Have College Freshmen Changed?

CountingDown
Tue, 12 Oct 2010 20:00:58 +0000

Same timeframe here, $12,500/yr. DH graduated in 1983 from Wharton and started out at $24k/yr for a Fortune 50 corporation (accounting and systems analysis). That was GOOD money then; he got an extra $4k/yr. for being a Wharton grad. We each had $7k in UG loans.

We told our kids (back in middle school) that we expect them to be self-supporting after graduation. We didn’t expect them to work during HS because they were both in intense programs with a significant commute (though S2 got a job the summer between soph and junior year). Both hopped right to it when it came to finding jobs after graduation and when they got to college.

We’ve tried to model fiscally responsible living and it looks like at least some of it stuck.

I will agree that as a parent, the stakes feel higher because of the cost of college and the changing economy.