These are the the wise words of Jim Boyle, President of College Parents of America, that always seem to elicit a smile whenever he speaks to a group of parents of younger children. Here are some of Jim’s other comments:

“I guess the simplicity of the line, and the fact that college for their kids is more concept than reality, makes these parents of small kids focus on the “before” part and nod in knowing recognition that if they can save enough money over the next 10 or 12 or 18 years, then in their minds “college will be taken care of” and they can keep a lifestyle as good or better than the one they have right now.

But then, as you well know, reality hits. The assumption of a progressively increasing income may prove wrong, as an employer takes a tumble. The comfort of a backstop from your parents may disappear, as they hold too long to a home they can’t sell, or an unexpected long-term medical crisis ensues, and you end up footing the bill.

That’s where the “during and after” part of paying for college kicks in, and where I surmise that you are probably spending your life right now.

If you are the parent of a current college student, you are probably struggling to pay for college in real time - or “during” - these four, or five or six years when your son or daughter is earnestly taking a full load of undergraduate classes and trying to earn enough money themselves to make a real dent in the bills that seem to just keep on coming from his or her college or university.

And you are learning, of course, that reality hits yet again, and that neither nor child nor you can earn enough money to pay for college in real time, and that borrowing money for college expenses is really the only possible way that you together will be able to make the bills for tuition, room and board, books, fees, travel to and from school and all of the other expenses that hit because you have a child striving to attain a higher education.

So, you as a parent borrow money, and before long you will enter the “after” life and have to start to pay it back, sometimes beginning in 60 days, sometimes at the end of each school year or, in some cases, not until the end of his or undergraduate education. Or in the case of your son or daughter, he or she may borrow money and commit to paying that loan back beginning six months after graduation.

But you may done all this without much of a strategy (and believe me you are not alone), so some of your joy in experiencing your child’s college years is tempered by that nagging feeling that you are just not doing enough to learn options and make smart decisions about paying for college.”

401kid can help families create a tax advantaged Education Savings program so they front load the “before” part of paying for college. By doing so, the college experience becomes more enjoyable and stress-free for all!

see College Parents of America

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This is the August 21st cover story of Time Magazine. The article notes that ‘competition for the Ivies is as fierce as ever, but kids who look beyond the famous schools may be the smartest applicants of all’.

This is excellent advice. Many students will greatly benefit by flourishing at a smaller school. They often have a better chance in getting in a top graduate school. Further, these students can use the cost savings from their less prestigous schools to pay for a top rated grad school!

I can speak from personal experience. My son is flourishing as a Mechanical Engineer at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. Although it is small, Rose-Hulman is the top rated engineering school by US News and World Report. I am convinced that he would not have received a better education - or J-O-B as he graduates this year - at a more ‘well known’ school. Likewise, my daughter attends Crown College in Minnesota. While she was admitted to more ‘prestigous schools’, I am also convinced that NONE would provide a better college experience. Their mother and I could not be more pleased with their college selections.

Who needs Harvard?

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