This is a question not about how to pay for college, but about how to share the cost between parents and child. It's aimed mostly at those of you who have sent a child through college.
Background
Daughter Jenny will go to Wash U in St. Louis starting this fall. After taking into account scholarships, total bill will be about $36,000 per year (I know,
). We've saved enough that we can pay without loans. Jenny has saved $3,400 and earns about $3,000/yr in her summer/after school job.
Her career choice is biomedical engineering, so she won't have trouble paying off loans.
My general feeling is that the parents should pay for education through college, but that the student should contribute as much as possible.
The Question
My question today is: how should we share the cost between parents and student? And how should we structure the cash flow?
Current Plan
To give you an idea of the kind of answer I'm looking for, here is my current thinking.
1. When she finishes college, she should owe a total of about $22,000. I got this figure by taking my college loans (which I paid off without too much difficulty) and adjusting for inflation.
2. We will pay the tuition, fees, travel, room and board (that is, after subtracting student loan amounts). She pays everything else including books.
------------------------
Do you think that will work? How did you do it?
Thanks,