Could you -- or your children -- afford college without financial aid?

by L.A. Times Posted 2012/12/09 19:00:00

806 votes
Read all 127 opinions
Lightning Report View Results and Demographics + View Demographics

Loading Demographics... Click an icon to see demographic results Display unknown and private
	Yes	148 votes	18%
	No	658 votes	82%

If you have a child heading to college in the next few years -- or even in college now -- there are a few things you ought to keep in mind this holiday season. That's because parents of college-bound seniors will be facing complicated financial aid forms in January, and planning ahead means you're likely to get more help.

+10

Add a comment above

Casey 2012/12/11 10:55:00

No

+12
especially since a lot of them cost more than what a lot of people make in a year per semester but still even the cheap ones are expensive
>> See Replies

More polls by L.A. Times

mae 2012/12/13 20:56:07

No

+1
Nope. Still paying back loans for my sons.

reply
Bob 2012/12/13 15:12:08

Yes

+1
If I won the lotto or received an inheritance. Good luck on those.

reply
WilliamMeagher 2012/12/13 14:44:49

No

+1
counting performance scholarships as aid no, not counting... probably? I'm smart and got a few of them but :shrugs:

reply
melanie 2012/12/13 14:24:56

No

+1
I'm a full- time college student, and without Aid it wouldn't be possible for me to attend:) My family didn't have the money to send me to college, nor did I get a scholarship. I work, but its not enough to pay for one semester. I go to a huge university in Austin TX and they are NOT CHEAP. Hopefully I can break the cycle, and afford to send my children to college without aid(hoping for a good paying job after graduation). However, I will still need aid after undergrad, for grad school. This wouldn't be possible without aid.

reply
ole.fosshaug 2012/12/13 07:24:32

Yes

+2
Yes, because I live in Norway and our govnernment take care of our education.

reply
Nicole to ole.fos... 2012/12/13 15:10:00

+2
Wowie you guys over there in Norway are so lucky!! I wish I was in your country.

reply
ole.fos... to Nicole 2012/12/13 17:20:39 (edited)

+1
But even if we don't pay tution fee the students have to pay for their food and shelter.
We get scholarship from the government but student homes are too few and the cost of renting a studio type now adays are so ridiculous high that the scholarship isn't enough so many students still get into debt. Lucky are those who live in the same city as the college or university and can live for free at home with mom and dad while they are studying.

reply
Nichole 2012/12/13 06:12:47

No

+2
I'm only in college because of the Pell Grant and various loans.

reply
NJW0123 2012/12/13 04:25:26

No

+1
Ever notice when the unemployment went up college commercials starting popping up everywhere? They're a business and they just want your money. What about these text book publishers? They shuffle around the order of the chapters and Bam! new book cause the one from last year is too old.

reply
Elaine Magliacane 2012/12/13 03:43:43

Yes

+2
YES... we DID... no debt for my daughter and she WORKED too... at Georgia Tech it is called co-op, you work a quarter and go to school a quarter... takes longer but you finish college with an excellent technical degree AND experience WORKING in your chosen field... way ahead of the kids who don't have experience... guess who gets hired for the big bucks?

reply
freedomsox 2012/12/13 02:04:03

No

+1
This question makes me think of this.

reply
Maddie 2012/12/13 01:00:47

Yes

+1
I am affording it but I would rather not be paying this much.. And it's going to be worse next yr because she is only in a jr college now.

reply
RJeffreySavlov 2012/12/13 00:18:10

Yes

+1
Many states offer prepaid college tuition packages which is started when the child is young. If parents planned ahead instead of spending like there is no tomorrow than it is possible.

reply
Bibliophilic 2012/12/12 23:28:10

No

+1
There's no way in hell. I took out loans for undergrad. I earned a scholarship for graduate school.

reply
TombstoneJim 2012/12/12 22:46:40

Yes

+2
Because my dear wife and I set up a savings account for each of them at birth and deposited a small amount everyone of my paychecks into each account.....by the time they each graduated from high school the money was sufficient for them to go to an in state school for a 4 year degree if they lived at home.....all three of them did so, except they all got jobs and apartments for greater autonomy in thier lives (they still came over every weekend to do thier laundary and get some "home cooked" meals ;-)

reply
Rebecca 2012/12/12 21:57:38

No

+1
Not today. The Financial Aid is the reason tuition has increased so rapidly.

reply
Mike to Rebecca 2012/12/20 04:46:39

+1
also, too many six-figure income administrators who are grossly overpaid and lack accountability.

reply
Louisa - Enemy of the State 2012/12/12 21:40:51

No

+1
My grandson would not be able to go to college without financial aid. His father's business has decreased by 95%! But we help him with books and other expenses.

reply
pippahayworth 2012/12/12 20:53:05
De-Dee 2012/12/12 16:56:01

No

+2
Last year was my freshman year...I got a crap load of scholarships in high school a couple of grants and around 6000 in the federal loans. Not too bad..This year, same loans but no high school scholarships one decent grant, and a $60 grant(..haha Thanks for buying me paper..) I was looking at almost $7,000 to come out of my unemployed pockets because my parents couldn't do it. Luckily, my church family at school offered to let me live with them. After going through the process of removing the cost of housing and meal plans, I only had to pay $700. Half my parents paid for, the other half came out of my now employed pockets. Wouldn't have been this "easy" to catch up if it weren't for the aid.

reply
Skylie 2012/12/12 15:55:18

Yes

+3
I come from a lower-class family. We had just enough to scrape by, (did not use any type of welfare either) and now I don't even have that. However, I also will NOT be taking out a loan that I can't guarantee I'll be able pay back. I'm in school now using educational benefits that my father earned for me with his blood, sweat and tears as a soldier. He intended for me to use them before he died, so I will. If I didn't have those benefits, I wouldn't currently be able to afford to attend school. In which case, I would find a way to work and save until I could because that's how I was raised.

reply
Elaine ... to Skylie 2012/12/13 03:47:00

+1
Good for you... you'll learn more and be way ahead of the ones in debt to the government with student loans...

reply
Redneck 2012/12/12 15:54:00

Yes

+3
But we're going to have to tighten our belts uncomfortably and get some things paid off before my oldest goes off to school. I don't want my children to have to take on a lot of debt and I don't want my kids to be beholden to the government. They're my kids, I'll make sure they're educated.

reply
Watermusicranger 2012/12/12 15:45:54

Yes

+3
Been there and done that.

reply
Steve 2012/12/12 14:29:56

Yes

+3
The real question is weather the end result is worth it? Some of these college graduates today seem much worse off than they were before they attended college. They are also much more in debt. I say that when you pay for something, you are more likely to choose more wisely as to what kind of product you will receive from that investment. Free college is free indoctrination for everyone!

reply
Artist 2012/12/12 14:16:27

No

+1
I couldn't but then the fees weren't that bad 30 years ago. I paid back my loans within three years. Now my son goes to college on a full ride, Junior year...hasn't had to borrow a dime yet. Better not, it's $57,000/year there.

reply
Heisenberg 2012/12/12 06:39:02

No

+4
Absolutely not! That's why I think college should be free for everyone and covered by the taxpayers.

reply
Elaine ... to Heisenberg 2012/12/13 03:48:14

+1
Moocher... you'll NEVER amount to a hill of beans.

reply
Heisenberg to Elaine ... 2012/12/13 06:12:09

+1
Says the podunk trailer mama from South Carolina. I served in the military during 9/11 and the Iraq War. I already graduated college, and I work in security now making big bucks. You don't know what the hell you're talking about. Sorry if you don't like people being informed rather than ignorant, but I for one don't want to live in the Dark Ages again.

reply
Wulfdane 2012/12/12 06:36:17 (edited)

Yes

+3
I am paying for it now.

I was one of those parents who started saving for my children's college education from the day they were born. So by the time my children went to college, most of the money was already there. Now what extra I had to put in, is trivial compared to if had saved nothing.

reply
Osama McDonalds 2012/12/12 05:15:14 (edited)

Yes

+2
Yes, if my family moved to and became citizens of a country were a college education was part of public education and paid for through taxes....you know, in a country that prizes having an educated population and doesn't believe in saddling their college grads with crushing private debt but rather have them making money, paying taxes and moving forward as soon as they graduate.

reply
alicestarbright 2012/12/12 04:43:29

Yes

+2
Barely

reply
marty 2012/12/12 04:34:36

No

+3
A 4-year university, no. Community/technical college, yes.

reply
Mike to marty 2012/12/20 04:48:07

the tech. college is also probably more practical for finding a job afterwards, not just a useless paper that you can hang and frame!

reply
Tailor Wilson 2012/12/12 04:23:19

No

+4
Absolutely not.

reply
Thomas G Towns 2012/12/12 02:53:55

No

+5
try 60gs in debt for 2 kids through UC system. Rip off !! they seem much dumber then when they started. My youngest said "What's wrong with socialism dad" they got her the bastards.

reply
Steve to Thomas ... 2012/12/12 14:30:11

+1
Free college is free indoctrination for everyone!

reply
Mel Mar... to Thomas ... 2012/12/12 23:33:54

Wait...so because she's been encouraged to question things and think outside the box, it's brainwashing? You could have just sat her down with a lot of books and online materials and gone through the answer with her and had a very nice debate over it. It would have been nice to disagree or agree on an intellectual basis.

reply
Thomas ... to Mel Mar... 2012/12/13 01:44:10

Oh shut up

reply
Georgia50 2012/12/12 02:34:33 (edited)

Yes

We're putting our grandchildren through college. Fortunately they're 6 years apart, and the fun doesn't start until 2014. The parents' income will enable them to get full loan status. We will pay off each year before the next academic year begins so that 1) no more than 1 year's debt will be outstanding, 2) no debt remains for them to repay as they enter the workforce, and 3) the repayment will help build their credit rating.

Absent a full ride scholarship, they'll have to attend a mid-level state school in the above scenario...$10-15k/year. $20k/year or more would be pushing it.

reply