How much debt have you/your kids had to deal with?
Zero. Zero debt. My husband and I both graduated without debt (we worked VERY HARD to make that happen), and helping our kids graduate without debt has been a big priority for us.
Our oldest is out of school, and she really hit the ground running. Graduated in May -- tested for her professional license in June -- started working in July. She's already doing well professionally and has moved up in her job. She is on track to have her home paid off in two years, and she's saving for her future. If she'd graduated with debt, she wouldn't be this far along in life.
Our youngest is still in college, but she's on a similar track. Her plans are to move back home after graduation, and she plans to start investing in rental homes.
- Be honest with your kids, and tell them what's affordable and what isn't. My parents told me I couldn't go to my top choice because the price tag was too high. It sucked then, but I am so, so thankful now.
- Encourage them to be resident advisors. My college covered room and board for RAs, so I ended up saving about $45,000 over 3 years (again, sucked then but I'm thankful now).
- Consider community college for the first 2 years
- Have them apply to as many scholarships as possible. Even a few small scholarships can make a difference
I'll add these thoughts:
- My youngest started in community college, and it was a mixed bag as far as quality. Definitely pay a lot of attention to what'll transfer ... and they may screw you over anyway.
- Consider the military. Reserves might be a good idea. If I had it to do again, I'd do a stint in the military before college. I didn't even consider it at that point, but it would've been better for me.
- Scholarships are
much harder to earn than they were in past decades, so don't beat yourself up if they don't get any. On the other hand, if they don't bother to apply, that's another story!
I took AP classes my sophomore and junior year
Also consider dual enrollment between high school and community college. In our area, high schoolers can take college classes for free (with permission of their high school pirincipal) -- they just pay for books. I think it's a better deal than AP classes. Your AP grade depends upon how you perform on
one test -- so if you screw up that one day, you get nothing -- whereas you have more control over whether you pass the community college class. You can even do the community college classes online, so you don't need to physically travel to the school.
I went to an in-state Ivy
What Ivy League university is in California?
Have the kids apply to the places they're interested in, including cheaper options, and see how it shakes out. My Ivy ended up being the same price as one of the state schools.
I'm near the end of my career teaching high school seniors, and -- in my fairly extensive experience -- the expensive school tends to end up being the most expensive school. The "you can go to this private school for less than the state school" happens
just often enough to keep people trying to make it happen.
I tell my students: If you're dying to attend (insert expensive school here), apply to it -- but, at the same time, apply to at least two schools that're more realistic for you financially. AND apply to a safety net school -- a school you could afford if absolutely nothing goes your way. If they do each of these things, regardless of whether grants/scholarships come though, they'll have a good variety of choices.