as well. No decisions have been made yet, but starting at community college is looking likely. I am encouraging her to consider a particular two-year degree that I think would be a perfect fit for her, but she has not claimed that idea for her own yet.

We do have 529 plans for each of our children, but it is not enough to fund everything unless they happen to all choose community college or technical school. None of my kids are going to have high stats, so we are likely going to have a combination of community college, 529 funds, and paying out of pocket.

We do not expect them to fund their college education themselves. I realize what a gift it is to not have student loans, and we want to give that gift to our children.

Edited February 22, 2019 by Storygirl

[DawnM]

48 minutes ago, Momto5inIN said:

Just a heads up ... this was not true for us at all. My oldest DS is a high achiever. Not a perfect SAT score, but it was darn close. NMF, great transcript, and only $1000 merit aid at the local U. Granted he is in a very competitive major and he likely would have received some aid had he chosen a less competitive one. But I don't know any student who received most of their tuition from merit aid, and I know a lot of stellar students.

Merit aid is not handed out like candy, and you cannot count on it regardless of how smart and high scoring your kids are. Not saying you need to do anything different with your parenting and/or involvement in the process ... but if that is what you are counting on for financing you are likely to be very very surprised. 

 

 

I have one child at a state school (other is private) and that was our experience as well.  My son got a $1,000 scholarship.  Thankfully, this school is only $1,000 for tuition, so it covered 100% of his tuition!   Fees are $2,800, which includes book rental!  And then we pay about $8-9K in room and board.  

It is extremely hard to get large scholarships at our public schools, unless you are the top .01% of applicants.

[gardenmom5]

for my girls - we were in the midst of a number of financial reverses (felt like we were living a keystone cops movie - I don't recommend it.), so they both had full ride scholarships to a very good school. (private -  large endowment (not all private schools do). turned out cheaper than the state uni would have been, and it was a better education.)  very minimal debt - as they still had some expenses.  2dd did loans for grad school. (paid off.)  state uni as one of two schools in our state offering her doc program.

for the boys - combination of doing the first two years at the CC level and paying out of pocket/grants/minimal loans - transferring to state uni and grants and scholarships.  we'll see what 1ds does for his MS. (for 1ds - the state uni is the only school -public or private - between here and cal/Colorado that offers his major.)

 

eta: clarification

Edited February 22, 2019 by gardenmom5

[MysteryJen]

I lived at home, worked 20-25 hours a week, and got a small scholarship that helped at the state flagship. My parents paid the difference which was pretty small. But It was not a great situation at home- and I worked incredibly hard and graduated in 2.5 years. I went to grad school on a fellowship and got my MA for free. I have been ABD for 25 years and will not go back.

Dh's parents paid for his undergraduate- small LAC. We got married and he went to law school and took out loans and used part of his inheritance from a grandmother. We just finished paying those suckers off last year.

We prioritized retirement saving over college. Ds1 (homeschooled) took out the federal loans, got scholarships, worked in the summers, and graduated from a private LAC. When we ran numbers, the state schools were not cheaper than his college- for him. Tuition, fees, room and board really add up, and for the state schools, sometimes the fees are as much as the tuition and the merit aid (very, very skimpy at our state schools) only applies to tuition. He started paying his loans back this fall.

Dd1  (homeschooled) got a large athletic scholarship which has covered most of her COA (as determined by the school). We pay the rest which can come out of our budget. She is graduating in three years- having taken advantage of the fact that the scholarship covers summer semesters as well. She has worked so hard and sacrificed in many ways. It is not an easy way to get through school. She is planning on attending law school and will have to take out loans for that.

ds2 (homeschooled) got merit aid at a small LAC and is taking out the federal loans. This made his school equivalent to the state flagship and it is a much better place for him. He worked last summer and is planning to work again. He is our kid that spends very, very little. So his bank account is still pretty full. This is being paid out of savings. 

dd2 is a junior at ps high school and currently being recruited. She knows the percentage she needs to attend a school without taking out loans and that is her priority. She has one great offer so far and is headed for more official visits in April.

ds3 (homeschooled)is hoping for a roster spot at a school we can afford. He understands the importance of being a great academic candidate as well. He has the benefit of sibling experience and parental calm (as compared to ds1 and dd1).

The federal loans are not excessive. They can be paid back- even out of a not so great job.  It is the private loans and the parent loans on top of that which are hard.

Plans like cc- then a four-year university, or live at home are great- but they are not always the only option or even a good option for any particular child. Knowing what you can afford and casting the net wide brings in lots of different opportunities. We have been involved in creating the master list of schools- and maybe the narrowing down of options (particularly on the financial side) but the final decisions belonged to the kids.

I guess we view getting a kid through college as a family effort. It takes financial support and emotional support when things get hard or there are health crises. We pinch pennies and worry- but it has been worth it.

 

 

[TheReader]

DH & I were both saddled with an absurd amount of student loans; we had no one telling us it was a bad idea, and no other options. 

For our kids, we've done/are doing a combo of things. 
1 - community college for dual credit in high school - get some of the core classes out of the way at a fraction of the cost
2 - community college for 2 years after - finish the core classes and then apply as a transfer - I would actually not suggest this, now that we've done it/are doing it. More below.
3 - scholarships - help them find things to apply for - so far, these have been not super high, but every bit helps
4 - student loans - DH has calculated the max payment he thinks is reasonable for the kids to have, and thus the max amount they can borrow, divided over the expected time in school, and that's the max he lets them accept each year
5 - paying out of pocket - the excess, DH and I pay from various sources. The regular budget (the amount we were paying to cc already), my extra job (increasing hours next fall), DH's work bonus (a portion of it, so that even if he doesn't meet the full thing, college is covered), our tax return (a portion of it), savings, etc.  Right now it's tricky b/c we don't yet know all the financial aid #2 will get, so we're putting aside what we think he'll need; he may need less, we don't know yet. 

Some things we did to help: 
1 - when we bought our house, we bought less than we could afford, and have been paying extra every month. If need be, we can pull the "extra every month" and put that towards college
2 - we have paid off my car, so we can put my car payment towards college every month if need be (or into the college savings)
3 - we switched cell phone providers to a cheaper one
4 - we switched internet/cable to a lower plan & cheaper provider - the extra from both of those can go towards college
5 - we were paying for outside classes, comm. college, etc. already - that can go to college now
6 - we limited them to colleges we new we would be able to afford even w/minimal scholarships, just in case

RE: doing cc for 2 yrs and transferring - at this point, I'd hesitate to do it again. There are far fewer/much smaller scholarships available for transfer students vs. freshmen, number one. The transition from living at home to away, and the step up from cc classes to university classes is huge, number two. Experiencing that step while also going from freshman level classes to junior level classes.....potentially overwhelming. Our son did so well in cc that he was given academic awards; he is floundering in his first semester at university right now. I think he'll find his footing and be okay, but....it's been hard. Then, also, at least in TX, there's a 45-hr excess credit hour limit -- anything taken in high school doesn't count, but if you reach 45 credit hours over your degree plan, anything after that can be charged at out of state tuition rates. He has a few already that won't count towards his degree; if he ends up having to Q-drop or retake classes, those all count (hours attempted is the threshold, not hours earned). He could, very possibly, end up hitting that if we aren't careful and then his affordable college becomes absolutely impossible to pay for. 

Doing 2 years during high school won't impact any of that, so that's fine, it's the staying home after high school part that I would hesitate with. 

[Serenade]

Deleting post due to monstrous smiley.  What in the world? !!  Will try to repost.

Edited February 22, 2019 by Serenade

[Serenade]

Both of my kids will/are participating in dual enrollment while in high school, and both should earn at least a year's worth of college credits for "free."   The other year for the associate's degree we will pay  for with cash, or we will dip into some money that my mom has set aside for all the grandkids (about 8 - 10, 000 per child).  We are not relying on this money.  If it's there, we will use it.  We have learned the hard way that everything grandparents think or say they have for the grands is not always exactly as they imagine.  In NC, if a student earns an associates at the community college, all of those credits will transfer to a public university, so then each of my kids will be left with two years of college to pay for.  We will pay for some, they will pay for some, and maybe grandma will pay for some.  With any luck, one of my students should get into one of the universities in NC that currently charge $1000 a year for tuition.  That still leaves fees and housing, and I'm guessing that $1000 will go up at some point.   I'm hoping that neither of my children has to borrow more than $10,000.  If we're able, we will try to help them pay off any loans they need to take out.  One of my sons wants to be an engineer, the other a biologist. 

Edited February 22, 2019 by Serenade

[Serenade]

My parent paid for my undergraduate degree one hundred percent.  Well, I had to pay for my books, but they covered everything else, including food.  For my graduate degree, my parents paid some, and I paid some -- I worked three years between undergraduate and graduate degrees.  I also took out loans and had an assistantship.   When I got married, my parents paid the balance on one of my loans -- they didn't want me to go into marriage owing money, lol.  I did still have a small loan, which my husband and I paid off within a year of marriage.

[mommyoffive]

20 hours ago, Lori D. said:

And, we'd love to hear how you did it for you / are doing it (or plan to) for DC!

Also, people may also find these past threads on the similar topic interesting. They are linked on PAGE 3 (under the heading "Money Matters", and the subheading of "Alternatives to Fund College/Reduce Costs") in the big thread "College Motherlode", pinned at the the College board:

How are YOU managing to pay for college? (lots of real-life creative ideas)
s/o Cautionary Tale/high college costs — a brainstorm $$ ideas thread! (ideas for alternative ways to fund college)
College as cheap as possible: need advice 
College breaking the piggy bank? (how are homeschoolers affording college?)

 

Thanks for those links.  I will be reading those. 

I of course didn't listen and go to community college.  I went away to an expensive private school.  I worked, my mom helped pay and took out parent plus loans, I think I had some grants or scholarships from the school.  But I graduated with debt too. 

 

We have been saving money that could be used for college or retirement.   We live 5 mins from a 4 year school that is really affordable.  Hopefully they will get some grants or scholarships.  Oh and they will have to be working too.  I am not sure what any of them really want to do yet.  

[Arcadia]

To supplement the college funds, my parents have kindly gave us homeschooling money every year that we have not used and intend to use those cash gifts for college and/or graduation gift. My parents is very likely to give a cash gift to help with paying for textbooks and laptops for college freshmen year. My very close cousins gave me significant cash gifts when I went to college and would give some cash gifts to my kids too. 

I am thinking of going back for a second degree in accounting when both my kids start dual enrollment classes at the community college. So getting an associate in accounting and then transfer and complete at state university.  Accounting and Law are two areas I am still interested in and I don’t think I want to get a PhD in computer engineering but I might change my mind. 

Another way would be to go work for a company like Starbucks (on the corporate admin side) and make use of the Starbucks ASU employee program to fund my second degree. https://edplus.asu.edu/what-we-do/starbucks-college-achievement-plan

[Shellydon]

3 hours ago, Momto5inIN said:

Just a heads up ... this was not true for us at all. My oldest DS is a high achiever. Not a perfect SAT score, but it was darn close. NMF, great transcript, and only $1000 merit aid at the local U. Granted he is in a very competitive major and he likely would have received some aid had he chosen a less competitive one. But I don't know any student who received most of their tuition from merit aid, and I know a lot of stellar students.

Merit aid is not handed out like candy, and you cannot count on it regardless of how smart and high scoring your kids are. Not saying you need to do anything different with your parenting and/or involvement in the process ... but if that is what you are counting on for financing you are likely to be very very surprised. 

 

This is odd to me.  Several students in our co-op received full ride scholarships, plus board from in state universities due to their NMF status, high ACT, SAT scores.  There were a couple of universities that offered very little (less than $5000), but they applied to 10-15 colleges each then chose the ones that offered full funding.

[Momto6inIN]

1 hour ago, Shellydon said:

This is odd to me.  Several students in our co-op received full ride scholarships, plus board from in state universities due to their NMF status, high ACT, SAT scores.  There were a couple of universities that offered very little (less than $5000), but they applied to 10-15 colleges each then chose the ones that offered full funding.

He received a full tuition scholarship to a different in state U, but very little room and board help, which is just as astronomically priced as tuition. The room and board there was about the same as tuition at the local U that didn't offer him anything where he could live at home for free. So it was about a wash there for DS as far as finances go and the local U is worlds ahead of the other one in terms of being competitive for his major. There were other U's scattered throughout the country that would have given DS a full ride for NMF status, but they were not at all competitive for his major. So yes, it's possible and even likely that a high stats kid could get a full ride *somewhere*. But the PP I was quoting was stating that she was counting on her kids getting merit aid *at a specific local U that they could then live at home or with family*, and that's just not the case everywhere.

Edited February 22, 2019 by Momto5inIN

[Granny_Weatherwax]

For me - I received merit and need based aid. I graduated with $10,000 in loans. DH and paid those back within a year.

For DD and DS - we have paid as much as we can as they went/go along. It's meant sacrificing retirement savings, home repairs have gone unattended, we drive older cars (2001, 2008 with 150,000+ miles).

DD earned some merit scholarships, lived at home, and commuted to school. She also worked PT to help pay expenses. She has a small amount of loans.

DS is 1000 miles away so living at home isn't an option. He earned a full tuition scholarship. We also qualified for some need based aid from his school. We are attempting to cash flow the rest (room and board, books, etc). It is not easy and is quite stressful. We let DS take my car to school this year as our jobs wouldn't allow for taking time off during the days he needed to travel. As a result, DH and I have been sharing one car - not an easy feat with this crazy cold winter and two FT jobs.

As soon as DS graduates, we have a list of home repairs we need to complete. After that, it will be a car for me. I would also like to help DD pay off her loans.

[SereneHome]

me:  Went to state school, lived at home, paid as I went

husband:   Went to state school, didn't work, lived at home, got crap load of loans, which we are still paying now, being middle age people!!

I hold a fairly unpopular view when it comes to paying for my kids' college education.  that will be the LAST thing I would be paying for.  So, if we have tons of money saved up and house is paid off, and they actually get a degree, then, and only then I might consider giving them $$ towards education.  They can live at home, rent free, all food they can eat while they are going to college, but I am not paying for tuition or books or their "activities". 

I WILL, however, brainwash  teach them ALL about savings and investing and beauty of compounding interest, that, btw, goes both way - not just when you earn it but when you owe money!  I will teach them all about signing your life away on a dotted line just bc someone smiles gives you a free gift card to DD.  

But no way would I be going to work to pay for my kids' college or co-signing any loans or giving them any money unless my husband and I are fully and totally comfortable in our finances.

 

 

[readinmom]

My undergrad was paid in full except for books.  Graduate school was loans, didn't qualify for much free stuff.  I'll be paying that thing off for life.  I used to think I had a lot of $$$ in student loans until our teaching staff was at a conference and people were sharing how much they owed.  

The plan for ds1 was to accept partial scholarship for baseball, but he wanted a different school.  We did not qualify for anything, so loans there as well.  He's now paying this off, but is considering applying for film school which would put his payments on hold.

Ds2 worked right out of high school for two years, then decided to attend community college, play his sport.  He doesn't qualify for anything, either.  We are paying for this part of the education.  When he transfers, we'll look at Western Undergraduate Exchange for affordable options.  He wants to go out of state, but the Cal States are much cheaper.   

Dd1 will probably go the community college route as well.  She wants to go to a prestigious theater school, but I don't think she'll make the grades for something like this.  We moved recently, and if we had moved to the city where dd attends school, she would be guaranteed two years of community college tuition free.  It wasn't worth it. Two of our local community colleges have decent programs, so no worries there.  

Personally, I would love to go back to school for another degree, but can't find a way to make it affordable right now. 

 

[Pippen]

Me:  I came from a low income family so my undergraduate degree was mostly paid through grants, loans and work study.  I had tuition waivers through work for the majority of my master's degree, and mostly just paid books and fees. We were able to pay off both of our student loans and still save significantly for a house before we had kids, even on modest salaries. 

We always told our kids that we'd help if we could, but not to count on funds from us to put them through college. We also told them we wouldn't be co-signing loans for them, so to plan with that in mind. Honestly that was very frustrating to them as they saw many families make other choices, but they all are thanking us now that they're coming out with what should be managable amounts of debt. 

They all had about one semester of tuition from a grandparent set aside. We live in a state with really high tuition and all left the state for college. They all worked and when needed, took out federal loans. One did an associates degree at a local community college, and then moved to a lower tuition state, established residency, and worked 30+ hours per week until finished. One was offered an in-state tuition scholarship in a lower tuition state, plus did work study during the school year and worked over the summer. The third needed more help from us the first year, but has done well and was offered undergraduate research assistantships which pay pretty well. 

The last thing I'll add is we didn't plan on this up front, but helping them as we were able has looked very differently for all of them, based on their needs and my work status. I started out thinking it would be ideal to help them all equitably, but wound up realizing it was best for our family circumstances just to get everyone through as we were able. 

[KungFuPanda]

Plan A: investments - they’ve not done very much

Plan B: I go back to work to pay for it, but we didn’t anticipate da being disabled and medical g so much care. 

Plan C: DH teaches and kids attend whichever school employs him, but academia was too much of a pay cut and we didn’t want to move. 

Plan D : Scholarships. 🤣🤣🤣

Current plan: DH hustles extra contracts to just pay outright so our English Major/Secondary Ed major daughter isn’t crippled by debt until her forties. 

We tried. 

[Corraleno]

Me: NM scholarship + Pell grant + work study covered all expenses at a private LAC except for a summer abroad program and the extra expenses of a regular semester abroad program, so I had a small amount of loans for those. PhD program was fully funded with a Fellowship the first year and RA/TAships for the remaining years. My parents were very poor and very unsupportive, so I did not have any financial (or any other) help from them. I am the only one of my siblings who went to college.

DS: Academic and athletic scholarships cover full tuition plus a bit more at an OOS flagship. Room & board are covered from a fund his paternal grandmother set up for him when he was born. Next year he will be living off campus, so his food and rent will be paid from the same account. Since he chose the full tuition scholarship at a public school instead of the full-pay Ivy option, he will have enough left over to cover grad school as well (although hopefully he will get funding).

DD: Will definitely start at CC, and possibly not go any further. If she does decide to do a 4 yr degree, she would transfer to an in-state public and the money her grandmother set aside for her will cover the costs there.

[TravelingChris]

Both dh and I went to a Private college and got student loans, our parents paid (or were suppose to pay) a little bit, worked, and got both federal and school aid to make up the rest.  We were both from low income households.  We did manage to pay off the last student loan before we started paying for college for our children.

Both dh and I got advanced degrees with his being paid for by USAF and mine by scholarships and a graduate assistantship.  

All 3 kids got major scholarships for college (at least initially).  DS got a half scholarship,got loans and we paid a lot too. dd1 got a full scholarship but then we had to help her as her illness precluded her at that time from continuing at a residential college.  She completed her degree with one year of GI bill, one year basically of the full scholarship, and then student loans and our payments.  We are currently paying and almost done paying both ds and dd1s loans. DD3 got a nice scholarship, 3 years of GI bill, and one year plus of us paying full freight.  

[J-rap]

Child #1 had one year that was quite expensive which we paid for ourselves.  After that, he was a little older and married, but we were still committed to paying for his college.  Because he was married, he got a great state grant that covered almost everything for his remaining three years.   We covered the little bit that was left.  Of course he and his wife paid for all of their own living expenses, and he also worked full-time during the last two years of college.

Child #2 ended up doing all of college at a private university in Central America.  It was about $1500/year and was a wonderful little college.  We did help her out with some living expenses (which were very small) when needed, because she wasn't legally allowed to work there, although she'd take off a semester every year and a half or so to come back to the States to work.

Child #3 got a good scholarship that covered about 3/4 of her tuition.  We paid the remainder of her tuition.  She lived with her grandmother the first year and an aunt and uncle for the remaining three, so she saved a lot on room and board.  (She was lucky there were relatives in the city where she was going to school!)  She also worked part-time during school and full-time during summers, so she paid for everything else other than tuition.

Child #4 has chosen another route besides college.

Child #5 is the only one who did everything the more traditional way, so was the most expensive.  Her scholarship covered about half of tuition and room and board, and we paid the rest.  (She lived in the dorms throughout.)  She worked part-time during the school year and full-time in the summers, and covered all of her own misc. expenses.  

[Katy]

We'll pay for up to 5 years of in-state tuition, room, board, and books at a public university IF the child signs the release for us to see grades. Sometimes with aid private schools are cheaper, so that's fine assuming they qualify for a big merit package. We discourage student loans.  Spending money must come from their savings or a part time or summer job.

[Laura Corin]

We put aside a chunk of money many years ago when Husband had some good years. Then we moved back to the UK early enough that we qualified for domestic fees. It's around £9,000 (USD12,000) per year for Oxford, and the degree is only three years long.

My own education was taxpayer funded and I was also given a bursary to live on.

Edited February 26, 2019 by Laura Corin

[goldberry]

We figured out how much we could help and told DD that amount.  She is covered by a merit scholarship, the amount we are paying, and a small student loan that will leave her with about $10K total in debt once she is done.  We are going against common advice by contributing when we don't have retirement taken care of yet.  DD wants to be a teacher, and we didn't want her to have crushing loans.  So there you go, our choice.

[Sneezyone]

We are using two years of GI Bill (the Post 9-11 version includes a housing stipend) for each child and we have saved an extra two years of in-state tuition for each child in a 529. The housing piece, for four years, we will cash flow either from work or the sale of our rental property (if DH retires). We will also provide a small monthly stipend but the kids will have to supplement that with their own earnings.

ETA: we expect both kids to leave HS with at least one semester of gen. ed college credits under their belts and several thousand in savings.

Edited February 27, 2019 by Sneezyone

[Garga]

Unless our kids know what they want to do and need to go straight to a 4 year college to attain their goal, they will start at the community college where my dh works and take advantage of a “children of employee” discount. 

After that, barring a student who needs to go to a very specific college to meet some sort of goal, it’ll be a state college because the state colleges will accept all the cc credits.  The closest state college is an hour’s drive away, so they will have to live on campus.  Last summer, we visited a few colleges in the area to try to promote interest in college in the oldest.  He was pretty tepid about it, until he saw the one state college an hour away.  Something about that college clicked with him and he likes the idea of going there someday.  Not soon, because he loves being home and doesn’t want to leave, but when he’s 20 and done his two years at the cc, he’ll be ready.

After college, barring any unexpected personality differences, the boys are both welcome to live with us rent free in order to pay down college debt.  It would be rent free because we would expect them to be putting a huge percentage of their income toward the debt, as well as saving for their own future (rent or mortgage.).  Our house is small, but it does have one room that we use as the school room that has its own door to the outside and is connected to a bathroom. They could use the room as an efficiency so that we would all have a bit of privacy/separation from each other, should we want it.  

An aunt put $10k in a college saving fund for our sons a number of years ago when she gave up all her money/possessions to become a nun.  It’s grown a bit and we will use that up.  And I will be getting a job with the sole purpose of upping our retirement savings and helping to pay for college costs.  We can’t pay for all of it, but we will help with what we can.  We will probably be able to pay for about 1/3 of their education (counting things like books and parking fees, etc), and they’ll cover about 2/3 is how it looks like it’ll work out.

[AFwife Claire]

Me:  went to a private Christian liberal arts college, got a lot of scholarships (NM plus other merit ones), especially for the first year.  Second year had a small loan to cover the amount from the scholarships that didn't renew.  Got married after my sophomore year to a captain in the USAF (who went to USAFA, so had no debt), and he paid off my small loan, and then paid the balance for my remaining 2 years.

DS1:  4 year AF ROTC scholarship, plus smaller scholarships to help with room and board--we ended up paying around $6,000 a year for him.

DS2:  got UAH's great scholarship deal of free tuition and housing that isn't offered anymore.  We end up paying about $4000 a year for food and fees.

DS3:  a junior now, but much less academically motivated than his older brothers.  He is working and dual-enrolling for this year and next.  I expect he will either keep going at the community college, or go to a local university and live at home.  I don't expect really any merit aid, since he's not really doing extra SAT prep or anything.

The remaining 7:  who knows?  We have had 2 in college the past 2 years, and we will continue to have 2 in college for the next 20 years, except for the years we will have 3 in college.  😮  Dh is retired from the Air Force as a lt. col., so he does have a decent retirement pay, plus he makes good money as a government contractor.  He'll keep working as long as possible.  And we'll keep encouraging dual enrollment during high school, living at home, etc.  I do hope some of the others are motivated like the first 2 and will get good scholarships.  Ds3 has asthma and food (nut) allergies, so he knew he wouldn't be able to be in the military--and that realization seemed to just kind of deflate his motivation, like he couldn't do that, so he just kind of gave up.  Honestly, how we will pay for their college is not something I lay awake and worry about.  We will help as much as we can, and if they don't have scholarships, then they can work, co-op, whatever.  I've even talked about the possibility of getting a trade certificate and working for a bit, and then going off to college.  There are a lot of good options, and I know each child's path may not resemble anyone else's!

[Frances]

nm

Edited March 3, 2019 by Frances

[bethben]

Ds 18 will be working part time and going to a state college close to home which he can commute to.  He has a small small college saving plan and a small merit based scholarship.  We have been able to save enough to pay for a semester.  He also completed two years of college during his high school years paid for by the state so we’re looking at only two years anyway.  

[musicianmom]

*

Edited May 21, 2022 by musicianmom

[2_girls_mommy]

For myself, I went part time to junior college after work at my full time offic job and paid cash for each class for years. As I worked my way up in my career, I switched degrees, and they paid for my classes at that time as long as I got As. Then I quit, enrolled fulltime and got a full ride scholarship for women in business. 

We are lucky enough now to live in a state that has a college scholarship for kids under a certain income level which we meet. So my kids are both enrolled in that program. We only have to cover books and fees. Since there are universities within driving range, mine will be able to live at home. They will work to pay for their own phones and transportation and as much of school fees as they can. We will pay cash for the rest. We will have a two year period where mine overlap that will be a bit tough on us, but I am hoping to have some part time work by then since I will only be homeschooling 1 at the time. After we get those two done, I want to start putting away for the next one to have as large a chunk as possible for her, as dh will be retired by the time she is college age, and who knows if the scholarship program will still be around or not.