Why I'm Not Paying for My Daughter's College - But She'll Still Graduate Debt Free! - Living on Fifty (2024)

FAQs

What happens if your parents won't pay for college? ›

If your parents can't or won't help you pay for college, you might still be able to take out federal or private student loans as well as apply for scholarships. Emily Guy Birken is a Credible authority on student loans and personal finance.

What does it mean to graduate debt-free? Graduating debt-free means completing a college education without the burden of student loans. This can be achieved through a combination of scholarships, grants, personal or family savings, work-study programs or income from part-time work.

The Benefits of Graduating Debt-Free

Graduating without student loan debt can bring numerous advantages for your future financial life. It can provide more financial freedom and flexibility, allowing you to prioritize other financial goals like saving for retirement, buying a home, or starting a business.

Average student loan debt in America

51% of 2021-22 bachelor's degree recipients graduated with an average of $29,400 in student loan debt. Among all borrowers, the average student loan debt in 2023 was $38,787. 53% of federal student loan borrowers owe $20,000 or less.

Eventually, your student loans will be put into default and you may lose federal loan benefits, have your wages garnished, get barred from federal student aid among other consequences. Your loan holder may sue you, as well. If you ignore the court date or the court's orders — that could land you in jail.

Are parents legally obligated to pay for college? State law rules that the obligation to financially support your kids ends when the child turns 18. That means parents have no legal obligation to pay for their child's college education — with one exception.

Some options to help with paying for college include applying for scholarships and grants, looking into work-study options, cutting costs and applying for loans. You can still look into saving for future education with 529 plans, which allow contributions through investments.

Key Takeaways. More than four in ten students at public four-year universities complete their bachelor's degree with zero debt. Nearly eight in ten students graduate with less than $30,000 in debt.

The No. 1 reason students have thought about leaving school is due to financial challenges (30 percent), followed by motivation or life changes (24 percent) and mental health challenges (18 percent).

How to pay for grad school debt free? ›

To complete graduate school without accruing debt, consider programs that offer research or teaching assistantships, or scholarships. Another way to save cash is to pick a shorter-term program, such as one year versus two, or a program at a public school versus a private school.

All borrowers on the SAVE Plan receive forgiveness after 20 or 25 years, depending on whether they have loans for graduate school. The benefit is based upon the original principal balance of all Federal loans borrowed to attend school, not what a borrower currently owes or the amount of an individual loan.

When the time comes to start making payments, only the student is obligated to repay these loans — not the parents. In fact, there's no co-signer. If the student defaults on a federal student loan, it will affect the student's credit and won't be reported on the parent's credit history.

The average Parent PLUS loan amount exceeds $30,000.

According to the most recently available data from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), the average loan amount for Parent PLUS loans in 2019-2020 was $34,630. When adjusting for inflation, that's $37,970 in 2021-2022 constant dollars.

Your dependency status has nothing to do with whether your parent claims you on their tax return. In addition, if the FAFSA determines that you are a dependent undergraduate student, it does not matter which parent claims you on their taxes.

Yes, parents should pay for college

Here are a handful of reasons why parents might want to help out: Degree completion: For many students, the ability to focus on schoolwork and not worry about maintaining a part-time job can allow them to maintain full-time status and complete their degree faster.

Parents are not liable for repaying federal student loans taken out by their child, even though families are required to list both the student's and parent's information when filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

Yes. Unless a student has paid tuition or made satisfactory arrangements to pay tuition, the college is under no obligation to allow the student to continue to enroll.