USMCFLYR

Thanks for the article.
Interesting, if not disturbing, reading.

USMCFLYR

boog123

Yeah, kind of BS, figure it rarely gets used. My kids know I pay a ton to Mom in CS and she doesn't have a lot. Oldest will need to help, as child support goes down, I have more money, mom has less, yet financial aid will go up. They realize we have it better than most and it's better to work together. (took the exwife a while to understand this)

He seemed interested in the guard thing when I mentioned this. He would really benefit from a little outside discipline and it may work out.

seven6

Boog,

Does your son know what he wants to do? Does he want to go to a big name university like Harvard or Purdue or is he simply looking to check off a box on a job application?

Sounds like you are in Illinois. If you are in the Chicago area, there are many affordable community colleges that can get him started if he is unsure what he wants to pursue. Also, keep in mind that many universities offer academic scholarships based on GPA and AP scores. You won't find out if you have been awarded an academic scholarship until you get accepted..-that was the case with me.

Feel free to PM me if you want more details.

boog123

No idea what he wants to do, AND, his mom works at a CC, so he would get FREE TUITION there, but no, some counselor told him that he should get a huge loan out for the "college experience". Still working on it.

tortue

Illinois divorces eh?

Hope the judge wasn't a female and in cook county, they have this trend of being very anti-men and crushing you very badly in my experience.

jsfBoat

I think most judges want to crush the males in a divorce and do what they can to make sure that it happens.

As I say, if I cant afford the divorce, I will not tie the knot.

seven6

A lot of these high school counselors have no right advising students. Don't get me wrong, there are good counselors but recommendations such as "the college experience" does not contribute to the overall goal here. Its easy for a counselor to advise getting a college experience because he or she has a job and they won't have to pay off a big loan at the end of it all.

Many people today can't get "the college experience" let alone an education after high school due to the difficult times. If your son has the ability to go to school for FREE and at least knock out all the general education classes while at the same time determining what he wants to study, this would not only benefit your entire family financially but it would also set him way ahead of other students in the future.

Talk to him about the benefits and help him realize that its not his counselor who will be paying off the college experience ten years down the road.

LongFlight

I feel that you need to explain a few things to him. Let me give you a little back-story. I am 22 years old. I got married this past May. I go to school at Auburn University. I did not come from money and neither did my wife. She is a nurse so she makes around $35,000 per year. I finally got a job after 3 months of searching and applying everywhere. We have to pay everything out of pocket. Financial aid says we "make too much for financial aid" yet we don't make enough to pay for our bills. We do not have many bills and we do not spend money on anything except groceries and fuel. We now currently have $50 in the bank to last us until she gets paid next Wednesday.

Now after that little story, I want you to listen and sit him down and make sure he understands what I am about to say. IF YOU CAN GET FREE TUITION, TAKE IT! Atleast go to the CC and get the basics out of the way. Thats what I did and I saved quite a bit of money by doing so. A normal 3 hour class at the cc I went to cost around $300. I just signed up for 1 3 hour class at Auburn and it was $1600. That is in-state tuition to. Tell him that if he wants to worry about eating, having the gas to get to class, or money to buy books, then go to a university for a "college experience". If he wants to go to school to be educated, get your basics at a cc for free and then move on to a university from there if it is needed. The only reason I moved to a university was because of the flight program.

I feel like I should add a disclaimer. I am not griping or complaining about my situation. I know how the world works and when you want something, you have to put your head down and work as hard as you can. But sometimes, if you get the opportunity to get free tuition, you have to take it. I wasn't that lucky. I just don't want yall to think I'm whining.

USMCFLYR

The difference Longflight is that according to the law it is the PARENT that will be footing the bill for junior to go to college even if divorced with NO RELATIONSHIP.

The kid might not have seen the father (for instance) for many years and have chosen to not write, call, text, email, or visit to any extent yet when it comes time to go to college all of the sudden he can throw good financial sense out the window because the courts can decree that Dad pays for school.

USMCFLYR

seven6

Excellent example. I was in a similar situation and I actually took a break from school to avoid taking out huge loans..-at that point, I had two semesters left to complete my four year degree.

This is the first time I have heard of such a law, and I can never imagine taking my parents to court especially for this reason.

Lastly, put yourself in his shoes. You are assuming that your son is familiar enough with the legal system and has the ability/financial resources to get a lawyer. If he was to take this route, remember that it will be a emotional and financial rollercoaster for him.