(updated 5/19)
With the cost of college on the rise, and student debt looming at an all-time high at $1.45 trillion, many families are struggling with how to pay for their child’s college education.
Do you ever wonder how other families are doing it? How is everyone else paying for college when the average cost of a four-year education is capping off at more than $100k for a public university and more than $200k for private? Add on the fact that many families have more than one child and it’s enough to throw any parent into a full-blown panic attack.
I know that’s how I felt. With three kids – two in college and another not too far behind – I often found myself trying not to think about it because when I did I literally got heart palpitations. However, not quite as much any more…
After I got over the initial “sticker shock” of the cost of college I went on an intense mission to find alternate ways to pay for my kids’ education. Like most families, my husband and I didn’t have an extra $300k – $400k tucked away in the bank, so we really didn’t have much of a choice. We needed to find a way to give our kids the education they needed and deserved to help them establish their foothold in life and give them the necessary tools to launch their career.
The solution for me and my family? Scholarships.
Take a glance at this study to find out how other American families are paying for college:
Sallie Mae released its 10th national study of college students and parents entitled, “How America Pays for College,” offering a snapshot of how the average American family is paying for the cost of their child’s college education.
The 88-page in-depth report dives into statistics highlighting undergraduate families’ attitudes about college, how much families spend for college and what means they’re using to fund the expense.
Here are a few highlights of the study:
- The resources used to fund the expense of college have shifted with students and parents contributing an equal share of the responsibility to pay for costs.
- 35% of college costs are being covered by scholarships and grants – the largest share in a decade.
- Nearly half of all families use scholarships as a means to offset the expense of college.
- 23% of college costs are being funded by parent income and savings with another 8% of college expenses funded by parent borrowing.
- 19% of college costs are being funded by the student borrowing with another 11% funded by student income and savings.
- 4% of college costs are being covered by relatives and friends.
- 87% of families who use scholarships as a means to offset the cost of college secure scholarships from the college, i.e. institutional scholarships.
- 75% of families who use scholarships as a means to offset the cost of college secure scholarships from private, nonprofit or community organizations.
- Another 65% of families who count on scholarships to defray college costs secure them from state or local governments.
- 84% of students with loans expect to be solely responsible for repaying the loans.
- 21% of students feel solely responsible for repaying loans taken out by their parents.
- The average American family will pay $23,757 in college expenses in 2017.
- 55% of families agree that paying more for college equals a better education, while another 45% feel there is no correlation between the cost of college and the quality of education.
- 69% of families eliminated a college from their list of considerations due to the cost.
- Only 39% of families have a plan in place to pay for college.
There is no question that the ever-accelerating cost of paying for college is daunting for most families. However, as the statistics show, there are ways to reduce the expense of college that many American families are taking advantage of.
Take it from someone who has spent literally hundreds (and hundreds) of hours researching ways to reduce the expense of college and has successfully shaved off a huge percentage of college costs, college for most students shouldn’t come with a mound of debt.
Seven scholarships later (my oldest daughter was just awarded her fourth scholarship this week) and a reduction in college expenses of more than $100k, I’ve managed to solidify a few techniques to relieve the financial burden of college expenses for my family. Now, I’m excited to pass what I’ve learned on to you…
To offer more insight into the methods I used to help my kids secure scholarships and reduce the expense of college by more than $100k, download my FREE “Scoring Scholarships” e-book!
You’ll get proven tips & strategies, where to find scholarships and how to improve your chance of winning! Plus, you’ll also receive tips on finding the “best fit” college!
To download my FREE Scoring Scholarships e-book, visit my FREE Resource Library!
There, you’ll not only find my e-book but also tons of great resources to plan the best grad party and my FREE Ultimate Dorm Bundle complete with 17 pages of checklists, recipes, frameable gallery art and more!