I disagree. Kids and parents are being told all the time that there are scholarships for smart kids, for athletes, for community service so go ahead and apply for them, the money will come. I don’t think the average middle class family knows how much college costs. Many assume their kids will just go to a state public school and don’t know how much that will cost either. The applications are submitted earlier and earlier, before the parents even have time to pull all the information together.
When was this talk? The first one my kids’ school had was Oct 15 of their senior year. Applications to UF and FSU were due the next DAY. We were behind because we had moved to the state while they were in high school and weren’t focused on those schools,or on any schools really. We were still getting out feet back under us and just trying to figure out high school. The only money discussion at that meeting was to apply for bright Futures and fill out the FAFSA. There was no individual meetings with the guidance office about college, no help for anyone not going to a Florida public school. And this is at a top public school. I was a middle class parent who had gone to college but when I went I sent in an application, got accepted a few weeks later, and went to that school. No financial aid, no tax benefits, no FAFSA.
If a parent says ‘we’ll figure it out’ and the way they figure it out is to take big loans, they should stop right there and make a new plan. Do not borrow the money.