Not having any savings for kid’s education I went on the hunt to see how best I could get my tax dollars to work for me. In other words I went looking for government/state funded education which is ultimately paid for by my tax dollars.

I ended up finding a program called Academy which is run by the Lake Washington Institute of Technology and is 100% free to those who qualify.

“Lake Washington Technical Academy offers eligible high school junior and senior students, ages 16 to 20, the opportunity to concurrently train for a career and earn a high school diploma. Lake Washington Technical Academy is accredited by the Northwest Association of Schools and Colleges and is a full-time special purpose high school program located on the campus of Lake Washington Institute of Technology in Kirkland, Washington. The program enrolls 300-350 students annually and annually has students from 32 regional school districts.” http://www.lwtech.edu/offices_and_servi ... ademy.html

Please note that this is not the same as “running start”. With running state the student graduates with a high school diploma from their normal high school. With this program you graduate from LWIT. This program was not advertized or promoted by the guidance counselors at the high school my daughter used to go to and I just happened to find out about through my research into what is out there. The main reason why it is not promoted or advertized is because unlike running start the student actually leaves the high school which results in the high school losing the approximately $5,000 grant money given to the school by the government for each student in attendance.

Cut a long story short at the age of 19 my daughter graduated from LWIT with her high school diploma and she also at the same time graduated with her Associates Degree in Mechanical CAD Engineering. After completing and internship she landed herself a full time position at Boeing with full benefits. She is now 21 years, has never had any debt of any form, earns US$64,000/year and has $32,000 cash in her bank account.

I know for a fact she would not be in the same position if she was strapped with student loans and other forms of debt. I am sure there are other similar programs out there. All you have to do is go looking for them. Even the running start program is a good program and worth pursuing as it will end up saving thousands in the long run.

That's really great. I hope she's pursuing a post graduate degree in Engineering or perhaps an MBA via Boeing's Learning Together Program (LTP). Although it's not as generous as it was only a few years ago, it's a good way to get additional education that's subsidized by the company.

Many state schools have a lot of financial aid programs, practically giving students free education demonstrating financial need. After the 1'st year and pending academic achievements, a lot of scholarships also open up. I've known people who covered 100% of their tuition & board through grants and scholarships, including misc living expenses.