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I recently heard from the parents of yet another high school senior who turned down a huge scholarship from a good college to attend her “dream school,” which of course has lousy financial aid. Now her parents are scrambling, trying to figure out how to pay for it.
This madness must end.
Asking teenagers to pay the whole cost of a four-year college degree probably isn’t realistic or smart. Kids may be cut off from financial aid, since need-based help is largely based on the parents’ resources. The debt they accumulate may be crippling, and students who try to pay for school entirely on their own are more likely to drop out.
But the open bar approach isn’t wise, either. Setting limits and requiring a kid to pay at least part of the cost can actually lead to better grades while protecting parents’ finances.
The sticker price to attend many private universities now exceeds $70,000 per year, including tuition, room, board, books and fees. Most college educations cost much less, of course: The net average cost, after scholarships and grants are taken into account, was $15,367 last year, according to student lender Sallie Mae.
Many families aren’t prepared for the expense: Some 4 out of 10 parents aren’t saving for college. Among those who are, the average amount saved is $18,135, Sallie Mae found.
The high cost of college and the low rate of savings has led to a whole lot of debt: $1.5 trillion in student loans, at last count. Although the typical college graduate has a manageable level of education debt, it’s easy to borrow far more than a student, or a parent, can comfortably repay.
Given these realities, parents should set clear boundaries about how much they’ll pay for college.
FIND OUT WHAT YOU’LL BE EXPECTED TO PAY
Start with the Department of Education’s FAFSA4caster, an online tool that predicts your “expected family contribution” based largely on parental income and assets. Enter the cost of a college to see roughly how much need-based aid to expect. Once families have the financial aid figure, parents can add in the amount they want to contribute (or borrow) to determine how much they can help.
PUT LIMITS ON YOUR BORROWING
Parents often want to spare their kids from student loans, but the kids are the ones benefiting from the education, and they have many more years ahead of them to pay off the debt.
Having student loans typically isn’t a huge hardship. Students can borrow up to $31,000 in federal student loans for their undergraduate degrees, including $5,500 for their first year. The typical college graduate can easily pay that back within 10 years.
A rule of thumb for students: Don’t borrow more in total than you expect to earn in your first year out of school.
Parents usually have access to PLUS federal education loans, but those have higher rates and less generous repayment plans. Parents and students should be wary of using private student loans, since those typically come with variable rates and fewer consumer protections. Parents also may be able to borrow against their home equity or retirement funds.
A rule of thumb for parents: Don’t borrow more than you can pay off before you retire, while still saving enough for that retirement.
MAKE SURE YOUR KID HAS SKIN IN THE GAME
The more financial help parents offer, the more likely college students are to graduate, according to a 2013 study by Laura Hamilton, a sociology professor at the University of California, Merced. At the same time, students’ grade-point averages decreased as parental support increased.
Having loans didn’t help grades, but scholarships, work-study and grants did. Some studies have found that working less than 20 hours per week while in college is associated with better grades. So even parents who can afford to give their kids a full ride might insist they at least get a job.
Most parents, though, should be sending a different message: “Honey, we can afford to contribute this much to college. If you want to spend more, you’ll have to come up with the difference on your own.” Follow that with a discussion of the impact excessive debt could have on their futures.
Have this conversation long before college applications are due. It will be a much more wrenching discussion later, when the student has her heart set on the dream school that would be a nightmare for the family’s finances.
—This column was provided to The Associated Press by the personal finance website NerdWallet.

The La. 182 bridge over Bayou Boeuf in Amelia, between milepost 182.9 and 183.6, will be closed for bridge deck joint repairs beginning Sept. 7 until mid-November, weather permitting, a state Department of Transportation and Development news release said.

The detour route includes Duhon Road, U.S. 90 and La. 662. The detour will be posted.

Berwick and Patterson were the winners of the Morgan City Jamboree Friday at Tiger Stadium in Morgan City.
In the opener, Berwick held off White Castle’s second-half rally for a 27-24 win.
The Panthers opened the game with a 12-yard run by Barrett Hover and 42-yard touchdown run by Josh Jones to take the early lead. Seth Canty added the point-after kick for a 7-0 margin.
White Castle answered with 30-yard scoring pass from quarterback Tahj Favorite to Unique Young at the 11:38 mark but missed the two-point conversion for a 7-6 Berwick lead.
That’s when the Panthers took over the game with a 14-point swing.
Jones recovered a Bulldog fumble and raced 25 for another Berwick score at 8:51 mark, while quarterback Mitchell Sanford hooked up with Hover on a 22-yard touchdown pass to push the Berwick lead to 21-6 at halftime.
The teams played two 15-minute quarters in each game.
“I thought we did a good job in the first half in all three phases,” first-year Berwick Coach Mike Walker said. “White Castle did a good job of making some adjustments in the second half to close the gap. I’m proud of our guys for holding on and winning, but there were a bunch of things to fix.”
White Castle’s offense came to life in the second half.
The Bulldogs converted a Jones fumble into a touchdown at the 7:06 mark when Favorite hit Baptiste for a 5-yard score. White Castle added a 2-point conversion to pull to one score, 21-14, at the 7:06 mark.
But Berwick took over at the 7-minute mark and went on an eight play, 63-yard drive that Sanford capped with a 2-yard scoring run with 4:48 remaining. Berwick missed the point-after attempt for a 27-14 lead.
White Castle added a rushing score and a two-point conversion with just 42 seconds left in the game.
Jones led the Panthers’ rushing attack with nine carries for 107 yards and a touchdown, while Sanford was 1-of-7 passing for 22 yards and a score.
Berwick will open its season Friday when it hosts Morgan City at Geisler Stadium. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m.
In the finale, Patterson upended Morgan City 26-7.
The Lumberjacks opened the game with a run/pass mix that ended when quarterback Randy Paul found Irvin Celestine for a 21-yard touchdown. Jose Rivera added the point-after kick for a 7-0 lead with 12:50 remaining in the first half.
Morgan City fumbled the following kickoff, and Kai Schexnayder recovered and raced in for a touchdown at the 12:41 mark for a 14-0 Patterson lead.
The Tigers began to find their footing, going on eight-play and seven-play drives with the latter ending with quarterback Tate Alcina’s 6-yard touchdown pass to Devonta Grogan. Following the extra point by Andy Rangel, Patterson lead was cut to 14-7.
“Offensively, we had some success running the ball and moving the sticks,” Morgan City Coach Chris Stroud said. “I’m proud of the kids. They’re working hard in practice, doing the right things, and we showed some improvement.”
After the touchdown, Patterson standout Dajon Richard took the kickoff and dashed 55 yards to the Tigers’ 20-yard line.
Paul tossed a 20-yard touchdown to Celestine with 55 seconds left in the first half to push the ‘Jacks’ lead to 21-7.
After forcing a Tiger punt to open the second half, Patterson’s James Butler took a handoff and raced 75 yards for a touchdown with 10:57 remaining for the game’s final score.
Richard was Patterson’s leading rusher with six carries for 78 yards, while Butler had 75 yards and a touchdown.
Paul was 5-of-7 passing for 69 yards and two touchdowns, while Celestine had three catches for 49 and two scores.
“I saw a lot of mistakes, but I also saw good things, too,” first-year Patterson Coach Don Jones said. “We didn’t do anything fancy, only a couple formations, etc. We wanted to get something on tape to look at as we game plan this week.”
Patterson travels to Franklin Friday. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
Alcina led Morgan City, completing 4-of-7 passes for 62 yards and a score, while Deandre Grogan had two catches for 42 yards and Devonta Grogan had two catches for 20 yards and a touchdown.
Mitchell Mancuso was Morgan City’s leading rusher with four carries for 34 yards.

Shirley Nicholas Pittman, 75, a native of Morgan City and resident of Scott, Monday, Aug. 20, 2018, at Carpenter House in Lafayette.
Services will be Wednesday at 11 a.m. at Mt. Pilgrim Baptist Church in Morgan City. Burial will follow in Morgan City Cemetery.
She is survived by a son, John Pittman Jr. of Morgan City; three daughters, Lena Turner of Morgan City, Landa Pittman of Baton Rouge and Lynette Pittman of Lafayette; three grandchildren; and a host of other relatives.
She was preceded in death by her parents and a brother.
Jones Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.