The responsibility for college expenses typically falls on the student and their parents, but the extent of that responsibility depends on several factors including:
* Parents' financial ability: Parents may contribute voluntarily, but there's no legal mandate.
* Student's financial ability: The student may take out loans, work, or receive scholarships.
* Agreements between parents and child: Parents and children might have informal or formal agreements regarding college costs.
In short, claiming a child as a dependent is a tax matter, while college funding is a separate financial matter. They are related in that financial aid applications often consider parental income, but the tax filing status doesn't dictate college funding responsibilities.