Fifty Plus (50+) - College Costs, OMG

So the bike related aspect of this post is ..that I won't be able to afford automobiles any more.

Figuring there must be some tangible aspect of federal financial student aid even for middle class folks like me --given that any colleges beyond low end state schools and junior colleges are well over $30K/year, I dutifully filled out my FAFSA forms to get an "effective family contribution." (Next year I'll have two in college which will continue on and off for another 13 years). The EFC is supposed to be what a family is expected to contribute toward college costs before financial aid kicks in. My EFC comes in at $60K PER YEAR! It feels like a terrible joke.

I have one at U-of-Illinois (engineering) at a cheap $25K/yr (in-state cost) and another hoping for Wash-U-StLouis or NotreDame --both over $50K/year. And two more on the way. $60K/year for 13 years is more than $750K.

It bugs me that various universities around the country will own my house and all my savings before I die. The alternative is saddling the kids with oppressive life-long loan payments.

Pretty much sucks. Other than that, things are pretty good.

I'm in the process of sending my 18-year-old off to college next Fall and share your pain.

Somehow, I got over the shock of the tuition part a couple years ago (though I haven't had to write the first check). I even got over the cost of testing ($50 a pop for the PSAT, SAT, SAT again, and ACT) and applications ($50 per school for 8 colleges).

But what drove me c-r-a-z-y was sending off money to the College Board and the ACT to have them electronically transmit my son's test scores to the colleges he was applying to. It cost $220 to go to a website, log in, and have the test services transmit his scores off to the colleges. It ought to cost (maybe) $10.

Maybe I'm directing all my frustration about the huge tuition bills in my future toward the testing services, but jeez, what a racket.

If the students have any money in their names it drives up your EFC drastically. If they have money get it out of their names or if they need a car or some major expense spend it before filling out the FAFSA. They will be harshly penalized for being responsible and have any savings in their names. It hurts a lot less to have money in your name.

I was lucky many ways. My kid got aid and merit scholarships enough to pretty well cover her undergraduate education. We helped a little with books and spending money, but it was cheaper than having her at home. On top of that she is very frugal with her money AND with mine. She is now working on her PHD and getting full tuition, health insurance, and a nice stipend to cover living expenses.

If that isn't enough she and a friend rode coast to coast with me on the Trans America route after graduation!

If that isn't enough she and a friend rode coast to coast with me on the Trans America route after graduation!

I read your journal at CGOAB -- really looks like fun!

My son is into kayaking and hiking, not biking. I've tried to talk him into a tour to celebrate his HS graduation -- no dice. We're going to do something outdoors together this summer, but more than likely not a bike ride.

I've had 3 college tuitions going at one time for 3 years now. Plus, my son is a Senior in High School so he will take the place in college of my wife who graduates this summer. My oldest will be going back for graduate work and I really want to help her if I'm able. While we're fortunate that our college tuitions are not as high, they're still extremely taxing. At least my kids and my wife have done extremely well in school so I don't feel like I've flushed the investment.

What concerns me right now are these $25k weddings my friends keep telling me about........

We don't have chidren, but from what I've seen, I agree with this conclusion.

And, a college education is becoming increasingly less valuable. A BS is so common now, it's almost like a HS degree. So the financial benefits of a basic college education are waning. I know too many people in their 20s and 30s who are under the weight of $100,000 plus loans, and all they can do is work work work. No family life, no volunteer work, nothing.

The other thing I think is odd about college is that so much of the social and political perspective is oriented toward egailtarianism, yet the whole point of a college degree is to create a higher class of people, socially and economically.

The value of a college education increases every single day. There are many ways to hold down the cost of higher education - 2 yr. community college plus 2 yrs of state college is the drill. Or just get a job, and go evenings.

More than ever, HS educations don't prepare people to work in this increasingly technology-focused world.

I read your journal at CGOAB -- really looks like fun!

My son is into kayaking and hiking, not biking. I've tried to talk him into a tour to celebrate his HS graduation -- no dice. We're going to do something outdoors together this summer, but more than likely not a bike ride.
That cool. You are lucky he is interested in other outdoor activities. A kayak trip, backpacking trip, or other outdoor stuff is a great experience to share with your kids especially when they are grown. If they have time for you after they are out of high school you are very lucky.

I just finished paying for our two a couple of years ago. All told, it cost us around $200,000, including fees, books, room & board, etc. A lot of money, but our kids are worth it.

Interestingly enough, parents aren't obligated to pay for higher education.

My generation paid for college with the G.I Bill. The last I heard, the military is still hiring.

dbg,

As they say in the movies..."I feel your pain". My eldest is a sophomore in college. And if one payment wasn't enough, the second one heads off next year.

I remember filling out all the financial aid forms when my oldest was getting ready to depart for school. After getting no aid I visited the aid counselor and him asked how much I needed to be spending on school before I'd become eligible for aid...he chuckled slightly and told me I needed two in school simultaneously before I even got close. That was the day I understood the term, "sticker shock"!

I have 3 in University right now. It's not as bad here in Canada, our schools are regulated as to tuition costs, I guess it's like your state schools. It could be worse my daughter is working on her Masters in Biology and is paid to teach undergrads, which helps with costs.
I disagree about the importance of education, as more people get degrees, the education level for jobs is raised. Up here "fast food" jobs are looking for high school graduates.

Here in Tennessee we have a lottery funded scholarship program - kids get tuition paid as long as the GPA is above a 3.0 - state schools only.

Both of my kids have benefitted from this program - one just graduated from the University of Tennessee and the other is half-way.

It's amazing to me how Illinois has some of the highest property taxes, toll roads and a state income tax and no in state scholarship program. Tennessee has no toll roads, no state income tax and low property taxes and somehow we can fund a program like this.

BTW, I'm a graduate of the University of Illinois Champaign Campus and I deeply respect it - however, UT provided a high quality education for my daughter and is now employed in a great job!

My generation paid for college with the G.I Bill. The last I heard, the military is still hiring.

Yes, they are - and that's how my two sons are going to be getting through college. The older one got out of the Marines last October, and the younger one got out of the Army in December. They're both covered by the G.I. Bill - so thanks to all the other taxpayers in the US who are going to be helping me out with their college bills! On the other hand, I'll probably wind up paying for my daughter's college career, starting in 4 years or so...
- Bob

The EFC is supposed to be what a family is expected to contribute toward college costs before financial aid kicks in. My EFC comes in at $60K PER YEAR! It feels like a terrible joke.



If your EFC is $60K per year I would estimate your adjusted taxable income is well into six figures or else you have substantial savings and investments, debt free, outside of your 401k/IRA or your home, since neither of the latter two items are counted in the calculations.

Just sayin......

My generation paid for college with the G.I Bill. The last I heard, the military is still hiring.

ROTC scholarships and GI benefits are available....I'm living proof of both.

As a community college product, married to the same, and now a professor at one, let offer potential solution that may work for some.

In California community colleges are the best deal going. Unless your student is on a mission, knows their major, and has planned their future in detail, community college can be a great choice. The price is reasonable. The instructors are there to teach, not publish or do research. And why pay university prices for a student to "find themselves?" Two years of general education at a community college can prepare a transfer student for their last two at a university. My college has transfer agreement with UC system as well as a honors program that makes students very attractive for transfer institutions.

In some fields, like journalism, the students who transfer to four year schools end up being the stars of their programs. They tend to do better than the students who start as university freshman.

Certainty for some students starting at a university can be good thing. But for many, a community college can provide a better experience, and education, than they would find at a much higher price elsewhere.

Now back to your regularly scheduled thread.....

What concerns me right now are these $25k weddings my friends keep telling me about........

+1, jppe

I have two girls in a state university, both have academic scholarships which help out some. My oldest daughter is a CPA, and married. The wedding expense comes in one shot, at least the college expense is spread over 4 or 5 years. Weddings are a big deal where I come from. One down, two to go.....:(

luv2cruz,

That's why I had boys ;)

(as if I had any choice in the matter!)

So the bike related aspect of this post is ..that I won't be able to afford automobiles any more.

Figuring there must be some tangible aspect of federal financial student aid even for middle class folks like me --given that any colleges beyond low end state schools and junior colleges are well over $30K/year, I dutifully filled out my FAFSA forms to get an "effective family contribution." (Next year I'll have two in college which will continue on and off for another 13 years). The EFC is supposed to be what a family is expected to contribute toward college costs before financial aid kicks in. My EFC comes in at $60K PER YEAR! It feels like a terrible joke.

I have one at U-of-Illinois (engineering) at a cheap $25K/yr (in-state cost) and another hoping for Wash-U-StLouis or NotreDame --both over $50K/year. And two more on the way. $60K/year for 13 years is more than $750K.

It bugs me that various universities around the country will own my house and all my savings before I die. The alternative is saddling the kids with oppressive life-long loan payments.

Pretty much sucks. Other than that, things are pretty good.

Welcome to the club.

A lot of kids knock off quite a bit of their college education while in high school now. You can really trim the bill that way. My nephews had a couple of years of credits done by the time they were actually ready to go. In fact, one of them is now going to a college that is entirely 16 and 17 year olds, because he wanted to be with kids his own age.

California has free college for residents, too.

But yes... I don't know how anyone affords college nowadays. What else is interesting is that college applicants are now a female majority. Substantially. Schools are trying to maintain a balance between the sexes, so the end result is that females can be refused admission even if their GPA and extracurricular activities are stronger than a male's.

Are State schools and living at home that bad an option?

Two years of general education at a community college can prepare a transfer student for their last two at a university.

Most of the kids in my family have gone the community college route. About the only ones who went straight to a university were those who had full scholarships.

I spawned a Philosophy/EnglishLit major. Costing me and the missus $50K a year and he wants a PHD.
I'm not complaining though,I'm proud I can provide it for him. I had to scratch and starve my way through college , it didn't make me stronger or smarter, just exhausted.

In my case the EFC is mostly parent income driven and you can't hide anything. Even non-taxable income (IRA or 401K contributions, Medical spending accounts, etc) are all added back into the total. This year the 529 accounts in the kids name are exempted. Two years ago they were kiss-of-death for any chance at a reasonable EFC. I ran the numbers up and down. $100K of AGI (adjusted gross income) puts you above $25K/ year expected contribution before any financial aid kicks in. So with $75K going home and most of that going towards long term debt and consumer debt and cost of living and whatever you can squeeze into savings --who's got even close to $25K extra laying around? Every year. My wife and I both work so our AGI gets closer to $200K but no way can I produce $60K per year for 13 years.

To make things worse I live in upscale Naperville (I'm the poorest person I know) and my kids just expect to be given Notre Dame or Duke or Northwestern educations because that's where all their friends are going. Worse still, this school district produces way high test scores and U-of-Illinois uses quotas to even out high school acceptance. ACT's of 32 in this HS are turned away from U-of-I, while other districts have 25's routinely accepted. So it's nearly impossible even to get into the good state school from this high school.

Anybody remember Martin Mull's "Upper Middle Class Blues"? Some lyrics:

I woke up this morning,
Looked in the garage -both cars were gone.
I woke up this morning,
Looked in the garage -both cars were gone.
I got so mad -I threw my drink across the lawn.

I'm sorry if I'm stepping out of line here, because I'm not a parent.

However... my parents did pay for my tuition, but back then it was inexpensive. They could afford it with no problem, but even then I chose to go to a Jr. College for my first two years so my second two years at an all-girl Catholic college wouldn't be so expensive. If I thought for a moment* that my parents were struggling with the tuition, I would have happily gone to a state college, or lived a few years on my own so that only my income was assessed for financial aide.

If my parents were under financial stress and didn't tell me, I would be furious... because I would never want that. I'd feel horrible if I found that out.

I also think that financial limitations are an important thing for kids to learn about. There are some things which are simply out of our price range, and we need to save for them or forego them. College age kids are totally able to juggle things which are important to them. If the parents are paying for college, what can the kid do to help? Choose a college the parents can afford (as much as possible!), choose a college close by so they can live at home, Work a year or two to help save the money, chose not to have a car...

It's a good thing for families to work this stuff out together. And it lets the kid make some of the decisions that mark an adult, and which they will soon be making in their own lives.

Are State schools and living at home that bad an option?

It depends. Some state schools are the "large public universities", impersonal, high student to teacher ratio. Depending on the major, the level of competition may be way over the student's capabilities.

The junior college alternative would be a bore for some students. Not all instructors at the junior college level are PhD's in their field of teaching. So its like an extended high school.

Some students payoff their student loans with service to the Peace Corps and other things. I don't know how much can be done, but its possible.

Not all instructors at the junior college level are PhD's in their field of teaching. So its like an extended high school.

True. But California does require a masters. I'm not sure having a PhD assures quality instruction anyway. (though I guess the same point could be made for any degree...)

The first two years is* like high school. You take a lot of classes that are liberal arts requirements and not necessarily in your field... you adjust to college life, there's a bunch of students in your classes who won't make it all the way through, you catch up in areas you neglected in high school. You figure out what you want to do in life.

Some of the best teachers I ever had were at the Jr. College. There was a history teacher who got me hooked on history and it's remained a life long love. I had a physics teacher who actually got me interested in science. It was pretty easy, but it helped me hone my study skills, since high school had been easy enough to skate through without developing serious study habits. It also let me get rocking grades which transferred to my next school.

The college I went to for the last two years was a pretty small and prestigious one. I honestly don't think it was any more difficult. It was more serious, and it was more work, but I didn't feel it was more difficult...just more demanding.

I suppose it was less prestigious to say I went to a Jr. College for 2 years, but to be honest I only used my social work degree for a couple years. And in my current field, no one cares where I went to school.

What is important about a school is the contacts you make that will help later on.

Hmmm..... interesting comments. It occurs to me, that not unlike finding a saddle that works, or a bike that fits, college is a highly individualized thing. Hopefully those who choose to partake of the experience will find one that suits their unique needs.

My parents couldn't afford to pay for my college tuition, so I went on a work-study program and alternated going to school for a quarter, and working a quarter, and so on. My bachelor's took five years, so what? I had some of the best five years of my life. I went to a non-prestigious state school in Ohio where most of the kids were commuting. I then went on to get a masters out in California.

I used to feel bad that I didn't get to go where I had wanted, which was Kenyon College. Couldn't afford it. But what's been really interesting to me is that so far, in a career spanning thirty years, no one has ever cared where I went to school. They just care about whether I can help them solve problems. I realize some professions and some organizations seem to require an education in a well known school, and going to Harvard or Yale does give one contacts that are hard to get any other way, but we can't all go to Harvard or Yale.

One of my favorite clients, by the way, was Boston Consulting. Everyone there had graduated first in his or her MBA program from one of the four top business schools. But they turned to me for help with a specific situation, not once but three times, and they could have cared less where I went to school. All they cared about -- all any of my clients care about -- is can we get the job done?

My eldest daughter is a freshman in a junior college. Perfect for her -- she hasn't a clue what she wants to major in or "be when she grows up." She's got two years to satisfy a lot of basic requirements, and she can transfer into a four year school when she's a junior.

My deal is that I will pay for undergraduate education at a good State school. There is really no reason that I can see that you need to get an undergraduate degree from Stanford, Harvard etc unless you are really a star and then you should have some scholarships anyway. I don't see why you should feel that you need to pay for the most expensive education your child can qualify for? If you are getting a PhD then I can see why a name University is important but getting a BS or BA at any good State school should be adequate. My experience is the high priced teachers at the high end schools never teach undergraduates anyway, you just get their teaching assistants.

My three daughters are all in college this year. We raised them through the
private schools in our area, Catholic schools, allowing us to have a lot of control
over their learning environment (we transferred them as the schools changed
character...we would not have been able to do that in the public system).
They knew from day one that we would provide them with financial backing to
the equivalent of two years of Community College plus transportation (decent
used car). Anything beyond that would be their responsibility.

None of them went to Community College, they all managed to earn scholastic
scholarships....find jobs.....get internships etc. The oldest gets her BS in
Mech Eng. in May and will only owe for the Fed. Stafford Loans. Her credit
history is healthy and has been since the start of her third year at college. The
two younger ones are on the same track.

Kids can still put themselves thru college. I feel however that the path needs
to be plotted very early in life, and averyone's path is different.

Being in the 50K -60K wage bracket, the above scenario was our only option.

Some good advice. I need to set expectations and get the kids involved in the plan much earlier. My wife's view is, "if they don't get the grades and honors required to secure full rides, tough luck." But my father paid every dime for four kids, and then he paid for his nephews and neices that couldn't afford it (he never admitted doing so to me, I figured it out later when they all kept thanking him profusely at every family get together). I'd like to be the same person as my father in this regard, but, as the wife says, "NGH" (not gonna happen).

My wife and I used Community College and a local state college. I had an intentional interruption with my enlisted Marine Corps service, but we only used 1 loan each for our senior years. Our daughter went to a women's ivy, luckily her trust fund covered 2-1/2 years, she finished in 3 due to I.B. and AP credits. Our son is a state Bright Futures scholar and we pay for booke only. Next year he is going to a private church college nearby so his trust fund kicks in for him. We have been pretty lucky, Just housing, car insurance and some folding money to supplement their jobs. I feel for any family paying the full load.

Bill

I grew up in the shadow of a Huge State School. I don't think it would have worked very well for me to go there. I was able to go to a small private school, which was a good fit, on someone else's unanticipated dime.

My oldest daughter could go anywhere she wanted. One summer she took classes at the local no-name college so she could graduate ahead of schedule. "The classes are as good here as they are at the place you're spending big bucks to send me". She may end up "home-schooling" our youngest daughter, not out of horrible dastardly ideologic motivation but that my youngest daughter is just so far behind that I'm not sure the public schools (through no fault of their own) will be able to get her caught up. In turns out that Eastern European boarding schools (ie orphanages) don't have such strong academic programs.

My middle daughter could go anywhere she wanted. The pain was eased by her getting a partial scholarship. She did well and we are proud of her. She's now working in a bagel shop. Her educational needs would have been met just fine at the local no-name school.

My son has much more humble career goals, which is good, since we ran the bank on our first two daughters.

It'll be a miracle if our youngest daughter makes it into college, and if she qualifies we'll be thankful to get her into the local no-name school. I'm not sure we would send her to an Expensive School with a Big Name even if we could, but we probably won't be able to financially. And she'll probably do just fine.

The junior college alternative would be a bore for some students. Not all instructors at the junior college level are PhD's in their field of teaching. So its like an extended high school.


This is what my daughter is doing. She was able to test out of high school early and is doing two years at a Community College instead of finishing her junior and senior year at high school.

One of the major advantages that I see doing it this way is that most of the JC students really want to be there, unlike some of the high school kids...who think and act like a captive audience.

Also in California a JC doesn't cost much so why not...

My parents couldn't afford to pay for my college tuition, so I went on a work-study program and alternated going to school for a quarter, and working a quarter, and so on. My bachelor's took five years, so what? I had some of the best five years of my life. I went to a non-prestigious state school in Ohio where most of the kids were commuting. I then went on to get a masters out in California.

I used to feel bad that I didn't get to go where I had wanted, which was Kenyon College.

DG - I went to the local "non-prestigous" state, commuter school in Ohio. My oldest kid is a senior at Kenyon, and loves it there. She has great parents.:rolleyes:

PS - I also did co-op undergrad. Went nights for my JD. My cousin did both undergrad and law school nights at the same "non-prestigious" state school.

This is what my daughter is doing. She was able to test out of high school early and is doing two years at a Community College instead of finishing her junior and senior year at high school.

One of the major advantages that I see doing it this way is that most of the JC students really want to be there, unlike some of the high school kids...who think and act like a captive audience.

Also in California a JC doesn't cost much so why not...

Most college bound kids in high school take mostly Advanced Placement classes. These are the "smart kids" who really don't want to be in with the general education kids because of the "captive audience" thing. Discipline problems, lack of motivation, class participation.

The smart kids hang out with each other and aren't the ones who hang out at the malls after school. So there's a social thing that's important.

My eldest daughter is a freshman in a junior college. Perfect for her -- she hasn't a clue what she wants to major in or "be when she grows up." She's got two years to satisfy a lot of basic requirements, and she can transfer into a four year school when she's a junior.

California is still the best value for post secondary education. Its 3 level approach: 2 year community college; state university system; and University of California works well for California.

Then there's the privates like Stanford, Claremont Colleges, Cal Tech,

I'm not sure having a PhD assures quality instruction anyway.

I strongly agree with this comment. Having a PhD does not guarantee that you can convey the knowledge to others. In fact, in the technical fields, those PhD researchers can often be the absolute worst instructors. At least, that has been my experience.

I strongly agree with this comment. Having a PhD does not guarantee that you can convey the knowledge to others. In fact, in the technical fields, those PhD researchers can often be the absolute worst instructors. At least, that has been my experience.

Earning a degree, knowing one's field, and teaching to others are three entirely different things. In a perfect world you wouldn't be able to earn a degree unless you understood your field, but there are many who do. In a perfect world knowing your field would be just one of the requirements for teaching others. You would also need to know a fair amount about cognitive processes, how people learn, facilitation skills, group process, instructional design, etc. And, in a perfect world not only would you need to know, you'd need to be able to do while having a serious commitment to doing it correctly each and every time.

California is still the best value for post secondary education. Its 3 level approach: 2 year community college; state university system; and University of California works well for California.

Then there's the privates like Stanford, Claremont Colleges, Cal Tech,

The California system is very competitive though. My son was a 4 year straight A student in HS and just missed valedictorian. He had good SAT scores and a small amount of community service. He had no chance of getting in UC Berkley, UCLA ect, they had, if I recall, about 15,000 applicants for 4,000 spots. Stanford was about $50k/yr and even if he could get in, there was no way I could afford that. He ended up at UCSB and he got a good education and has a decent job now. I do a lot of interviewing for technical positions and in order of importance I look at:

1. Job experience
2. Graduate education
3. Undergraduate education

The one advantage of going Ivy league or other high priced institution is that if you are interviewing and the guy hiring is an alum you have a better chance of getting the job. My daughter will be due for college in 3 years and we are looking at UF and FSU for her which I should be able to swing. Tutition room and board will be about $15k/yr.

I would recommend that kids go away to college, since I believe education is one aspect and learning to live on their own is another.

My son, who graduated from high school last June, was admitted to a couple of private colleges here in Washington which were going to offer him scholarships for about two-thirds of his tuition because of his academics. However, he plays baseball and did not want to play at a Division-3 level school, which would have been as far as his baseball would have gone, and he wasn't offered an athletic scholarship at any D-1 schools.

He chose to go to a community college about 100 miles away from us and that is proving a very good choice. He can play ball (he will be the starting shortstop this year) and get basic courses out of the way. I had reservations about the academics, but he's very satisfied and he's the one who has to live it. By going to a community college for two years, he will save us A LOT of money, although that was not part of the decision!

I also strongly suspect that part of his choice about where to go had to do with his girlfriend, who is a senior in high school this year. They each wanted to be within a relatively short driving distance. Ah, young love!

Now I get to look forward to my twin daughters graduating and going off to college, but I have five more years to prepare for that. :o

My generation paid for college with the G.I Bill. The last I heard, the military is still hiring.

Well, be careful with this one because once the military gets you, you won't necessarily be completing that college education for a long time. One of my sons served 4 years active duty in the Army including an Afghanistan deployment before being honorable discharged. Time for him to use his GI bill for college - right? That's what he thought, but after 1-1/2 years of college, he was called up under a provision called IRR (Ready Reserve). At least he was able to get an extension to finish that semester, but he's now back in Afghanistan (Kandahar area - one of the most dangerous locations) until at least May. Eight years will finally be complete in August, when, at age 27, he can finally use that GI bill and hopefully complete his education.

I would heartily not endorse this method unless you want your kid to see other parts of the world like Iraq or Afghanistan.

Gail

My son went the junior college route for a couple of years, and then wend to SF State. It's just as well, because those first 2 years he was kind of floundering around trying to figure out his career. No need to pay huge dollars while doing that! Anyway, he graduated 5 years ago, and is a very successful fashion designer. The junior college-state college route fit the bill perfectly for him, and didn't hurt his career one iota.

My daughter, OTOH, wouldn't have been happy at all at a junior college. She graduated from UCSB a couple of years ago and is doing very well, too. But for her, the UC system was just right.

So it's partly a matter of your capabilities as parents and partly what's right for the kids.

All I can say is, thank God for the increase in home values. We refi'd 5 times. If we couldn't have done that, we'd be looking at VERY different options.

Since 1997, I have financed four children getting their Bachelor's degrees from Wisconsin public universities. The University of Wisconsin system offers a great education for the money. The first year for my oldest child only set me back $8K. Now it is close to $15K/yr.

My deal was to pay the amount it would cost to go to a Wisconsin school, including room & board, for 4 years. If they took 5 years or went to a private school, then those costs were theirs to pick up.

I paid for 16 years of schooling, with 3 in school during 1 year. Still have 1 child in high school. And now my wife is enrolled at UW-Madison to go after her degree. Hadn't planned on that one. At least she's still living at home! :)

I think they received a grand total of $3000 in scholarships. In other words, essentially nothing. It paid for about 2% of the costs.

Two of them did graduate work, with one now at UNC-Chapel Hill. These costs were largely picked up through graduate assistantships and very moderate to small loans.

I already have an amount equal to the expected cost of sending the 5th one in a bank account.

In each year, I had them pick up $1000-$2000 of the cost. In study after study it has been shown that students do better in college and finish quicker when they are paying a portion of the cost.

It is because these expenses are coming to end is why I can now afford the occasion inexpensive vacation (like the one I'm on now, where half of the nights are at my mother's house and the other have are on the St Augustine beach in a January Special $55/night motel), a lower-end HDTV, and a nice bike or two. Still haven't worked my way up to getting a nice car.

Big thing for me is that I have arrived at this point with essentially zero debt. Only a very modest mortgage payment based on 1990 house prices and a refinanced 4.9% loan. Nothing else. Helps me to sleep better at night.

Oh, and one wedding has been paid for, with two more scheduled for this year. But so far they are being very frugal with the arrangements. Last one only set me back $2300.

Oh, and one wedding has been paid for, with two more scheduled for this year. But so far they are being very frugal with the arrangements. Last one only set me back $2300.

What if you'd said that to your grandmother?
I have thoughts like this every time I spend $1 for a bottle of water.

Maybe I'm just getting really old.

Last one only set me back $2300.

Wow. That wouldn't even cover the photographer. Frugal is not the word!

Had 3 kids get married in one year: one daughter eloped (dbg... there's a valid option!) while the other son and daughter married in more conventional ways. Had an ex to share costs with, so that helped. However, I did all the college costs while the kids worked and paid much of their living expenses.

Two more to go: college and weddings for both. Hopefully biking will help keep me healthy enough to live and work long enough to pay it all. :)