By Ruth Freeman, Family Resource Management Field Specialist
Do you have a high school student in your home? Now is the time to talk about financing a college education. How much do you have put away to help your child? Iowa Regents universities cost around $15,000 a year for tuition, fees, room, board and other expenses – books, supplies, transportation and personal expenses. Iowa private colleges are in the neighborhood of $30,000 annually.
Yes there are student loans . . . but they need to be repaid! Many college graduates say that if they had understood that their loans had to be paid back, they would have made different choices. Help your student understand what it means to repay college loans over the next 10, 20 or 30 years!
High school students who work during high school can be encouraged to save money from each paycheck for college. Even $50 per week over 2 years can add up to $5,200. Do they receive gifts of money from parents, grandparents or others? These gifts can increase the amount saved.
Many youth talk about going to college from junior high school on. As adults we need to encourage them to prepare for college. We ask them to study hard, take college prep courses, participate in extra-curricular activities and each of these is an important aspect of being prepared for college. As is having money to pay as many of the colleges expenses as possible.
Student loans are available when the money the student and his parents have available for school run out, not to pay 100% of the tuition, fees, books, living, and as much fun as a student can cram into their college years!
A co-worker of mine always said that if a student lives like a professional in college she will live like a student as a professional! What does your child’s future look like?
For more family resource management information, visit your local Extension office or the ISU Extension to Families Web site.