Who Pays For College?

Each family should work it out as they see fit. It's an individual decision. A guy I knew was super bitter about college because his older sister used up the college fund, got knocked up after graduation, and never used her degree while being a stay at home mom. He paid his own way. Family finances can be a cluster no matter how much money is involved.

I guess it's the old "every situation is different" - IMO if the parents can afford it (via having put $ away for that purpose for years, or just being well off) they should pay and let the kid just focus on school and start life w/o debt - if the parents aren't in position and would have to go in debt then it's up to the kid to pay his way (part time job; loans; etc)

In a way I assume we may all have a candle in some way - at least w.r.t. public higher-ed I assume they get a good amount of public funds

I plan on paying for my two... I'm anticipating some scholarships both academic and athletic but I am prepared to pay the full amount. I went to a private school on an academic scholarship for my undergrad and I got my masters on my own dime at UGA. I started their college funds before they came home from the hospital. It is a personal decision though, I have millionaire clients whose kids are taking out loans to go to school. I have other clients robbing their retirement to put their kid through school. There is no right answer for everyone.

My pops helped me get started and I helped my children, I was fortunate to be in a position that I could give my children a good start, hopefully they will do even better so our family has a bunch of advantages I don’t believe there’s a right or wrong way to look at this, most parents do the best they can, life is funny that way.

A girl will have her college paid for either by daddy or sugar daddy.

I had purchased Series EE bonds for years when my kids were quite young with the plan to use them interest tax free when they were ready for college. Didn't work out that way. Oldest, a boy, wasn't very self disciplined but smart, took him to the NAVY recruiter. Youngest, a girl, not as smart but very self disciplined, went to CC for 2 years and ASU (coop plan with Mayo Clinic) for 2 years, got a BSN and hired by Mayo. Bonds turned out to be a dude, you can't claim the $1000 tax credit and interest free Bonds at the same time. Bonds come due every month now, using them like a 529 stripper plan now.

Darn using a phone to post here. Rest of the story. Son makes 2xs the daughter's salary. He went in the NAVY's nuclear power program and now works at the USA's largest nuclear power generating station. No cost for his training, probably $20K for the daughter's. To answer OP, yes parents should help if financially able.

Seems like the consensus is if the parents can afford to help they should. I agree with that. In these times with insane tuition costs and huge student loan deficits I just scratch my head when there are parents out there that refuse to help when they easily can, using every excuse under the sun on why they are not helping.

To the parents, be nice to the kids that are going to choose your rest home one day! Lol

I thought Uncle Joe was going to pay for everyone's education?

^ yeah - with your money and mine

I guess shailynn found a candle.

Nobody shud pay for college. Den dey can be successful like me

If the parent pushes college then the parent better ready to help out. That's just how it's gotta be today. It costs fucking like 80 grand with tuition plus room and board to go to a school like Notre Dame. These poor 18 year olds that don't know anything, they just had a bunch of high school classes on race studies and learning to be a communist 101 that they aren't even being taught anything. And then they get buried in these crippling loans for the rest of their lives. Parents have to be involved somehow, this has got to be a family effort, it's too much money now for the average high school grad to be alone in that fight IMO

If parents have the means, of course they should help. Mine helped. I still had loans.

There are ways to get college paid for. Even if a kid didn't get a scholarship, there's always the military. ROTC is a great way to get an education debt free.

In terms of college - my views are simple. The cost of college - from the perspective of an all in number - can leave many students with a heavy debt burden.

First - consider the possibility of how a young person could pay off $350,000 when starting out in the working world. It’s basically putting a mortgage on top of a person who is already likely struggling to pay rent and necessities.

Being a parent - and having a different perspective on college costs - I chose to not burden my daughters with a huge debt load. I began saving for each one using a 529 plan - when they were infants.

The responsibility I gave my daughters is to get very good grades. They both attended a highly regarded private high school - and one graduated near the top of her class. The other one is a junior who should graduate near the top of her class. Those grades are like cash - as colleges all offer scholarships to the top level students.

So - there is the savings (my contribution) and the scholarship money (their contribution) - and there can be a cost that remains. The remaining cost is something we discuss together - and determine how it can be handled and repaid. I’m not concerned about becoming the National Bank of Dad just yet. Once international travel opens up - that could change!

I had to pay for college because my parents couldn't afford to. If they had been able to, yes, I would expect them to provided that I maintain a gpa that is conducive to me graduating.

Another point that should be made is all of us as parents want our children to have a better, easier, more satisfying life than we had, but we shouldn’t overlook that college isn’t a good fit for every young person, we should encourage our children to consider technical schools and programs in community colleges that will educate them and offer them other opportunities as well.

A high level of education is beneficial for the development of society including business and industry, making it a collective economic issue.

Education should not be defined neither as a private investment nor a commodity, but a civil right.

So, individual human beings should not have to pay for it.

The Fatherland sees higher education primarily as an equality issue.

German higher education is a public system and state-funded.

If Germany has done it, why can’t we?

CJKent - ok - I’ll play your game.

It is not free. Taxes fund the public school system in this country. You may think free - but it’s far from free. It is likely a similar situation in Germany.

If you are in favor of making college education free for students - nobody will stop you if you decide to setup your own scholarship fund - to pay for a group of students to attend college free.

I have a client who bought his kid a franchised business... He helps the kid run it but in 4 years the kid will have a pretty good business degree running a business making a profit and instead of a loan he will have an asset.

Germans are 0-2 against the US... maybe they should adopt our policies instead of the other way around

@Dadillac

And US is 0-1 against Vietnam...

For the 4 year degrees I'll be paying the freight. But if they wish to move on to advanced degrees, they will need to piece it together through scholarships, workstudy and loans. I definitely believe that young adults should have skin in the game if they commit to a special field of study.

But one should also be smart about school choice. There is no universe in which I foot a 40-$50k per year tab for some shitty small private college. Any kid who cannot get accepted by a well respected university will be going to an in-state public university. The state university system here in N. FL is excellent - they have vibrant alumni networks and feed talent to a lot of large and well known employers in the area.

@rickdugan

You wrote and I quote:

The state university system...feed talent to a lot of large and well known employers in the area.

Why don’t the employers pay for the talent they “consume”?

The taxpayers do. Predictions are that free public schools will be part of demented Joe's speech tonight. This includes illegals.

@Dadillac buying the kid a business isn’t as uncommon as you might think, only problem is that unlike an education which is mostly portable, I think it’s a bad idea for young people to get tied down with a business and doesn’t allow them the ability to seek out new experiences Keep that in mind and for the record I’m not against encouraging entrepreneurship

===> "The taxpayers do."

Well, tuition and fees cover the majority of most FL university operating expenses, but taxpayers do subsidize the rest. Since we don't have an income tax here in FL, it comes mostly out of sales tax receipts.

If we cut out the administrative bloat, all the layers of diversity deans, the luxury accommodations, and force student lenders to have skin in the game, we could cut the cost of a 4 year degree to a fraction of what it is now.

If I have kids, the first degree is on me. After that, you're on your own, junior.

@CJ, show me where in the Constitution education is listed as a civil right.

@Tetradon

The constitution is completely outdated and irrelevant to modern issues.

We the people need to desacralize the Constitution and expose popular myths about it.

@CJ, in other words, it doesn't.

Good luck rallying 2/3 of the House and Senate and 3/4 of the state legislatures. Until then, it's the law of the land.

I had an uncle who only paid for four years od tuition for each kid. Two cousins wanted post-grad degrees and had to pay their own way, another miscounted his credits and had to drop out when he couldn't afford a ninth semester.

IMO it depends on both the parent(s) and the child.

If the parent(s) have the means to invest in a child's education, they should provide an appropriate amount of subsidy for the given situation. That is how I was raised.

If the child is a good student when it is likely that education is a good investment (and parent(s) have the means) there is no better investment IMO.

If the child is a f-up and you feel it will be a waste of money than you figure something else out.

If you think your child has to "earn" it, work out some sort of dollar matching cost share arrangement.

Whatever you do, for heaven's sake, don't let your kid take out 100K+ in student loans in a worthless major, and let them end up in debt for the rest of their life.

Education is a civil right lol. Too fucking funny. Germany doesn't pay for their citizens to go to college at all. In fact, the American taxpayer pays for Germany's and all of Europe's welfare states. These sleaze bags don't pay for their own defense at all: We do. Their social welfare state exists because their combined military would lose to Delaware in a war. If Germany and the other leeches in Europe paid for their own defense, they'd either be part of Russia by now, or their schools would costs 3 times as much as here.

And yet the only POTUS with the balls to call NATO out on the bullshit, gets the election stolen from him because of "mean tweets".

"We the people need to desacralize the Constitution and expose popular myths about it."

We the TUSCL need to deport you to whatever shithole you originated from as you exposed yourself long ago and continue to do so daily! FUCKHEAD!

I paid for mine. My kids have too. They took education seriously*, now have 6 figure jobs/skills.

• Son not at first, but he figured it out.

My folks helped what they could but I carried most of mine by working part time the whole time and taking grants and loans. I fear that kids can too easy waste college money if they don’t appreciate the reality of it. I would have. I was forced to go part time, summers, and work the whole time and live in shitholes with my friends to save on rent. I don’t regret a thing. It helped me focus on a productive major (IT/business over film/theatre). Real financial experience and real work experience are worth more than money spent on tuition. I don’t think it’s a good idea to have so many baristas with college degrees, graduate degrees even, no matter who’s paying. And I do strongly believe college isn’t the only path to wealth, and is becoming less relevant, I’m probably biased because of exposure to tech industry. I also think most kids should use JC and transfer to mitigate risk and give flexibility before committing ass-loads of tuition.

“Student debt is structured to be a burden for life. The indebted cannot declare bankruptcy, unlike Trump.”

“There is no economic reason why free education cannot flourish from schools through colleges and university.”

“The barriers are not economic but rather political decisions, skewed in the predictable direction under conditions of highly unequal wealth and power.”

It's true that Germany should meet the 2% of GDP requirement for NATO countries. But the idea that the US is subsidizing German college students is another @SkiBirther nonsense rant.

I got through college and grad school debt-free with scholarships, fellowships research- and teaching assistantships. But students these days have it much harder with college costs up something like 150% over the past 40 years (adjusted for inflation). If parents have any moral obligation, it's keeping kids from disintegrating under a shit pile of debt (as others have pointed out).

OT, I did have a few college SBs over the years from affluent families. In one case, both parents were software engineers. In another case, her mother was a pediatrician. And on the other extreme, one was abandoned by her father at a young age and really struggled.

Biden's proposing free community college, only, and financed by big increase in capital gains tax. Sounds like a good idea.

“There are undeniably certain kinds of knowledge that must be of a general nature and, more importantly, a certain cultivation of the mind and character that nobody can afford to be without.

People obviously cannot be good craftworkers, merchants, soldiers or businessmen unless, regardless of their occupation, they are good, upstanding and well-informed human beings and citizens.

If this basis is laid through schooling, vocational skills are easily acquired later on, and a person is always free to move from one occupation to another, as so often happens in life.”

~ Friedrich Wilhelm Christian Karl Ferdinand von Humboldt ~ German Philosopher, linguist, diplomat, and founder of the Humboldt University of Berlin ~ Born 22 June 1767 Potsdam, Prussia ~ Died 8 April 1835 Tegel, Prussia

It seems like we had this discussion a few months ago? When it comes to kids, parents are pretty much willing to pay for whatever they can afford. In my case, I paid for private K-12, college, grad school, rent, cars, insurance, credit cards, etc for both of my daughters (now 28 and 25). I finally had to cut off the older one when she asked me to help her with her taxes and I realized she was making more $ than I make. But I was happy to support my kids, and nothing makes me more proud as a parent than to see my kids become successful.

===> "Biden's proposing free community college, only, and financed by big increase in capital gains tax. Sounds like a good idea."

It's a shitty idea that's going to result in a monumental waste of resources via transfer payments from individual investors to employees of community colleges, which will no doubt explode in number if this passes. Graduation rates from community colleges are already absurdly low and that's with people actually paying for it. What happens when it's given away for free? They're going to become expensive extensions of High School, with the overwhelming majority utterly wasting the opportunity that they never would have sought out in the first place if it cost something.

Ramdommember said, "Biden's proposing free community college, only, and financed by big increase in capital gains tax. Sounds like a good idea."

He doesn't know he is invested in the stock market (at least I assume he has because he was encouraging his sugar baby to invest in stocks when he fired her due to covid)... and he is going to be paying for everyone else's school with his Capitol gains taxes.

And what RickDugan said... lmfao

Many CCs have been free for decades. Daughter went to CC in 2005, tuition was $1000 per year (2 semesters) and education tax credit was $1000. Probably has changed some since then but this is not a new idea. Textbooks were the expensive part.

My feeling is that college is a waste of time and money, unless you are studying for a profession that requires a license. I have a Bachelor's. But it really hasn't helped much. Do you really need a 4 year degree, and the resultant crushing debt, to sell cars or office furniture? I think not.

Up to now, many jobs in the white-collar world have required a college-degree - although one can argue a person w/o one can do the job well and a person w/ one doesn't necessarily mean they can; but nevertheless it's often a requirement to work for many corps in many different positions

Having a four year degree opens a lot of doors. However, demand is always higher for trades- plumbers, mechanics, electricians, etc. A lot of those jobs can be recession-resistant, and can pay well into the six figures.

It will be interesting to see how four year schools respond to the revenue loss from undergrads completing their pre-reqs at community colleges. The two year degrees themselves are not worth more than $15/hr

^ But Union apprenticeship programs become more valuable this could be the kick some of these Union type highly paid, very skilled jobs need to start becoming appealing again.

Just stating the obvious, but anyone can still trade in 401ks and IRAs without generating capital gains. Plus, the increase in capital gains is tied to income, and those making under $1M/yr will not see the increase. It targets more like the top 0.1% and funding benefits society as a whole with a better-educated workforce. The capital gains tax also funds the ACA and increases health insurance subsidies for upper-middle-class people like @Dugan who, earlier, griped about a $5K/yr increase in his family's health insurance.

CCs serve a purpose, allowing just about anyone to learn a trade or transfer to a 4-year school. It's a cheap and worthwhile investment. If hedge-funds and very wealthy high-frequency traders are upset about the new rules, I couldn't give a shit.

"Just stating the obvious, but anyone can still trade in 401ks and IRAs without generating capital gains."

RandumbMember, before you make stupid comments like that, you really ought to do two or three minutes of research on the subject. Gains on qualified accounts are taxed at regular income rates you idiot. Tax deferred doesn't mean tax free. Plus, the amount you can contribute is limited by a percentage of income.

^ I think he was referring to long term vs short term gains

"^ I think he was referring to long term vs short term gains"

Really, 25? What the fuck does that have to do with IRA/401k?

^ I’m not an accountant but my understanding is that you can trade in your IRA or 401 without triggering the higher short term tax rate, I’m not defending anyone really just including my own understanding of how the capital gains tax is applied I don’t really give a fuck either way, I have both an accountant and a financial advisor to keep me out of trouble

"The capital gains tax also funds the ACA and increases health insurance subsidies for upper-middle-class people"

RandumbMember, do you have any idea how low your income must be to get subsidy through the ACA? "Upper-Middle-Class" might be a subjective term, but by anyone's definition those folks don't qualify for subsidies.

@25

Short version: Throughout your working lifetime you contribute to a 401(k)/IRA. The contributions are deducted from your reported income for each year you contribute. The gains are tax-deferred, meaning there are no capital gains taxes while the money remains in the account. When you retire and start to draw it down, you are taxed at the regular income rate. Presumably, when you're no longer working and earning income, you'll be in a lower tax bracket, and thus pay a lower percentage. Regardless, it has nothing to do with long-term or short-term, which is a tax concept dealing with non-qualified investments that are not retirement funds.

I thought you had me on ignore, dipshit.

You can sell shares inside an IRA/401K for 30 years without generating a single taxable event. Only when you withdraw the money, do you pay taxes. Don't you understand the concept, idiot?

Yes I know something about the income for ACA subsidies. Previously the subsidies dropped like a cliff at about $60K. The threshold is being extended upward.

Funds inside an IRA are completely free of capital gains.

^^ RandomMoron

Okay, yeah you can buy and sell inside a qualified account without capital gains tax. But you're attempting to conflate different tax concepts to mislead people who don't know the difference. Typical socialist bullshit. Go fuck yourself.

Glad you humiliated yourself, clown. The average investor trading in an IRA is not affected by the Biden capital gains tax.

Oh no? Not even the employees who will be laid off as a result?

im not going to get in the middle of the erudate discussion between the putative financial geneiouses but to bring this discussion back to paying for a university education

university education is important because how the fuck are we going to get to mars unless we train the next generation of space geneiouses. not like elon muskerman can just get out and push his spaceships to mars. the newtownian dont work that way

as a geneious i have a multipronged solution:

geneiouses willing to build mars spaceships or the next generation of tensor processing units or stuff like that go for free

hot chicks who are not geneiouses can fund themselves using the onlyfans

nongeneious males and uggo nongeneious chicks are kinda fucked

as always your welcome

maybe the major universities could set up a partnership with the onlyfans and help out the hotties. perhaps they could have a tax exempt revenue stream going directly to tuition and books and dorm housing

see the kind of geneious ideas u can come up with if u stop bloviatifying about politics and focus on real solutions to real problems?