The true cost of financing education

[Buckeye5]

Greebo, great thread. While I agree with your scenarios and the finances of it, it is not that cut and dry. There are many factors to college financing. This is my life as of today: 2 girls in college both junios statuses. DD#! Full Scholarship to our community college, received assoc. degree worked as a legal assistant: HATED IT: lives at home attends a 4 year college and commutes She has a 4.0 GPA received only $2000.00 a year in scholarship money, cost of tuition: $9500.00 a year, not including the stupid fees colleges charge EX: SIDEWALK FEE, for college to maintain sidewalks, ridiculous but factual. She worksfull-time in summer while taking 2-3 classes...Books per semester approx.$700.00 she does rent some and does resell them. DD#2 She went to a community college on scholarship also for 2 years than transferred to a 4 year public univer. cost $24,000.00 pear year. She, too, works etc. They each have student loans and DH are trying to help cash flow the rest...we didn't make much money while the kids were younger, I wa a Stay at home mom more important for our family, part of the sacrifice now. Transfer students in Ohio get very, very little money in scholarships etc.

Each state has different tuitions and costs of college, Ohio is expensive comapred to TN, where Dave Ramsey's Girls attend.

We are middle class, work our butts off, no vacations, no fancy cars, or hous, or clothes, but have lots of medical bills because of illness and hospital stays from DH's periodic back surgeries and hospital stays.

Also, in most Ohioians situations your children are off of your health insurance plans as soon as they graduate from high school unless they attend college full-time.DD1 pd. her own health ins. while workin at a job she hated. it wasn't cheap either.

We also, have a 6'5, 16 yr. old son, who isn't cheap in the food dept. etc, His shoes have to be ordered from the internet because they don't carry his size in stores,etc. Expensive.

We, the middle class, get slammed when it comes to college especially, we make too much for pell grants, my 4.0GPA girls were transfer students from community colleges, not much scholarship money there unless you come as freshman in college. Ohio was on a tuition freeze but kept raising room and board, which you had to stay at the campus until certain requirements were met, now Ohio is raising their tuition 3% the next 2 years......so while your scenario is correct, for some of us, it cannot be a reality for many different reasons.

By the way, if my girls were to get pregnant and not married, they would get tons of $$$$ from the state and the fed'l govt for education and living expenses, that is a fact. Instead they are penalized for being responsible, this is a screwed up society. Sorry this too long. Sore subject for me and I've ran out of room. LOL