re: The wife and I made a difficult decision this weekend

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know plenty of college drop outs that didn't have parents supporting them.

My Father in law was a trust fund kid that went to a top 3 med school and then became a well known Orthopedic Surgeon.

The idea that success and paying for your kids college education is related, is simply false. There's a lot more to the equation than one simple thing.

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There is a difference between not paying because you can't and not paying because you don't want to pay. The studies don't separate the two, but it matters.

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I also don't understand the idea related to only paying for a degree that makes sense financially. Its passion that I care about. If my kids are incredibly passionate about something I'll be happy to help them financially. If they want to get their MBA at Colombia just because the pay is great for most out of school, I'll have a serious conversation with them.

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To each their own, but I can't get behind this logic. College is an awful lot of money. LSU will likely be $35k+ for tuition, room and board, and meals in 18 years. Spending a couple hundred dollars or even a couple thousand on something your kids love is one thing. Spending $140k over 4 years is another story altogether.

I've said it in this thread already - college (tuition/room and board/meals) should be free if you're college material. If you're having to pay for it, it's because you're not ready and/or you're at the wrong school.

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I have 3 kids, the oldest being a junior in college. I started out supporting him financially his freshman year....he proceeded to basically flunk the entire year and spent it partying, smoking weed, and chasing girls. I told him that was it...he's on his own.

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I hope that everyone that is on board with footing the bill for their kid's college education also understands that statistically there is a 40-50% chance your kid will drop out. Have seen many decent kids that were great students in high school simply lose their mind when left to function with no supervision at college.

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I'll cover in state tuition contingent on making good grades. Screw around and that's gone. If they want to go out of state or private, they're on their own. They're on their own when it comes to room and board though they are free to continue to live with us.

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I know a number of people like this.

Get TOPS, go to the nearest school and commute, stay home, and any expenses not covered by TOPS, parents will pay.

Go to another state school, parents will pay for the same stuff they would have paid if you stayed at home, but you are on your own for room and board (get a scholarship, loans, etc).

Go out of state or private, again, would pay whatever they paid to get tops and live at home, but otherwise on their own.

Price of college is not near what people make it out to be. For sure you can spend a lot if you choose, but in Louisiana with TOPS (and other states with similar programs) you can live at home and attend a local state school for nearly nothing.

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If your kid is pretty smart and getting good grades, even a liberal arts degree in something like history or philosophy can lead to law school, MBA,

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Oh good. Yeah, cause we don't have enough average law school grads working crappy non-law jobs. And any decent MBA is garbage unless it's 1) with a few years of experience or 2) at a high end college.

People bitch about college tuition and state tuitions are pretty damn cheap. People will shell out 40K for a car but bitch about the price of tuition.

I think people realize that 90% of college educations out there are not relevant or necessary for their careers. And It shouldn’t be designed to take for years.

I mean tradition is powerful and it’s always been typically for years but that needs to change. A person can learn all the tools they need to be an accountant for example in one year full-time if he just concentrated on accounting.

The idea of A well-rounded education is pretty much just finishing school.

One of my favorite memes of all time.

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It's a tough choice: tutors, so little Johnny can get an academic scholarship, or travel ball. He'll always have the memories and the tournament rings.

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Amazingly a friend who is a financial planner told me he sees this all the time.

We traded off semesters or according to my dad I would F off

That was when a semester was4-5k all in

OP- most of the talk surrounding the “military” option has been shaped from an enlisted first, gi bill later angle. Look into ROTC funding options. They provide significant debt relief, a social group for your kid to hang out with in college, a well paying job upon graduation, and great experience/opportunities for personal development.

It isn’t for everyone, but if your kid is cut out for serving (and I mean actually serving with a selfless purpose for the junior troop/sailor/airman/Marine) it could offer a great chance to grad debt free (or nearly debt free) from some private/out of state/in state schools.

Your kid doesn’t have to be an infantryman or tanker. If he is interested in business he could be a logistics officer, supply officer, acquisitions officer, etc. If he is interested in engineering or computer science there are career fields that touch on that (more service dependent).

Additionally, if they are interested in going in to medicine later they could ROTC, serve their time owed, and then consider military medical/dental programs (to yet again have the military pay for their education).

I think the only fields which ROTC may limit are architecture or some types of engineering where early boards/tests/certs are required for career progression in the civilian world. Being a military officer and trying to get work done towards your PE/FE would probably be a bridge too far.