You have written a few times about the increase in student loans, and other things being equal, young adults are better off without debt. However, the financial hit of college may be just as large for children of affluent parents who don't qualify for financial aid but graduate from college without any debt (because their parents pay). Some colleges cost as much as $55K/year, which is $220K for a B.A. My wife and I can and probably will pay these bills out of current earnings, but at what price point should parents say "here is the cash, you decide if college is worth it (or if the extra cost of a private college vs. the state university is worth it)"? I'm not going to give my children $55K no questions asked if they decide not to attend college, but what if they want to start a business instead of attending college? For my own kids should I play the role of Peter Thiel
http://giftedissues.davidsongifted.org/BB/ubbthreads.php/topics/99424/1.html ? While my kids are in middle and high school, I can arrange for them to learn some practical academic subjects, including math and statistics, science, and computer programming using online and other resources, so that they have the skills of many college graduates.
