Our founding fathers eloquently stated in the Declaration of Independence, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” 

That one sentence displays such keen wisdom, yet most overlook its subtle intent.  The statement so precise, it’s very interesting to note that the authors framed our last right to be the pursuit of happiness, not happiness itself.  As the well-known adage states, “no one promised you a rose a garden,” yet today we, as a culture, have come to expect happiness.  Simply the right to pursue our dreams is no longer adequate.  We must have our dreams, our happiness, served up on a silver platter.  Anything less and we feel slighted, or at least unfulfilled.  As well, we’ve past this attitude on to the younger generations.  Somewhere along the line we decided as a society that we are owed happiness, whatever size shape or color we believe it to be.           

After many years of providing college and financial aid planning services for families and students, certain trends have become evident and troublesome.  The majority of parents believe that they owe their children a college education and their children aren’t about argue the contrary.  Without blinking an eye, parents are prepared to give up their life savings to serve up a college education on a silver platter.  Whether or not their child is prepared to effectively attend an institution of higher learning has no bearing on their rush to sacrifice their retirement.  Suggested options of attending a community college, pursuing technical training, or even working for a year or two before going on to college are treated as heresy. 

The fact of the matter is, in many cases, both parents and students would be better served to look at the alternatives.  How many unhappy freshman have returned home to seek another school or decide a different path.  Had options been entertained initially, how much time, energy and money might have been saved?  The emotionality that surrounds the college selection process cripples most families.  Whether it’s due to the unrealistic expectations of the parents or the less than practical desires of the student, poor decisions are made.  In our blind haste to serve up happiness, we end up dropping the plate. 

It has been said that the sportsman finds exhilaration in the hunt.  The kill is ante climatic.  So it is with happiness.  It is the pursuit of it that brings joy, the attainment is often times disappointing, at a minimum fleeting.  Do not deprive your child of the pursuit.  Ownership in the process makes the result that much sweeter. 

That being said, you should consider the student taking on some or a majority of the financial responsibility for their own education.  That responsibility doesn’t necessarily need to be cold hard cash, but a financial commitment on the part of the student.  If the student can’t excel academically or participate in extracurricular pursuits, which may result in scholarship assistance, then they need to step up and be willing to compromise on the college or university they attend or the path they take to get there.  A focused commitment to the application process with all its administrative requirements can have positive financial results. Taking on the responsibility for educational loans, holding down a part-time job, or even living at home and attending a local college for a year or two are other ways students can help financially, yet achieve their educational goals.                   

There is more than one way to college education.  Get in touch with what yours or your student’s strengths and weaknesses are.  Consider the alternatives, not only from a financial perspective but academically and personally as well.  As you will see, all three must be entertained and all three affect each other.

In my opinion, obtaining a college education has one purpose—to secure a better paying job and a more lucrative career.   

Just like any normal person would expect some positive measure of return on an investment in the stock market, bonds or real estate, you too should anticipate some positive result from the enormous investment a college education requires today.  You will spend thousands of dollars over four to five years for your child to earn a college diploma.  For the end result to be a dead end job or one not requiring a degree is simply bad business. Your money was poorly invested.     

So the decision to go to college must be a very practical one, yet in moving from decision to implementation, the process of determining where to attend becomes muddled by any number of personal, family and peer group filters.  The practical decision to attend college for a better job becomes an emotional purchase based on preconceptions, misconceptions, and artificial parameters, yours and those of others.  Just as the practical need for transportation can quickly evolve into the purchase of something fast and sporty, the selection of a college can be skewed by the need to attend the institution with the strongest football team, the best social scene, the most extra-curricular activities, or the most prestigious reputation.       

Some filters aren’t bad, however.  A result of the recent terrorist activity is fewer students going to college out of state.  Mom and Dad don’t want their child too far away and flying regularly.  Is this decision emotional?  Yes, but given the circumstances, perhaps a fairly wise one.        

With the written and electronic resources available to parents and students on college and financial aid planning, there is little left unanswered.  It is the use and interpretation of those resources that begs guidance. Left to their own devices, most families’ college planning efforts go astray.  Objectivity is elusive.  There needs to be a plan, a process to follow to help fend off emotional decisions and hopefully make a good college investment.