For those of you getting help financially from your parents...

[savant]

My parents paid for all of my college education (which was rather expensive), and will hopefully paying for the bulk of my medical education. They live rather simply, so I'm not sure how much it affected their quality of life, but it must have done that to some degree.

What is more important to me is that they made such a sacrifice without any expectation of a return, which is what they have been doing since my childhood.

Quite simply, there is no way to 'repay' that, in my opinion...

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[Japika]

Yeah, my little brother and I both expect to pay back our father. Not exactly paying him back, but supporting him through retirement which he plans on doing soon after we are both done with school =/.

 

[link2swim06]

No, my parents basically will pay for my school, living expenses, etc. until they retire which will be the 2nd year of med school for me. So I only have to pay for 2 years of med school. I will not pay my parents back but will pay for my children's education someday (if I have some).

 

[magikdoc]

I like this thread, everyone is so down to earth and non-violent

As for me, my mother did really well in business and earns 200k+. She has supported me throughout undergrad. and helped pay for part of my application/interview costs. Coming from a Chinese family though, its really not expected that I have to "pay her back" in cash. More like, expected I will take care of her in the future (which i will!), and my Dad for that matter too. She reminded me the other day how lucky I was that I could even have the chance to attend medical school. I think we all owe our parents a ton, more than money can pay for, and for that, I think we should all give our mothers and dads three hugs a day.

 

[nick_carraway]

I like this thread, everyone is so down to earth and non-violent

As for me, my mother did really well in business and earns 200k+. She has supported me throughout undergrad. and helped pay for part of my application/interview costs. Coming from a Chinese family though, its really not expected that I have to "pay her back" in cash. More like, expected I will take care of her in the future (which i will!), and my Dad for that matter too. She reminded me the other day how lucky I was that I could even have the chance to attend medical school. I think we all owe our parents a ton, more than money can pay for, and for that, I think we should all give our mothers and dads three hugs a day.

I give my parents one hug every 10 years. It means more that way.

 

[shnuffles]

My parents help out with my undergrad education, but they dont pay in full. I have received schoarships and have taken out necessary loans. My dad went to college via a navy scholarship, but his parents would not have had the money to help him otherwise. And my mother paid for everything on her own. If she (and my father) are in theh position to help me out, then why wouldnt they? I'm going to do the exact same thing for my children. I'm not going to tell my 15 year old kid that its time to be financially independent. I think thats ridiculous. I'm not saying I'm going to hand him/her money, and he/she is going to work for it (ie when they are old enough, if they want spending money they are going to get a part time job) but I will always be there to provide them with their essentials and/or whatever I feel is outside of their budget (for example COLLEGE).

How about bump the age up from 15 to 18? Then you are an adult and if you want an education, you pay for it. Most of my friends' and relatives' parents are paying for at least a part of their undergrad education, but I honestly don't understand how or why. My parents make enough money, but obstacles have made it impossible to even fathom them paying for my education. They, too, paid their way through undergrad, and I feel like this is the way to go. If you want to attend a fancy-schmantzy school, thats your own choice, not your parents. Similarly, be smart and don't just go to school to go to school. If you're in college just for the "experience," its a waste of money (if you have no idea what you're interested in, but you want to explore different fields, thats a different story from just goofing off). Once you're an adult, imho, you should not depend on your parents. Yes, you're still young, and if you get in trouble your parents should be willing to help you out i.e. put food on the table(to an extent). But I've seen too many intelligent, capable undergrads become so dependent that its sickening. I do realize there are exceptions to the rules...I'm not completely hard-headed

 

[RySerr21]

How about bump the age up from 15 to 18? Then you are an adult and if you want an education, you pay for it. Most of my friends' and relatives' parents are paying for at least a part of their undergrad education, but I honestly don't understand how or why. My parents make enough money, but obstacles have made it impossible to even fathom them paying for my education. They, too, paid their way through undergrad, and I feel like this is the way to go. If you want to attend a fancy-schmantzy school, thats your own choice, not your parents. Similarly, be smart and don't just go to school to go to school. If you're in college just for the "experience," its a waste of money (if you have no idea what you're interested in, but you want to explore different fields, thats a different story from just goofing off). Once you're an adult, imho, you should not depend on your parents. Yes, you're still young, and if you get in trouble your parents should be willing to help you out i.e. put food on the table(to an extent). But I've seen too many intelligent, capable undergrads become so dependent that its sickening. I do realize there are exceptions to the rules...I'm not completely hard-headed

Okay, and I can understand why they dont pay if obstacles are preventing them from doing so. However, I dont see the problem if THEY ARE CAPABLE of paying. I will help out my children as much as I can, just as my parents have helped me. There is nothing wrong with that. I'm not dependent on them, I'm not ungrateful. Ive worked two part time jobs while playing sports throughout college, but my parents still help what they can, and they are more than willling and capable. Just as I will be more than willing to do the same for my children. You can support your children past 18 years of age w/o them becoming completely dependent on you. I dont see any benefit in making my kids financially independent at 18 if I am more than capable to help them out.

 

[Long Dong]

My parents paid for everything i don't owe a penny for med school or college. I plan on buying them a beach front house right next door to mine so they can baby sit my kids.

 

[MyGoalIsMD]

(rant) my grandmother gripes at me because she has to loan me money for gas and book and food. i am seventeen and she will not let me move out yet complains when i have to get her to buy my food. i have a scholarship and my books cost around 1600 a year. i am expected to pay her for my cost of living, gas, food, etc and books with interest. she makes 65000 a year and my deadbeat high school drop out dad who does not talk to me, let alone contribute anything, lives next door on her land. and she payed several thousand in his bills last month because he used his money on a wii and games and other crap. she does not expect this 37 year old to pay her back (/end rant) so i guess i will pay her

 

[Decicco]

I will pay them back by doing the same for my own kids.

 

[beachblonde]

I won't be paying my parents back for my education expenses.

They subscribe to the philosophy that when you have kids, you pay for their education. My parents went to school in a time where you could easily get fellowships to pay for graduate education and college was cheap, but such is not the case now. So they pick up the slack, so to speak. They started saving for my education before I was even born. I expect to do the same for my own children.

They also always told me that "school is my job" and hence I was only ever allowed to work during the summer. I cannot imagine being in a household where teenagers are expected to contribute to the household income! Of course, that is reality for a lot of people, but I was fortunate that it was unnecessary for me to have my own income as a teen.

Of course, if they need help when they're older, I will help them out. I'm not a jerk!