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My daughter is very bright, and I know she will do well in college. This is my first child experiencing the college life, and I want to give her every opportunity I can. I am in a bit of a financial crisis at the moment, and have no idea how I am going to pay for college. She plans on getting a job, but I don't want her "learning" to suffer because she can't handle it all.
Does anyone have any advice or even the do's and don'ts of paying for college? Thanks.
While wages for most Americans have been stagnant or declining for the last decade the cost of college has been increasing much faster than inflation. As a result fewer and fewer parents can afford to pay their kid's way through college.
You might be able to save some money by having your daughter take her first year or two at community college. Living at home can save a lot of money. Also the tuition and fees at community college tend to be less than at 4 year colleges. In my experience low level classes are often taught as well or better at community college than at universities; at universities these courses are often taught by unmotivated teaching assistants.
Look into scholarships. Are any of these available through your work, church, etc? If your income and assets aren't too high Pell grants can be a big help.
I'm not that sold on student loans. I never took out any. i worked full time and took a class or two a semester until I graduated. It took 12 years but I graduated without any debts hanging over my head. A neice of mine took out loans for college and after graduating the best job she has been able to find has been working at a day care. She can barely pay her share of her apartment (she has a roomate) let alone pay back any of her loan.
I had to take financial aid to get through college myself, because my parents didn't have enough money to pay for it. The good thing is in the US, anybody can get aid - check out http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/ which is the best way to learn about the application process.
The down side, naturally, is that more than half of the aid you get is in the form of low interest loans. More than seven years out of school, I have a ways to go before I'm done paying. However, I have kids of my own (my older son is turning six next week) and it's taken me more time than I would have thought to pay off the loans. In total, they give you ten years to pay them off, so it's not too scary.
Best thing to do, if possible, is to work summers with good internships, make industry contacts, etc, so that she can pay of the loans faster & save money from summer to pay for school during the year. I had two jobs during the last two years of college (no joke) and my studies did suffer a bit, but my grades were worse when I was partying & didn't have two jobs, but only one.
Good luck.
Thank you!!! I will check out the site, and keep your tips handy!
