It is not clear to me in this poll how one would report âaid from the universityâ. I also wonder whether it would be a good idea to separate need based aid from merit aid.
For those of us who are older parents, IRA withdrawals are also an option. Of course this is not wise unless a parent has quite a bit in their IRA, which might be possible for some older parents.
For those of us whose kids have graduated, would you want us to respond for how we did pay for the education of a recent graduate?
Also, what about kids who are either currently getting a doctorate, or who will be starting a doctorate later this year (having already been accepted and indicated their intention to attend a particular university)?
Unfortunately we cannot add new answer options cause that would erase all previously recorded entries. Weâll make sure to keep these in mind for a next poll.
I think it can be interpreted both ways. I read the question as if it were being posed to the student actually going to college, and Family Support would be parents/grandparents/other.
No, donât respond for kids that are already done college. Then your responses could be reflective of âhow you paid for collegeâ instead of âhow you plan to pay for collegeâ. The way you and others paid for college 4-6 years ago could be drastically different than how itâll be done this year or next year. My 2 cents.
ps: I saved money in 529 and 401k (the later of which I will not use towards kids college) and thus I got zero support from FAFSA or the feds. Because my generation taught me to work hard and save up for whatâs important. Others just feell theyâre entitled to it; but not me.
I assume that this survey is from the studentâs perspective, rather than the parentsâ, so âfamily supportâ is the ârents (us) writing checks. We started saving for both our sonsâ educations within a month of their respective births. We made monthly contributions, and treated education savings like a household budget item. Grandparents also contributed to the education funds. We made additional contributions as we received work bonuses and ultimately sold a business. Thing #1 won a merit award equal to half the tuition bill.
I know the current survey is a done deal, but if you do it again I have a couple recommendations:
Clarify âstudentâ vs âparent/familyâ contributions. Many of those posting on CC are parents, who may think that âfamily supportâ is grandparents and extended family.
Include a category for âmilitaryâ to pick up programs that reward students for military service like ROTC scholarships, GI Bill, and various veteranâs grants (for example, Illinois provides up to four years waived tuition for veterans at public universities). This is an option that is rarely discussed on CC.
Weâll make sure to keep these in mind for a next poll.