Money for College

jessiehl
Thu, 07 Aug 2008 09:39:11 +0000

Have the kids considered taking a year off to work and earn money for college? It might allow them to go to more expensive but stronger schools. Contrary to what some on CC like to maintain, academics and opportunities are not the same at all colleges.

Merit aid, which several people have brought up, is also something to think about. Or scholarships (not administered by the universities, but by random groups). There are so many scholarships out there, for all sorts of students. Not applying for scholarships is my big regret from the college admissions process. It was stupid not to…all that free money out there.

Would your kids qualify for military service? ROTC will pay your full tuition and sometimes more at many schools, including some of the most elite in the country (I certainly knew people at MIT who could only afford to come because of ROTC), and allow you to be commissioned as an officer upon graduation (lots of students these days would appreciate the idea of a guaranteed post-graduation job). Along similar lines, if they are strong enough students to get in, there’s the service academies, which are free and academically strong.

I think that people are too quick to say “Oh, you can’t afford it, get your head out of the clouds and go to an in-state public or community college.” There are sometimes ways to make that unaffordable school much more affordable! Idealism and pragmatism are not always incompatible.