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Dayton Daily News education reporter Scott Elliott writes about schools, kids, teaching and learning.
Home > Blogs > Get on the Bus > Archives > 2005 > October > 04 > Entry
Don’t save for you kid’s college?
The New York Times says stop saving for your children’s college and instead save more for your retirement.
I have to admit I have a hard time with this.
When each of my kids were born, my wife and I set aside some money in a 529 college savings plan and began contributing monthly. My fear is always that the kids will do well enough to get into a great college, say a Michigan or a Notre Dame, but not qualify for enough financial aid. I can’t stand the thought of having to tell them they can only go to a state college because we just didn’t save any money for them.
It drives me crazy when my friends tell me they think their kids should just pay for school themselves, that it would be a good character builder for them. Yes, but what if it forces them to choose a lower quality college? It seems to me that the better education they get, the better their chances of success in life. My main goal is help them to get the best education possible.
But I have to admit, the Times story makes some sense.
In a nutshell, the story says if you saved up the $140,000 it would take to send your kid to an Ivy League school, you’d end up paying every bit of it. But if you saved nothing, you’d probably get financial aid and end up paying just a fraction of the $140,000.
That’s the crazy way financial aid works. The more you save, the more you pay.
Instead of saving in a college fund, experts in the Times story say save more in your 401K. Come college time, you can always take a loan. Come retirement time, a loan is not an option if you’re short.
I’ll be talking this over with my financial advisor. But I’d love to know what your plan is for paying for college.
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