Mom's Talk - Talking College

With many kids getting their college acceotances in the mail this week we thought it would be a good idea to talk about college, at least the non-financial side of things. When do you/did you start talking about college with your kids? Not in terms of money -- that begins in the womb. But in terms of:

• Where they might want to go (close to home, far away, just far enough away so they're not coming home every weekend).
• What they might study (philosophy versus something with which you can actually earn a living).

Mom #1

My children do not yet understand the distance or costs related to schools. We have been talking about it since they were born. It is just common, everyday talk in our house. We also talk about West Point with our oldest son because my husband hopes he will go there.

Mom #2

My daughter is only in 7th grade but she already has some ideas about college. First said she wanted to go to USC or UCLA for gymnastics, then anywhere in New York so she could go shopping and now maybe Florida because of the weather. The Virginia schools never come up but I suspect that will change as she gets older and starts to give it some serious thought. Part of me wants her to go away for college because I had that experience and I loved it but the part of me that will miss my only child terribly wants her to go to George Mason and live at home. As much as I don't want to rush these next few years it will be interesting to see where she lands. She has no idea what she wants to be when she grows up but it better pay well because she likes to shop in expensive stores!