This past September, the Stott family sent their eldest child, Grace, a 2016 graduate of Lebanon High School, to college at the University of New Hampshire. Finding the money to pay for tuition and other costs involved a lot of work and creative solutions. Greg Stott is a teacher at Hanover’s Richmond Middle School, his wife, Tricia, is also an educator, and they both work second jobs. They have three other children who will be starting college in the next three years. Here is their story in Stott’s words.
“We began with the FAFSA. You put in your information and it spits out a magical number. After Grace’s scholarships and work-study were factored in, our contribution came to $11,000. With our combined income we were caught in the middle class gap.
“We talked about alternative routes, like going to community college for a year or two and then transferring. Grace really wanted to get into this competitive program (for nutrition) at UNH, and she got in. She felt that going to community college would jeopardize her chances.
“We also looked at other colleges with a cheaper price tag. Or maybe if she went to a smaller private school they could offer more financial aid. But she likes being close to home and she fell in love with the campus.
“Grace took out student loans and we had to co-sign. She’s trying to pay off the interest each month on her own, which will save her money in the end. She’s taking a full load of courses and works part-time cleaning the gym after campus events. It took her a while to find a job that fit with her schedule.
“All our kids have jobs and pay for their own cellphones or whatever. Grace saved money she earned in high school to buy a cheap car, and she has a little savings to pay for books at UNH.
“I don’t think (our kids) really understand what it’s going to be like. It’s pretty daunting to roll out of school and have this mountain of debt they’ll be paying off for 20 years. Tricia and I didn’t pay off our student loans until we sold our first house, about 20 years after college. Tricia just finished her master’s degree and is dealing with financial aid as well.
“We’ve been up front with our kids. We’ve never been able to put money away to help pay for college, and we’ve been up front that this debt will be their debt. We’ve told them that we’ll gladly help and co-sign but don’t have the means to pay for college or to repay the loans.
“My best advice for parents is to stay informed and be realistic with your kids. Look for ideas outside the box, like community college. I guess it depends on what your kid wants to study.”