I"m confused as to where all this crippling college debt comes from unless one arbitrarily chooses to take it on?
I'll take U of Kansas as an example since I live in the region. Tuition is @ 4k a year, add room and board and books you're looking at @ 10k a year total or 40-50k over the 4 year period. That is a gross total, and doesn't take into account any form of scholarship or grant or subsidized loans. That is for the top school in the state. U of Missouri is @ 2k more a year. That also presumes heading straight to the 4 year institution. Many here go and do 2 years at Juco before shifting to their last 2 years at a 4 year. In the metro CC system it's @ 78/credit hr, or @ 2300/year for 30 credit hrs. Again that's gross, and doesn't even take into account the A+ system which will pretty much cover all tuition and books if you maintain a reasonable GPA during your two years.
Now if someone is adamant about picking a specific private insitution, then they take the chance to take on that debt. Parents need not structure their lives to accomodate a belief that only a high end private college will suffice and struggle to do so. If you want to steer them away from crippling debt, ensure they go to a reasonably priced college and not give them carte blanche to feel entitled to any education that money can buy. For the majority of the population, being prudent when it comes to college has to take priority anyways.
Some parents also see value in allowing their children to make their way on their own as adults. My father was a physician, and could have easily afforded to pay for all of his 3 kids to go to college. He didn't, and we all paid our own way, and were better off for it. What he chose to do with his money as we moved into adulthood, should be his decision, and it shouldn't reflect badly on him if he chose not to spend a dime on us as adults.
I can tell you this. My stepdaughter will be helped with costs at a state school, and beyond that, expectations will fall on her as an adult to take responsibility for her life, and the choices that come with it. There will be no funding on our part for all these possible future endevors into her adult life, as there are reasonable limits that will be adhered to. For us, help means learning how to move into life on your own, not a continuall subsidy.
I'll take U of Kansas as an example since I live in the region. Tuition is @ 4k a year, add room and board and books you're looking at @ 10k a year total or 40-50k over the 4 year period. That is a gross total, and doesn't take into account any form of scholarship or grant or subsidized loans. That is for the top school in the state. U of Missouri is @ 2k more a year. That also presumes heading straight to the 4 year institution. Many here go and do 2 years at Juco before shifting to their last 2 years at a 4 year. In the metro CC system it's @ 78/credit hr, or @ 2300/year for 30 credit hrs. Again that's gross, and doesn't even take into account the A+ system which will pretty much cover all tuition and books if you maintain a reasonable GPA during your two years.
Now if someone is adamant about picking a specific private insitution, then they take the chance to take on that debt. Parents need not structure their lives to accomodate a belief that only a high end private college will suffice and struggle to do so. If you want to steer them away from crippling debt, ensure they go to a reasonably priced college and not give them carte blanche to feel entitled to any education that money can buy. For the majority of the population, being prudent when it comes to college has to take priority anyways.
Some parents also see value in allowing their children to make their way on their own as adults. My father was a physician, and could have easily afforded to pay for all of his 3 kids to go to college. He didn't, and we all paid our own way, and were better off for it. What he chose to do with his money as we moved into adulthood, should be his decision, and it shouldn't reflect badly on him if he chose not to spend a dime on us as adults.
I can tell you this. My stepdaughter will be helped with costs at a state school, and beyond that, expectations will fall on her as an adult to take responsibility for her life, and the choices that come with it. There will be no funding on our part for all these possible future endevors into her adult life, as there are reasonable limits that will be adhered to. For us, help means learning how to move into life on your own, not a continuall subsidy.