Paying for college is a topic that makes me gulp.
Short-term, I'm looking at cash-flowing occasional college classes. According to my state's child labor laws, DS can work at DH's business at 12 years old and working hours are not restricted for high school graduates (although types of hazardous work are restricted until 18). I'm seriously considering putting DS to work during gap years. My calculations suggest he could get Associates degree locally, have 4 gap years and save enough for the last 2 years of state university. I'm hoping scholarships could stretch that money for him. Also, with gap years, he would enter university as a "nontraditional student" rather than a freshmen, so he would not be required to stay in dorms and could live with grandparents.
Alternatively, I could put him into public school and have the district pay for college classes, and he could work fewer hours over more years and hustle scholarships? Easier with lower cost up-front, but fewer or no gap year for him to save money.
This conversation reminds me to check the community college to see how many AP and CLEP credits they will accept. I'm hoping to reduce the cost of his Associates degree by maximizing credits for tests.
My brother was one who lived in a vehicle to get through college without debt. His wife was a spectacular student who not only got full ride scholarship to medical school but also received a stipend to cover living expenses. They are my inspiration. They are frugal and careful with money getting their PhD's without student debt was not an accident! They are my inspiration. Where there is a will, there is a way.
