We are about a year behind you (Scott and Fred). Our oldest is a senior in high school right now. Still not sure where she wants to go, but we did do some college visits. The good thing is that she is in enough activities and gets great grades and high ACT scores that she can go just about anywhere. The bad thing is that she knows this and wants to go "just about anywhere"... That is expensive.
Even with financial aid and scholarships, she might as well just buy a decent house for the amount of money that some of these schools want. I certainly can't afford an extra $15,000 a year let alone $40,000 for the "cheapest" place that she "wants" to go to...
We didn't start his college fund early enough or heavily enough. His account will last, maybe, one year
When my wife went to college, she spent the first two years in the dorms, but when her sister started at the same school, their parents bought a house near the college because it was cheaper!
My kid was smart enough for an academic scholarship from LA and another one from the company I work for. The state program only covers base tuition, but the other can be used where needed, but the check was made out to LSU. Even at that, just under half the total cost was covered. The rest comes out of our pocket...
