2 Yrs out ... cruise or college tuition ... hhmmm

[Quench]

So ... my daugther has decided on her two top picks for college (2009)... now that my heart has restarted ... LOL ... Boston or Emerson = 45k a year

 

So now I have to decide ... does she go to college or do I keep cruising ... LOL

 

Just kidding ... think if I went to work on an RCCL ship ... they would pay for her college?

 

Great thread!

[BopRN]

Next year will be our LAST year to pay college tuition!! WooHoo! When all is said and done we will have been paying college tuition for THIRTEEN years!! And that is undergrad only....each one has loans for about a 4th of their total costs. It doesn't hurt them to pay some.... Our oldest is finishing her 2nd Master's Degree which she has paid all costs for both. Our middle son is in med school and living completely on loans (way out of our financial league) and our youngest will soon be a senior in college.

 

We decided before the first child went to college that it wasn't fair for me to leave the other 2 kids to work full-time (I was part time) to pay completely for our DD college costs when I was home for her all those years. So we did what we could and have continued that pattern. We also didn't want to quit "living" and forego vacations and weekend trips, big Christmases,etc. just because we had a kid in college. Times have been tight sometimes...but we have managed and so have they (they all worked thru college years)...and we have actually STARTED CRUISING while we had kids in college. We even were able to treat our kids to their 1st cruise on the one year in 13 we didn't have a kid in college. AND we paid for a big wedding while still paying college tuition!! I worked many extra hours, etc. It's been a huge undertaking. We are looking forward to having lotsa money after next year to spend on cruising and other vacations! Then it will be OUR turn!

 

We know people who put their lives on hold driving ancient cars, not going anywhere, etc. just to pay tuition. We didn't want to do that. We knew we were in it for the long haul. Family vacations are important to us. That's where the memories are made.

 

College costs have soared since our 1st child went in (Ohio removed the tuition cap...and costs instantly rose 9%...thanks alot Governer Taft!!)and we are paying more than double for our son now. And I can tell you our salaries haven't doubled in 13 yrs!! That's for sure!

[LLSullie]

I'm a student at Loyola in Chicago... they are pretty generous with scholarships if you have a decent ACT... most of my friends have a lot of grants and loans as well. Tell your daughter to try and get her ACT as high as possible because they increase your scholarship money even after you are accepted even if you take the test again and get a higher score.

 

Sorry to be a little off topic...

 

 

Very helpful ;) I keep on her about grades, SAT's and ACT's. Nobody in her school has mentioned the ACT so I told her to get onboard (pardon the pun :p ) and find out more info.

[LLSullie]

I have two kids in university but in Canada, the most expensive tuition is still well under 10K, so not that bad. They went to private school for high school and the tuition was worse. ...

Viv

 

I've heard that about Canadian schools. A friend from Europe told me that is the way to go. Less expensive and an excellent educatoin. Need to get her hopping, time is running short.

 

And so is my anxiety ... must cruise, must cruise, must cruise, must cruise ... LOL ! ! !

 

Need to put a budget in place quickly ...

(7 night, 4 night, 7 night, 4 night - balcony, inside, balcony, inside) ...

and figure out just what will be left for her education ... LOL ! ! ! ! :rolleyes:

[kingsgirl]

So ... my daugther has decided on her two top picks for college (2009)... now that my heart has restarted ... LOL ... Boston or Emerson = 45k a year

 

So now I have to decide ... does she go to college or do I keep cruising ... LOL

 

Just kidding ... think if I went to work on an RCCL ship ... they would pay for her college?

 

Thought. Get your daughter Canadian citizenship. Get a GREAT education up here for $45,000 total.

 

That is insane!

[MrsPete]

I "borrowed"this idea from a good friend. We offer to give our kids 12,000 a year, after that they have to get scholarships, grants, and\or loans.

That's essentially our plan. Right now you can attend an NC state school for 10-12K per year. That's living in a dorm room with a full meal plan plus tuition, books, and fees -- the basics. We're prepared to pay that amount for each child for four years. If they choose to go out of state, or attend a more expensive school, or they don't finish in four years, or live in an off-campus apartment . . . they have to figure out the difference. They'll need to work full-time during the summer and part-time during the school year to pay for their own spending money.

 

We're fortunate to have 16 UNC schools in NC, and they offer a wide variety of campus sizes and programs. One of them should be a good fit for each of my girls.

 

I don't agree that people who pay their own way appreciate it more; instead, I think it's just one faucet of one's personality. In college, I knew plenty of people whose parents were providing a "full ride", and they fully recognized and appreciated the sacrafice their parents had made for them. I knew others who were so overburdened with work hours that they couldn't devote enough time to their studies. And I knew plenty of people who fell somewhere in between -- I wouldn't generalize about who appreciates things and who doesn't.

 

Speaking only for myself, my parents were unable (literally unable -- lots of bad choices early on, from which they never recovered financially) to pay anything towards my education, and I was one of those who was forced to work way too many hours to make ends meet. While I don't regret the effort I put forth and I've "made back" every bit of it many times over in the 15 years I've been working, I don't want my daughters to go through the same thing. There were semesters when I couldn't afford books and had to try to read the copies in the library's reserve room. There were times when I lived in places that were downright unsafe. There were times when I went hungry. On the other hand, I am extremely glad that I graduated debt-free; I was so dirt-poor those first years that I don't see how I could've made it if I'd also had loans to repay.

 

I am not a fan of student loans. Too many of my co-workers have complained that these loans seriously hampered their first years out of college, and I know too many people my age who are STILL paying them off. Rather than resort to falling into debt, I would encourage my daugthers to look for creative ways to pay for college: Co-ops, military, living at home, working for the university, or something similar. Debt is a last, last resort.

 

We'll also have one year in which BOTH girls are in college, but that's why we've been saving all these years.

[Bcurley]

Some of you are just entering the college payment years, some just ending. Me? Smack in the middle. Number 1 DS finishing up in December, number 2 DS a sophmore next year, looking into study abroad..and DD a sophmore in HS. No end in sight. We have secured their student loans but the payments will become theirs upon graduation. I pray. *Sigh*.

But we still manage to travel, with and without them. They are welcome to come but it seems that only the youngest is still wanting to come with us. That won't last long either.