Four years in the military after high school will not only help pay for college, it will grow a kid up enough to be serious about it when he/she gets there.
So much depends on where you send them to college, what they study (and if they study), and other non-school-related factors. I think I was well-prepared for work when I graduated, but I didn't spend all of my time at frat parties like many people do. I had fun, but I did the work, too. My parents and I didn't spend upwards of $100,000 for me to go to a big-name school, yet I am now working with (and earning the same amount as) many people with huge student debt. And I had a strong background from my parents that prepared me to think logically and work hard, no matter what else I learned at college. College is important and necessary for certain careers, and plenty of people in my generation have come out of college with legitimate knowledge and skills.
If I had teen-age kids I'd seriously push them towards trade school if they had no career plans that required a college degree. I graduated from college in '98 (I was an older returning student) and I can honestly say that at least 50% (probably more) of the students at my alma mater had no business being in there.
"I'm of the growing opinion that I would do FAR better by my kids to either send them to a post high school trade college / program than traditional college. I'm also thinking that they will get a far better education starting their own business."
You are SO right! I was on the "college track" all through high school because I wanted to go to college, and I did. My brother, on the other hand, attended a vocational high school. He would have dropped out if it hadn't been for the vocational option. He became a machinist, worked for Boeing for a while, then started his own business. He has always made more money than my husband and me! Kids today are done a great disservice by keeping them in academic high schools when a vocational high school would be a better option. At least they would have marketable skills when they graduated.
Nam Vet