Class Notes


How America pays for college


Seventy-one percent of college students and their parents say getting a degree is more important than ever, and they are digging deeper to pay for the rising cost of tuition, according to a Sallie Mae/Gallup poll.

In the third annual “How America Pays For College,” Sallie Mae/Gallup surveyed a nationally representative sample of more than 1,600 college students and parents.

Here are the findings, straight from the press release:

* 71% strongly agreed that a college degree is more important now than it used to be.

* Both parents and students opened their wallets wider, tapped more scholarships and grants, and borrowed more, to pay for the escalating total cost of college, which survey respondents reported increased by 17% from the previous year.

* Parents paid nearly half (47%) the share of college costs for the 2009-2010 academic year and students paid roughly one quarter through income, savings, and loans.

* 15% of families used money from a college savings plan–up from 11% last year and 9% two years ago.

* To make college more affordable, most families reduced spending (73%) or increased work hours or earnings (48%), but a remarkable 43% of families report that their student lived at home.

* Most (3 out of 4) students and parents do not have a plan to pay for the full degree when they enroll.

Melissa Ludwig

Melissa Ludwig

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