Parents have a responsibility for seeing that their children are educated and that means, in the United States, going on beyond high school as far as they can go.
Therefore, within one’s means of course, that means that parents should pay for their entry into college. This also means that parents should plan on paying those fees. This includes planning their entry into college by encouraging their taking L-SAT examinations a year before they leave school to qualify them for better college and for college grants. It includes researching available scholarships and prizes to help with costs.
The agreement that my wife and I had with my son and daughter was that we would pay for their first degree but subsequent degrees would be their responsibility. We also gave the right to choose the college of their choice as long as we could afford it. That seemed the minimum we should do.
Both children were encouraged to save. My son created a small business cutting lawns for neighbors and my daughter baby-sat. This gave them the idea of self-sufficiency and contribution.
My children were finally financed by trusts that I had established years before based on stock earned from my company. Each had an equal trust.
My son, despite my encouragement that he enroll in Pennsylvania State University, selected Princeton and then Cornell. A major national scholarship that he won gave him the right to be selective. He eventually went to Cornell. Each time a bill came due he cashed in some of his trust to pay for it.
While we were living in Washington State, my daughter selected the University of California at Berkeley and by the second year became Californian by virtue of a Californian address and driving license. That reduced the costs by a factor of four. Each time a bill came due, she sent it to me. I paid it for my daughter.
Do you see the difference? My son used his trust. My daughter had me pay the bills.
As a result, when my daughter graduated she had enough money in her trust to pay for a home. I am not sure who is the brighter my son who is now a multimillionaire or my daughter who has a home and a family.
However, whatever judgment be made, I feel that my wife and my payment of the children’s first degrees was the right decision. It gave them both a kick-start into educated life in which they both made their successful paths towards the life they enjoyed.
