<p>Well, I guess I would want for them no less than what I had. My parents were lower middle income - neither had a college degree. They couldn’t afford to contribute a dime to my college education but were supportive of my goals. That was the important contribution they made, one I don’t think most kids could make it through school without. I worked throughout high school at mininum wage to save up a few thousand dollars, took free AP classes and community college classes while still in high school to build up credits, wanted to go to a private college but didn’t get any financial aid so I ended up at a SUNY school with a pell grant, a REgents merit scholarship, and a work study grant. AFter two years, I transferred to a private school with a grant, loans, more work study, etc. Took a semester off after my mother became ill with cancer and medical bills mounted into the four digits. I worked full time to help pay off the medical bills and save up for the final two semesters. I remember total annual cost of that private school was $12,000, more than 2 times my parents annual income before my mother became sick. Is it harder today? Yes, absolutely!
But in a way, I wish my kids would have to work as hard as I did to get their education. In another way, of course, I am grateful that they don’t.</p>
<p>By the way, an interesting link here - a senate committee report on college affordability with testimony from college financial aid officers and others:
<a href=“http://frwebgate4.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/waisgate.cgi?WAISdocID=1676247311+8+0+0&WAISaction=retrieve[/url]”>http://frwebgate4.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/waisgate.cgi?WAISdocID=1676247311+8+0+0&WAISaction=retrieve</a></p>