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<p>Exactly. With my kids we had the kitchen table meeting. We told them we saved for their future and told them that it was their money, not our money. We had saved enough so they would have more than enough to be full pay students at any school. That said, we told them to think about their options because when their money is gone, there is no coming back to the well to drink. Thus, if they wanted cash for grad school expenses, or a down payment on their first home, a start-up business or even start retirement funding (including working through a quick example) that was up to them. </p>
<p>With my older son, his reach was also a economical choice so it really wasn’t a ‘college choice’ issue. However, as a sophomore, he moved out of the dorms and saved thousands in combination of food/lodging. Making that happen was completely his call and without our involvement (other than asking him if he had thought things through). </p>
<p>My younger son is tight with ‘his’ money. To say that he was interested in the financial aid being offered by the schools would be an understatement. He decided to not try to get in a ‘reach’ school as a full pay because he did not want to spend ‘his’ money that way. IF we simply had told him, ‘we saved money for your college’ VERSUS “we saved money for your future” he would have done things differently.</p>