Originally Posted by La Texican
Originally Posted by Cricket2
My oldest will be graduating high school at 16, so not nearly as young as some of your kids, but she plans to attend college out of state straight out of high school. Hopefully we can figure out a way to finance that b/c we really don't have the $ saved and hopefully she won't be so young as to give schools pause about accepting her.
This is a heavy consideration. From what i've read early graduates might qualify for college but they don't qualify for most scholarships due to age only. That's different than homeschooling and taking a few college classes. I just made a mental note because I want to feel like I'm one step ahead of my kid's needs so I'm overplanning, anticipating the possibilities, preparing to react to reality as it unfolds.

If children finish college earlier, they can start working earlier, and the resulting extra earnings over their career should not be ignored. If peak career earnings are about $100K for a bright college graduate, and if 4 years (say) are added to the peak earning period, that's $400K extra dollars. That's a lot of money!

The effect can be even larger if the years saved by early college are invested in graduate training that greatly increases earnings. Some doctors may not do fellowships beyond their residencies because at age 30 they want to start working and earning decent money. If the residency is finished at age 26, the doctor may have more patience to do a fellowship in a high-paying specialty.

"To see what is in front of one's nose needs a constant struggle." - George Orwell