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I would 100% fund education. No question. Probably even grad school.

I would if she was getting good grades. I would make her work and earn her own spending money.

I still wouldn't pay for ALL of it. We want to help as much as we can. If we could afford to pay for all of it I would probably pay for a good chunk but still make them work PT.

I think you appreciate something a lot more when YOU have to work hard for it. DH worked full time through college and still got a 4.0 GPA. I qualified for federal aid so I worked PT while going to school FT. Was it hard? yes. Did I appreciate it more? Yes.

College is a privilege that a lot of kids in other parts of this world or even here in the US don't get. I want my kids to know this.

Yep! I think what we will do is not tell them about the money and then pay off any student loans they have.

@locavore_mama: My only worry with that type of logic is that I don't want my LO to avoid going to college because of fear of the debt after.

No one paid a dime for my college. I worked my tail off through college, but had to work because of it. It was tough when there were times that work had to come first because I feel like school should have been, especially since graduating was so important to me. I also feel like because I had to work so much I didn't enjoy college like others, which is part why I would never want to go back. College also took me a bit longer and left me with nothing saved for a future like a wedding, home, etc.

DH on the other hand didn't have to pay a penny for his college, and only occasionally worked because he wanted to save money for his future. He was super appreciative, always a good kid, and is a great man now.

We have a college savings started as well as my in-laws. We don't want money to be an excuse for our kids to not get an education.

We plan on paying for their education. They'll have to work for extra spending money.

Absolutely. We've started saving already, so I hope we can pay 100% of her tuition (at least undergrad).

@littlek: you are very lucky! I don't come from a world where parents can afford to help with ANY of college. So if we can afford to even help then I'm doing better than my parents did.

I think my experiences helped shape my decision in this matter as did yours. Your parents are lucky then that you were not one of the kids that shitted their college years away partying.

But honestly this is a hypothetical question for me. There will never come a day where we would be able to afford to pay for their full college education. That's not our economic bracket and it's certainly not a factor for us in deciding to have kids or not.

Yes, we have college debt but it's not ridiculous. I think taking on a education that means a huge debt is also a adult decision to make that you live with later on in life.

@locavore_mama: I don't really think paying for it all yourself is required in order to truly appreciate the privilege of going to college. My parents paid for about half my undergrad -- I am very thankful for that and grateful to have opportunities that I know not everyone in this country or others get. I don't think paying the other half would increase my appreciation, just my debt...

We would probably pay for at least most of it. I kind of like what @Leialou suggests about not telling them but paying off the loans. Maybe we would tell them we would pay half and secretly have the other half for after they graduate? Sometimes I feel like our culture is just encouraging this sense of entitlement and I would want our children to understand that they need to work hard for certain things in life. I would love to be able to bless them with paying for their schooling, but I don't want to have them feel like they deserve a free ride just because. I would also want them to really think about what they are going to school for and make wise choices in that sense, not just go to college because everyone else does.

ETA: I am not saying that having your college paid for means that you felt entitled or will make your children feel that way, it is just something that my DH and I think about and have encountered some with college kids these days.

We hope to pay for all of it! I personally don't think that paying/not paying necessarily impacts the value placed on school, unless maybe your parents are insanely wealthy and you know that the 100k is a drop in the bucket for them; then maybe there would be less concern about doing well? But if that's the case there's probably a trust fund floating around too in case college doesn't pan out

TBH the concept of a parent paying for a child's education is completely foreign to me and a moot point in my life.

You are all lucky that you are in a position to do so and your parents were too!

I wouldn't pay for it up front, but their graduation present would be to pay off any loans they took out. I wouldn't want to pay if for some reason they dropped out or stopped going.

I would, but I would do something creative like a friend of mine.
Her parents made her pay for her first year university, and if she did well (I think 80% grades), they paid her back and funded the rest of the school. This way, she worked her butt off instead of partying, and learned the value of education.

I would pay for loans after the fact as long as they're not just screwing around.

Absolutely. My parents paid for mine and I'm so thankful for that. It really gave me such a leg up in terms of saving and buying a home.

Yep and we plan to. They'll work and intern too but don't want debt to hold them down once they're done with school.

I was an idiot w college tuition, my parents didn't pay for all of it because they couldn't, not because they chose not to. I worked serving jobs, paid for my car, apt, school, and had debt. I don't think college kids are def going to appreciate more cuz they have to pay for it. It's a maturity issue. Not an issue of whether parents paid or not. I have numerous friends who had their tuition paid in full (including DH) who are extremely successful, not entitled, and work hard BECAUSE their parents paid for it.

Some kids just learn the hard way about money. I was one of them. And worked my ass off to get myself out of it. So ill gladly help our lo(s) any way we can. We do fully expect them to work pt jobs and intern etc for their careers, etc. I also wouldn't pay if they didn't take college seriously, because it isn't a right, it IS a privilege.

I'm with those who would pay 100%. I'm not sure if I'd insist on them working for their spending money or not. I can see the merit of it, but I'd also rather they focus on school and getting good grades. I might have some sort of deal where I don't give them spending money if they don't make the grades, but I'll continue to supply the necessities no matter what? And probably insist they work in the summer if they don't continue classes during that time.

@chopsuey: this.

They will be adults, so I'm not paying for the dates, the parties or the speeding tickets. That's their problem