[SilverTurtle]

I come from one of those "in-between" families, too. Middle-class, but not wealthy enough to just write out tuition checks.

It was always made very clear that college was important. As someone mentioned, it's almost the equivalent to a HS diploma 30 years ago. It was also very clear that while my family would support me however they could, there was a limit to the finances.

My brother went to a small private school out of state and paid for almost everything himself. (It's been a long time, I don't remember what kind of aid he received).

I went to a small private school in state. Even with need-based, merit-based and talent-based (music) grants/scholarships, that covered 1/2 of my tuition (full tuition roughly $17G/year), that still left room/board, books, etc. My family paid for what they could, and I paid for the rest. Which is okay. I don't think that it's the family's reponsibility to be poor in order to get the kids through college.

My sister went to a state school, about a 30-40 minute commute from my mom's house. She lived at home, and my mom was able to pay for ALL of her tuition AND books (and she had free room & board from living @ home). She then got married, moved to Georgia and transferred to a 2-year technical school for cosmetology. My mom was able to pay for all of her tuition and books there, too. (Then she did so well, that she's had a full ride since her first term there! She just graduated last week!)

I think that when you have several kids it's different than having one or two, also. If you can afford to pay for it, that's great. And you should save to at least help with the costs. But there's nothing wrong with paying for your own education either. It does teach you priorities, time management, etc. And if you utilize your school's career placement center, you can usually find paying jobs and internships at least remotely relate to your career, giving you some added job experience.

Right now I'm trying to go to grad school at least part time, and I'll be paying for that entirely myself. My job does offer some tuition assistance, in certain areas of study, I just have to work it in to the schedule.