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You simply can’t believe it. Seems like just yesterday, you were bringing your child home from the
hospital, and now your daughter or son is about to walk across a platform to receive their high school
diploma. One huge milestone is done, but another one is right before the both of you: them earning a
college degree.
For years, it’s been a debatable topic: Should a parent contribute to their child’s college education? After
all, being that it’s something that prepares a child for living on their own as an adult, shouldn’t it be
something that they pay for independently?
Enough time spent on this earth will cause you to realize that very few things are that black-and-white or
cut-and-dried. In making the decision of whether or not to contribute to your child’s college education,
here are some strong factors to consider.
Education Is an Investment
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, people with a college degree earn up to four times more money
than those with only a high school diploma. Therefore, when it comes to equipping your child with the
tools needed to be an accomplished adult, this is a great reason to consider assisting them by financially
contributing to their college education.
Education Should Be a Student’s Top Priority
There are many studies to support the fact that a lot of young college students either don’t reach their
fullest academic potential or they continue to drop out of college because of the financial pressure that’s
placed upon them with they have to pay for their college education on their own. With the average price
of attending a private non-profit college or university currently being somewhere between $35,000, even
a part-time job barely puts in a dent when it comes to the cost of tuition and room and board. When your
child has financial assistance, it takes some of the pressure off financially; this frees them up to put more
focus on where it really belongs: their classwork.
Your Financial Support Makes Them Feel Supported
Telling your child that you believe in them is one thing. Showing them that you do by making the sacrifice
to help them with their college education is far more effective. This doesn’t mean that you have to, or even
should, pay for all of their education. After all, it is their own adult life that you’re contributing to; they
would probably find more value in their education if they had to make some financial investments along
the way as well. But for them to know that you have so much faith in them that giving money towards
their college degree is one way that you desire to show it, that’s a wonderful way to boost their confidence.
We all know that it can be pretty cold out in the real world. It’s always nice to have the reassurance that
we’re not alone; that we have our family by our side to help us to the best person we can be, including
when it comes to both our personal and professional development.
Your Financial Support Can Help Them to Continue Their Education
A lot of people are in debt and it’s directly related to the cost of their college education. Even if your son
or daughter did earn an undergraduate degree, it’s a competitive market out here; a lot of people have
their Masters, MBA and other kinds of post-graduate degrees. If they’re so consumed with paying off their
former education, they may never be able to go back to school to become a psychologist, lawyer or to go
online to earn one of the many online nursing Masters degrees that are available. By assisting your child
with their undergraduate tuition fees, this leaves them with less debt and a greater opportunity to return to college if they so choose to further their education, which more times than not, is a really wise decision.
Your Financial Support Can Contribute to their Overall Well-Being
Did you know that earning a college degree does more for a person than just giving them a leg up when
it comes to finding suitable employment? There are many reported studies and surveys that reveal that
people with a college degree are more financially stable, are more active in their communities, are less
dependent on governmental assistance, have more self-confidence and with all of these being contributing
factors to a less stressful lifestyle, they tend to have longer life spans as well. So, in financially providing
for your child’s college education, you’re not just investing in a degree, but ultimately, an entire way of
life. This is probably the biggest reason to consider contributing of all!
I finished undergrad in 2008 and my degree was paid for with loans, as my parents could not afford to help much. I’ll probably be paying these loans until my kid’s kids are in college. With that being said, with the knowledge that tuition costs are steadily rising, I think I would like to do everything that I can to ease that load for my son and give him every advantage. Becasue Lord knows it’s a jungle out here. In any case, great article. This is a discussion all of us as parents need to have sooner or later.
The first thing I did when I found out I was pregnant was start a Roth IRA for the little bean to be used for college. I am a firm believer in higher education, even more so, in getting an advanced degree after that bachelor’s degree!
My parents paying for my college education considerably helped me be in the strong financial situation I am currently in. I wanted to go to a private school and they said they would only pay for a public. Fortunately I was able to get scholarships and grants to cover the rest and was able to graduate without any loans. I’m going to do my best to help my daughters to cover as much as possible when the time comes.
We’ve got a college savings set up but at this rate it won’t go as far…my middle child at least already has a scholarship for the first two years.
Our daughter is going to college soon and, while we set up a college fund for her, the stock market crash devastated it. She will have to look for creative ways to pay for the rest.
I think children that help pay for their college appreciate it more. If a parent is financially able then it seems like they could help but for financially low income families then helping can mean assisting them in finding and applying for scholarships and supporting them in other ways like letting them stay home to go to community colleges ect.
I am hoping to help my kids when they get into college, but right now, I am trying to pay for my own. It is the cost of messing up when I was a young adult. I am teaching my kids what not to do. Hopefully they learn from my mistakes. But I will do all I can for them.
I think we’re trying to do exactly what you suggested, Michelle…we pay half. BUT we’ve also told the children that they will have to pay for their classes first then, when they get their grades, we’ll pay fully for all the classes for which they’ve earned an A or B. Don’t know how that will work but it’s what we intend to do.
Rhia @ http://Dr-Rhia.com/blog
I don’t have children so I can’t say what I’d ultimately do. With my own experience and seeing what happened with friends, though, I’d probably contribute at least half and have them be responsible for the other half. I know of several people who had a full ride and spent more time partying than learning, which I think may have been different if they were more responsible for the cost. 🙂