We established 529s at birth for both kids. We are sending them to public school (gifted program) as long as that makes sense academically, in order to be able to put more $ away for college.
Where they go will depend on their grades, their SAT scores, their athletic achievements and how much we will be able to save.
I managed to put myself through with a combination of loans, some small help from my mom and waiting tables. I stopped and restarted and did all of this at a state school 20 years ago. I'm pretty sure tuition is still reasonable following that model.
I somehow ended up with a job at a major bank that enabled me to pay my loans off in two years...still not quite sure how it all happened, a combination of timing and luck I suppose, but I did it with a humanities degree from a state school.
My husband had undergrad and MBA paid for by his parents.
My kids will get more help from us than I did from my parents, but the details will have to be figured out as we get closer.
