Why should I pay for my son to go away to college?

[Big Bend]

I live in Houston. I'm a University of Houston grad, and I worked full time while going to night school to support myself and pay my own way. My parents didn't help me at all with college expenses, I was living on my own. I now have a son who is a sophmore in highschool, a great kid who gets mostly straight A's.

Now its my contention, after 20 years in business, that where you get your degree from is completely irrelevant for most occupations. All a degree is good for is to help you get your first job. After that its your work experiences that help you advance your career.

That being said, I'm happy to pay for my son's tuition if he goes to U of Houston, and he can continue to live rent free at home - living expenses being a huge part of sending the kids away to school.. but why should I spend $20K+ / year for him to go to an out of town college? Sure, life would be sweet for him to spend 4 years living outa town and partying all the time. But that'll cost me a bunch more $$ (which I'd rather save for my retirement) and won't help him find a better job upon completion. My thinking is if he wants to go to an out of town school, he'd better land a nice scholarship and be prepared to pay for any expenses on his own that would exceed a typical UoH tuition. I'll also STRONGLY urge him to never go into debt with student loans when alternatives exist.

Those kids who get to go away to college and have everything paid for by mommy and daddy are pretty spoiled - they often turn into sanctimonious liberals who don't have a clue. Why should I do the same for my son when a perfectly good alternative exists here at home? I've also found it to be +EV when I've interviewed for jobs and tell them how I paid my own way thru school.

L8r.. BB