Need some help clearing things up on how to pay for college.

Quote from jaqnabox : Another Note: Make your child work for it. I know not every parent wants that for their child, but hey it teaches them the value of money. Teaches them to be smart with it. College (freedom) + Money (Free money from parents or gov) = lots of debt. College + Money (they earned through X hours of work) = a future member of society who realizes what they are worth.

Not really sure how those last two things make any sense. I think your child knowing they are worth something and are a "future member of society" is dependent on how you raise them. Going to college and making money doesn't automatically fix any problems they had with their perception of themselves or society that they had beforehand. Not to mention that the two things you stated (lots of debt and a future member of society) are not even comparable. A student can only work so much before their class performance will suffer. I'd like to see someone try to pay for school at a private institution without any loans (assuming they didn't get a significant amount of scholarships/grants).

I got "free money" from the government (loans are hardly free) and my parents and logically that would result in a lot less debt than if I took on loans myself...

What state are you in? Even though she is about to start college, you may consider opening a 529 college savings account for the tax incentives. For example, my home state of Indiana gives a 20% state income tax CREDIT for all Indiana 529 contributions up to $5k annually (equals $1k income tax CREDIT for me every year).

Thus, I can fund a 529 for education, use it immediately to pay for tuition in the same year, and also get the tax credit at the end of the year. Net affect = paid $5k in tuition with $4k. I'm guessing you need more help than that, but every dollar counts...

Quote from KPS : How is her GPA and Test Scores? What do the schools she was accepted to offer in terms of merit based scholarships? Also, what other kinds of scholarships are offered at the school that she might be able to apply to? If she has a good GPA and Test Scores, she can really reap the benefits of merit based scholarships...depending on the school obviously. Some of the scholarships offered can be significant (but again, depends on the school). Talk to someone in the admissions office at the schools she's considering. Good luck!

GPA is right at 3.5. She has never tested very well, her SAT/ACT's were just at acceptance levels for the school. She applied for multiple scholarships with the school as well as other scholarships from sites like Fastweb etc. Also applied for lots of other local scholarships.

Quote from DealMeN : What state are you in? Even though she is about to start college, you may consider opening a 529 college savings account for the tax incentives. For example, my home state of Indiana gives a 20% state income tax CREDIT for all Indiana 529 contributions up to $5k annually (equals $1k income tax CREDIT for me every year). Thus, I can fund a 529 for education, use it immediately to pay for tuition in the same year, and also get the tax credit at the end of the year. Net affect = paid $5k in tuition with $4k. I'm guessing you need more help than that, but every dollar counts...

We are in Texas.

1.) Tell her to apply to as many scholarships as she can find..my highest scholarship was one of the easiest applications I ever filled out (and I thought I had not chance in getting it).

2.) Part time job. +1 for on campus job, work study programs, etc. It's complete BS to say that they can't work because of homework/school...it's called time management.

3.) If money's a serious issue, I encourage you/her to check out community schools as mentioned before. Unless the major is very complicated/curriculum is tracked out, almost all degrees require a certain amount of BS classes. BS classes are BS everywhere.

4.) Private loans. My wife has some private loans at 5%-12% (obviously paying the higher ones more, first), while all my govt loans are at 7.8% or w/e the stupidly high rate is these days. I'm not sure what kind of chances she has at obtaining a loan without a cosigner though...

5.) Is it a private school? Check out state schools.

Good luck!

I think with your responses, it would be best for her to start at a local college. All the major cities in Texas have good local programs for transferring into a bigger state uni. I would have gone the local route If scholarships didn't cover the two first years of my expenses with money left. Last two years were covered 50-75%. Even with the scholarships, I still always carried a part time job at 15$hr with a min 20hr/wk for spending cash and investments.

Quote from Tonedeaf : We are in Texas.

Being in Texas, your daughter has a great, newly born opportunity available to her. Last year, Governor Perry challenged the state's colleges to offer bachelor degrees for no more than $10,000. Many thought it couldn't be done. Today it's a reality.

Texas Meets Perry's Goal, Launches $10,000 Bachelor's Degree Programs [texastrustees.org]

Texas Public Colleges To Offer Four-Year Degrees For Less Than $10,000 [huffingtonpost.com]

College Presidents Say $10,000 Degrees Available Now [texastribune.org]

Step right up and get your $10,000 college degree in Texas! [wordpress.com]

Quote from Brian1 : Being in Texas, your daughter has a great, newly born opportunity available to her. Last year, Governor Perry challenged the state's colleges to offer bachelor degrees for no more than $10,000. Many thought it couldn't be done. Today it's a reality.

Thanks, very specific major in only 1 small college in San Antonio so far.

Quote from Tonedeaf : Thanks, very specific major in only 1 small college in San Antonio so far.

Just cut spending else where (eating out less, spending less on clothes, etc etc) or work more hours and you can afford to send your daughter to the college she wants to go to. College is a time of fun and experience! Forcing a person to work 40+ hours and attend college full time is such a drag. She might be able to do it for the first couple of semesters but after awhile she will probably just burn out (lower GPA, fewer classes taken).

In the end she will probably just graduate with a 2.5 GPA and just keep working the minimum wage job in the first place.

What career will she be choosing?

Quote from Nollywood : In the end she will probably just graduate with a 2.5 GPA and just keep working the minimum wage job in the first place.

Lol, wat?

I think wanting an education for your kids is honorable. I also agree with sending your kid to community college to get the Gen Eds done/let them figure out what path they want to follow. You don't really know how they are going to handle the situation. I have many friends that went to University's and just lit their parents money on fire.

My wife and I went to college at the same time. She went the CC route then xferred to the University her junior year. I went to the University for all 4 years. Both worked out fine, only she saved about $20k.

Quote from saladdin : Never cosign. I know many parents still paying loans because their kids maxed out loans then dropped out. If you are paying for school, you have the right to help in the decision of the school. Odds are she won't graduate or if she does it may with a worthless degree and a ton of debt. Community college for 2 years, work part time and study hard. Nothing wrong with her learning life's tough lessons now.

The OP was seeking advice on how to pay for college. He was not seeking a comparison on the value of a BS/BA versus an Associates.

Quote from 420 : The OP was seeking advice on how to pay for college. He was not seeking a comparison on the value of a BS/BA versus an Associates.

Going to a community college does not necessarily mean getting an Associates. It can also mean they can take classes for cheaper and then transfer. It is a valid advice to save money for the same classes you would take at a university.

Quote from steventruong : Going to a community college does not necessarily mean getting an Associates. It can also mean they can take classes for cheaper and then transfer. It is a valid advice to save money for the same classes you would take at a university.

Yes, I am aware and did exactly that, as did my wife. If you refer back to the first page of the thread, however, and read the context in which saladdin posted, note that he said that "Odds are she won't graduate or if she does it may with a worthless degree and a ton of debt" and in a following post, he quoted statistics showing that "Nationally, four-year colleges graduated an average of just 53% of entering students within six years."

Choose the college what benefits her the best and try to get a personal loan or try what Brian1 said in his post.