Hi Nancy,

Yes, I think that is an excellent opportunity for post-grad students to teach and earn. High school students also need opportunities to be able to get into the post-secondary system. One of the shortcomings I was trying to address is based on my daughter's experience -- she had very little context for the cost of going to college and yet, she is responsible for paying for at least half of it. So, learning about personal finance and how to make an "investment" in college I think is an important issue to address as well. 17- and 18-year olds have a really tough time understanding what $30,000 or even $15,000 looks like and how far it will go. How might we teach them when they are a bit younger to understand not only WHY it's important to pay for a college education, but HOW they can pay for it, and WHAT they will receive in return for their sizable investment. Student loans can be enormous burdens, and while they may feel like a simple solution to funding education, recent economists have shown that the return on investment for college is getting smaller, and many young people wonder what they will get for their money. Building onto your idea, it would be fantastic for freshmen or sophomores in college to go to the local high schools and teach a class on "financing college," using their own experiences and those of their peers, plus research and national economic reports about funding higher education.

Thanks Shane - I had not seen it, and it looks like a great idea! I think one of the big issues, which is buried in my original post, is what I took from watching my daughter try to navigate her way through the budgeting process for college. She could spend $X per year at this college and not need to work during school, or spend $Z amount (a larger sum) and have to work during school to make up the gap. She really had no idea what sort of expense college was, and the thought of $30K was absolutely beyond her scope of thinking ... she just couldn't believe that a car can cost less than that. So, it took her a good 2 years to figure out how to invest in her future -- where did she want to put her money? So, the "personal finance class" bit is really important too -- it's hard for kids to grasp the expense of school. Thanks for reading!