Graduation

 

our parents' stance at the time, I realize now that it was good for me. I learned the value of hard work and self-discipline. Today, I take pride in saying that I put myself through school."

"What a martyr," Cathy snorted. "The only reason Mom and Dad didn't give you much help was that they were sure you were going to flunk out."

If I hadn't suspected that to be the case, I would have offered a scathing comeback.

"Regardless of the motives, there are, as Dave said, many parents who place much of the responsibility for paying for advanced schooling on the child. In fact, I'm one of those parents. However, I will admit that, for a variety of reasons, it isn't always possible for the student to shoulder the entire burden. Colleges and universities are expensive and getting more so at a greater-than-the-inflation-rate pace. Even a hard-working, independent student can't always raise the needed funds. This is especially true if, at an inopportune time, an economic downturn leads to a scarcity of good-paying summer jobs.

"So, although I feel that some of the saving responsi-bility should be the child's, I also feel that parents should be willing and able to help out if needed."

"I see your point, Roy. I guess the key is not to have too many kids," I reasoned, only half-jokingly.

"The federal government has realized the severity of the problem and pitched in to help. Parents or students who are incurring higher education expenses now have several alternative deductions or tax credits at their disposal. These could be very useful, but a lot of conditions are attached— eligibility requirements, use of one credit versus the other, et cetera. They are not all that relevant to you three right