In Struggle to Pay for College, You are not Alone

Whenever I speak to a group of parents of younger children, I like to say that "there are three ways to pay for college - before, during and after."

Those words always seem to elicit a smile.

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.

That's where College Parents of America can help. Our archivers of parent resources are brimming with college savings and financial aid (including grants and loans) information.

I realize that many of you may be wary about borrowing money for your son or daughter's college education. I also realize that many of you may not have any other choice, and that you must borrow to help him or her realize the dream of attending college.

In either scenario, you are not alone. There are millions of American families in your same shoes, trotting a well-worn path that includes signing up for significant loan debt as part of paying for a higher education.

One of the reasons that we created College Parents of America is to bring all of you together under one virtual roof, and to serve you with the care and understanding that you deserve. As we grow, and we are growing rapidly, we will be able to serve you even more effectively.

So, if you are a member of College Parents of America, please take advantage of our burgeoning number of products and services created and/or acquired through partners to make your child's road to and through college a bit smoother, and your road as a supportive parent a little less filled with anxiety.

If you are not a member, please consider joining today and please tell your friends, neighbors and fellow parents to do the same.