<p>I guess it depends on the parents and the kid. After their first year, we deposited money in their account for tuition and room and board. They were responsible for paying it. We never asked for grades, although they did share them with us when they were excited about them. Never had them sign anything giving us access to anything. I showed up to graduation and their names were always in the program. I guess we were just lucky.</p>
<p>They are now all fully employed and self supporting.</p>
<p>3bm, we didn’t ask for grades either but our kids were happy to share them. I don’t recall having them sign anything to give us access either. But we did have online access to the billing/bursar and bills came to our home. I suppose in the latter years when they lived off campus, we did send rent and food checks directly to them but the tuition was still sent directly to the college. I truly never had any doubts in mind with the kids and I mean we visited them and heard lots of news of their endeavors at school and attended many of the events they were involved in at college well before graduation day. </p>
<p>Mine are also employed and self supporting now.</p>
<p>I got all kinds of communication from my kid’s college to my house: invitation to acceptance party, invitation to college send off party, invitation to join parent association network, local alumni events, campus events, form 1098-T, student loan form, tuition insurance, moving assistance, …</p>
<p>This is why we made our older child take out the small subsidized loan that was available when he started. Told him if he left school before he graduated, HE was responsible for paying it back immediately; it was all going to be his responsibility. I think all kids need to be invested in their own education in some way. I’m glad we’re able to afford state schools (and next year state unversity for the 2nd one), and that both of my kids will also have their names on the line for a hopefully only small repayment for their college degrees.</p>
<p>My husband and I both worked our way through college through a combination of work study and loans, and it was sometimes very rough and exhausting. We wanted our kids to not have that extra burden. Even if we could have afforded to pay their way completely, we’d still have made them each take out a loan; we figured it was cheap insurance to keep them in school. It helps that they both enjoy learning - not every kid does and I don’t think every kid is ready for a 4 year commitment when they graduate high school. Believe me, we wouldn’t have minded if either kid wanted to go to CC first; particularly in California, it’s the most affordable way to do it.</p>
<p>A few years ago, at UC Riverside, a former student set off a homemade bomb rather than tell his mother that he wasn’t graduating. She was coming to campus for the graduation. He had dropped out and hadn’t told her. So he set off the bomb and sent threatening letters hoping the campus administration would cancel the graduation ceremonies and his mom would never find out. </p>
<p>He’s now serving several years in prison.</p>
<p>i paid tuition directly to the school, i paid for rent, my son lived off of his part-time bartending job, and then forgot the small detail about needing to attend his classes…not exactly the same scenario, but it happened to me and i thought i was paying enough attention at the time…i knew he wasn’t happy with his major, but i thought he was going to at least get through the classes…oh well…lesson learned.</p>
<p>I knew of one kid who did this. Didn’t get too far. Also while in college, there were kids who dropped their courses for a term, stuck around campus and worked, and some of them did not tell their parents about this break. My kids have given me the transcripts, but often on the late side. I do get the bills, however, and I don’t know how anyone wouldn’t miss those. My stomach hurts just thinking about the one coming soon.</p>
<p>It can happen to anyone on a one semester basis. You find out at the end of the term. There are those who spectacularly flunk all of their classes. They would have been better off had they withdrawn. Might have even gotten back some money.</p>
<p>Friends of my brother have a son who got an abysmally dismal transcript at Cornell. They were furious. Cornell did not kick him out. Had they seen the first semester grades, they would have yanked him at that time. He went through the whole year failing most of his courses. Was all set to go the next year too until the parents got hold of the transcript.</p>
<p>We got the fall tuiton bill online today…new policy, if paying online with a credit card there will be a 2.75% service charge…ugh. Guess we’ll be sending it in the mail.
We’ve always paid online before. </p>
<p>A friend of mine swears her BIL never graduated from college but her in-laws don’t know it. He’s in his 40’s now.</p>
<p>Packmom, my son’s college doesn’t permit credit card payments at all anymore. Can’t get mileage or other points from the payment which really helped us with transportation since he has to fly.</p>
<p>I’ll have to check the credit card fees at my kids’ schools. They’ve never had them before but I wouldn’t be surprised to see them everywhere given current budget realities. If so, I’ll use the checkbook instead of the CC.</p>
<p>BC, my son’s school will take payment from checking accounts on line. Just not credit cards. My youngest one’s school gives a 3% discount for payments made by July 1st for the upcoming year if it is not made by credit card.</p>
<p>I have to start thinking about this stuff. Daughter’s bill came in and is due in early August. Son’s bill is probably online. It’s usually due around the first day of class.</p>
<p>I was looking forward to paying tuition with my cash-back Discover, but just found that the school charges 2.25% “convenience fee” for CC’s.</p>
<p>E-check it will be!</p>
<p>S’s school also charges a credit card fee, although they farmed it out to a third party so the fee is a lot higher than it would be if the school would handle it directly. I’m a little surprised most credit card companies don’t consider charging tuition to be a cash advance.</p>
<p>Setting up a direct transfer was easy, and there is no fee (yet!), so that is how I do it.</p>
<p>My daughter’s university charges a percentage to use the credit card, which makes it not worth using. And the university doesn’t even take the credit card, it uses a third party payer system if you want to charge it.</p>
<p>We deposit into DD’s account and she pays the bill. We do get notifed if something isn’t paid, so I guess she wouldn’t be able to fake us out for a couple of years.</p>
<p>It happens because some parents are idiots and lazy. If those parents did that at work, they would have been fired.</p>