Originally posted by Alexander99
What I want to know is, do many parents out there not feel that supplying their children with an education is a part of their responsibilities as parents?
It really makes me mad because I know of a lot of parents that take their yearly vacation, buy a vacation home, etc and then when their children are about to hit college, they complain about how expensive it's going to be and how they can't afford it. Perhaps if they started saving up (I believe it's called a college fund) when the children were born, it wouldn't be an issue. I know for a fact that I'm going to start saving up for my kids' college tuition as soon as I'm in a situation to do so (even before they're born.)
I think you'd be surprised at how many parents still feel that paying for college isn't part of their responsibility as a parent. Many of the parent's that are in their mid-50's were raised to believe that by the time you're 16/17 you're responsible for most of your own expenses and by the time you graduate high school you're responsible for all of your own expenses. Many of these people didn't go to college themselves because it wasn't necessary for making a decent living like it is now. Other times, the kids have made mistakes in the past (in the parent's eyes anyway) and the parent's are trying to teach responsibility and that's why they don't pay for college. In my case, it's both. My dad had to save the money to buy his first car, paid for the few college classes he did take, and was married and a tool & die apprentice designer by the time he was 19. As a result it took major convincing to even get him to loan me the money to buy my first car, and while he was supposed to be helping contribute to my college education I had a trust fund from a great aunt to cover some of that. When the trust ran out he wouldn't help because I didn't use the trust in the way he thought I should have. Basically I didn't major in something he deemed "worthy" of the trust, instead I "majored" in dance and figure skating at the time. As a result I'm paying for school completely on my own.
I have a full-aid package now thanks to having gotten laid off from my job almost a year ago, but prior to that I had to work 30 odd hours a week just to make ends meet. The "problem" with aid is that if you make more than 12 grand/yr (at most public schools anyway) you don't qualify for anything but unsub loans - that barely covers tuition and fees. Then you still have to find money to pay for rent, food, utilities, etc and unless you have a job where you make like 30+K a year you really struggle. Part of my aid package is work study, so I still have to work in order to pay my bills (and I'm barely doing that, even without a car which i can't possibly afford). My grades do suffer at times, but not nearly as much as they did when I was working 30 hrs/week in a retail job where I couldn't study at all lol. I will have major debt when I graduate ugrad tho, and need full aid for med school as well just to make things work. I'm not looking forward to graduating med school with probably 200K to pay back but I'm doing what I need to do. I just hope I don't have to include my father's info for med school since I haven't lived with him since I was 13, let alone talked to him in like 3 years now. My mom's info won't make much difference in aid for med school...his would.
However, if I could somehow manage to get the grades I need (or even some semblance of the grades I need) without taking out all of the loans I would work more in order to try and save myself some grief when I finally do get out there into the "real" world, and work instead. I truly admire those who are managing to work and go to school full-time, and I don't blame anyone for not wanting to take out the loans if they can prevent it (even if it does lower their grades a bit). I do agree that those who really don't have to work but work anyway to get the cool cars and the expensive clothes and vacations and then complain about grades don't have the right, but I think those people are far and few between. Most just don't want to have to make those $2000 monthly payments for the first 10 years after they graduate, and I don't begrudge them that. I wish there was a way I could avoid that myself lol.
As far as the phenomenon of working while taking classes meaning that people aren't taking college as seriously though that's just ridiculous. Would I prefer not having to work so that I could just concentrate on my classes? Heck yeah....but I can't. I can't pay my rent if I do that. Neither can most other people I know that work while taking classes too. College is way more expensive then it was even 10 years ago. As a result of prices going up, and family income going down, more and more people are having to work just to make ends meet while taking classes. Does this mean they don't take school seriously? No way...they take school just as seriously if not more seriously than the person who is having their education paid for them and don't have to work because it's their money that's being spent. Not just their parents, and/or the government's.
And as far as more kids in general not taking college as seriously as they used to I don't completely agree with that either. Until fairly recently girls only went to college to meet a husband. Did they take classes seriously? I don't think so....Now it's "expected" you'll go to college cuz you can't get a job without a degree. The reason behind people not taking college seriously has shifted but I don't think the phenomenon itself has increased drastically.
--Jessica, UCCS
D ) when I have a kind of got it made already? Besides, I may not even have this much time to spend all those $ when they come easier. 
