I totally agree with Angie. My parents hadn't put away any money for my schooling, and there was no way they could afford it. I tried getting a student loan but was denied, but I ended up getting a student line of credit from my bank. I worked a lot harder in my classes, knowing I'm paying a lot of money for that education! And I think it really taught me a lot of responsibility early on. Without my parents to support me I had to deal with budgeting and cutting out a lot of things I didn't need. And even now that I've graduated I feel so much prouder that I put myself through school.
But for my older brother, my parents stepped in and paid for him to go to school to be an electrician. He had to go for 2 months every year for 4 years. To put things in perspective, he has made between $25 and $30/hr for the past 6 years, and that is working usually 10-12 hour days (he is paid time and a half for anything over 40 hrs/week). Oh and while he's in school he gets paid EI which is 60% of his regular wage. But he cannot handle money for the life of him, and he had to rely on my parents to pay for a place to stay, and even groceries and bills the whole time. His company pays his tuition. He still does not know how to handle money, he is almost 26 and still gets my parents to pay his bills when he can't. I would absolutely be ASHAMED to be relying on my parents like that, and I'm the baby!
Anyways, don't feel bad about not being able to pay for schooling. Ricky is smart enough that he will be able to handle things
In the long run I definitely think it'll make him more responsible and it's really a good way to learn how to be an adult!