When I graduated from high school, my grandmother had money set aside for me for college. She had given me a milk cow named Robie, and every month she deposited a portion of the money she got for selling Robie’s milk into my savings account – an account I could not even touch until I was 18 years old. I worked a few jobs during high school. I babysat of course. I also typed labels for the local Right to Life and earned a penny a label! After graduation, I worked at McDonald’s and put even more of my own money aside.
So when I went to a local college, I was able to pay for my books, fees, and tuition up front and didn’t need any loans. Of course, that was almost 50 years ago. A lot has changed in how we pay for college now, and tuition has skyrocketed. I was perplexed about how Mr. Pete and I would be able to pay for college for our own children.
The first three kids took nontraditional routes
Interestingly, our first three kids took nontraditional routes. My oldest went to a hospital-based EMT and Paramedic program. He worked in a factory to help pay for his courses and ended up with no debt.
My second son went the entrepreneureal route and never went to college. He opened a restaurant during Covid, sold the restaurant, and then travelled the world a little bit before settling in Florida where he was trained as a butcher. He now works for a Michelin restaurant cutting and preparing custom filets, beef, pork, chicken and a lot of fish.
My third son also trained at a state university to become part of their maintenance department. They trained him and now he works there as part of the maintenance crew which requires some basic plumbing, electrical, carpentry and other skills. He also has no debt.
But the last three went to college…
But the last three kids all decided to go to college. Noah went to Walsh University as a commuter student. He lived at home and drove a used car. He graduated after the pandemic, and immediately afterwards took a job working in a warehouse. He continued to live at home and put just about every dime he had into repaying his loans. His loan amout had been around $20,000, but he paid it off in under two years. He then got a different job that he can work from home. He paid for a wedding and then he and his wife saved and bought a little home. Other than their mortgage, he too is debt free.
Izzy went right to work after high school. She worked for Michael’s Arts and Crafts for five years, while she continued to live at home. After four years, her desire to study art got the best of her, and she enrolled at the local state college. For one year she worked full time and went to school. Then she quit Michael’s and was just a full-time student. Her last year of college she worked for the college. Her loan debt was even less than Noah’s.
Lastly, Rosie heads into her senior year. She is also a commuter student at Walsh University and she tracks her expenses and her debt religiously. She can tell you to the penny what she owes right now. With scholarships, I think she will end up only owing a little over $10,000.
The big news
Yesterday, one month after graduating from college with her BFA, Izzy paid her student loans in full without depleting her savings. With college behind her, and no monthly loan payments, she is looking to find another job, save money and start supporting herself as an artist.
Why am I mentioning this?
In Ohio, the big push for homeschoolers is dual enrollment. The idea is that you earn college credit and high school credit at the same time and then save money on college tuition when the time comes. The state of Ohio pays the tuition.
My kids did not do any dual enrollment. Some of them took CLEP tests, and Noah took an AP World History course. But I know plenty of homeschoolers who do take college classes at home during high school.
Overall, I’m not totally against that. I think if a student is mature and a good organized student, this can be a good way to earn credit and continue your education. What makes me cringe are the homeschoolers who are putting their 7th graders into in-person college classes and then trying to eek out as many credits every year as they possibly can until they graduate. In fact, because public school students are awarded more money for credits than homeschoolers are, some families have enrolled their kids into the public school so they can get more credits. However, they never set foot in their local school because they are attending the local college instead.
Somehow, I don’t think that’s what the state had in mind when they set up the program. As a homeschooler, it just goes against everything I value in educating my own children.
There are other ways.
I think if you consider dual enrollment as a tool, and use it to further your child’s education rather than just saving money it can be a good option. But there are some other ways to save money for college.
- Make sure your student is getting a good education at home and that you are covering all of the basics well, especially reading, writing, and math. The idea is to make sure they can receive a decent score on the ACT or SAT tests. Two of my kids did OK on the ACT test and they still got substantial scholarships from Walsh. You can read more about that here.
- CLEP exams are also a great way to earn college credit and you can study your own pace. I blogged more about that here.
- There are also AP courses online that students can take and then use to pass the AP exam in the spring. This is much more stringent than the CLEP exam, but it is another option.
- Two of my kids paid their own way by making some sacrifices. They chose local schools, they lived at home, and they worked. There is nothing magical about that and I’m sure that doesn’t sound like a lot of fun when you’re an 18-year-old senior. But when you are in your mid 20s with a degree and no debt, it feels pretty good!
