With three grown children out of college and one still in, I understand how frustrating the college experience can be from start to finish. First of all, the cost of a college education is exorbitant even if your child goes to a state or community school. The other frustration for many parents is that the child’s motivation and expectations don’t match the parent’s.

So what are conscientious parents to do? Are we to push, prod and remortgage our homes in order to get Sara and John through the best college possible?  I don’t think so.

First of all, when a child is a senior in college, most lack adult reasoning and understanding of the consequences of their decisions. That means that we need to run interference and make some hard choices. Try as you might, if your son isn’t ready to make good use of the money you put out or the scholarships that he gets to cover his tuition, I’d skip college
and make him work until he’s ready to commit. The truth is, many 18 year old boys just aren’t ready to take college seriously and I see a lot of parents waste precious money. Remember, many boys see…