Are parents justified in pressuring their teenage children to get a college education?

by Kevin L'dux

Created on: July 07, 2009   Last Updated: July 20, 2009

Justification? First consider feasibility. Part of my career responsibilities was conducting feasibility studies. Feasibility leads to reality. I had to determine whether or not a project was a realistic endeavor based on facts presented.
Counseling one's teenage children to pursue a college education is commendable whereas pushing or applying pressure to do so might not. Pushing one's child can mean pushing him/her away and often does psychologically. Coaching is often a better approach.

Something that might be considered is means to pay for that education. What will a 4 year college education cost when that child finally gets there? The costs are staggering at this time and is pretty much prohibitive unless one comes from wealth. There are not enough scholarships or grants to pay for those years of schooling. I took out student loans when I was younger and what a pinch they put me in when it came time to pay up. That was years ago and though I didn't borrow $50K or more I know several students will have to.
I worked at a large and well known college laboratory 20 years ago. The younger engineers were attending graduate courses on campus there after work. Some of us learned the costs of that and considered it to be ridiculous. Two years of graduate studies was not worth the price of a house. I think those students are feeling the payback to be a bit steep now given the current financial state of the world as they are surely still in debt.

I am shocked to know households having problems with mortgages are subscribed to satellite or cable television as well as cell phone service for everyone in their households. Most have multiple car notes consuming huge chunks of their monthly incomes.
This is where feasibility comes into play. Most families in America maintain a foothold because of debt. The majority of those are so mired in debt they will never see a tunnel of light meaning relief less they conduct a significant turnaround in life.

The present economy presents something that I have problems with. Interest rates that reward one for saving or investing money don't exist as they once did so people don't. If one is able to save or invest the returns are pittances. Add to that the effects of salary reductions due to scaling back of employers and saving is further removed.
The following is a question I have asked over the past 10 years. If one cannot afford to save money, how can one afford to spend it? I used to enjoy handsome dividends on investments as simple

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