Sallie Mae and Gallup Poll released its third annual study of how parents pay for college. In these tough economic times, families are having to contend with the added burden of double digit inflation. The total cost of attending school has jumped from 17% over last year and 28% over two years ago.
Parents are helping more, using more of their own income and savings, while students are taking out more and larger amounts of student loans. Students are also working more, and two out of five of them are living at home to help keep costs under control.
When all is said and done, American families are paying for college by using six strategies:
23% Grants and Scholarships, such as the Pell Grant or private scholarships like the ones I tell you about in Scholarship Friday
14% Student Borrowing, such as the Stafford loans and Perkins loans
10% Parent Borrowing, such as the Parental or PLUS loan
37% Parent Income & Savings, such as the 529 Plans
7% Friends & Relatives
9% Student Savings & Income, such as wages earned for Federal Work Study jobs
How do these findings jibe with your family’s strategies for paying for the rising cost of college? Check back later this week for another installment of Money Saving Tips for College, when I talk about living at home to reduce overall expense.
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