What are your child’s plans for after high school?
For generations, college has been seen as the path to success, and the expected next step for graduates. Now, more and more teens are looking towards trade schools and other options as college prices soar and wages stagnate.
Among those families with a teen who does aim for a college degreee though, more and more families are finding that they have no solid plans to fund it.
How Much Should Parents Contribute To College Tuition?
Each family will reach conclusions about college funding based on a variety of factors. These include access to scholarships, family financial status, and varying philosophies about responsibility.
That said, among those parents who expect to send their child to college, a majority (82%) said that they believe parents should contribute financially, whether that means covering the whole cost or co-signing on loans, Talker Research, polling on behalf of College Ave, found.
Many go beyond that. Some parents (about 17%) said that they plan to take a second job to help cover the costs of college for their child. Others (about 16%) say they plan to take out private loans, and about the same percent say they’ll seek federal loans, rather than having their child start life in debt.
How Much Are Parents Setting Aside For College?
Of the parents polled, the average savings set aside for their children’s college costs was $36,680.
Education Data reports that the average cost per year for a student attending a 4-year public institution and living on campus was a bit over $27k in the 2022-2023 school year, meaning that the aforementioned average savings account would cover the first year and maybe a bit of the second, though it might be even tighter, factoring in the ongoing inflation.
In fact, about half of parents polled said they had expected to be able to fully fund their child’s college experience, but only about a third (32%) had successfully saved enough — and 65% say they were surprised by the costs.
A majority of parents (72%) said that they’re concerned about juggling their child’s college costs along with other financial obligations.
Starting Off With Debt
Every year, billions of dollars in scholarships, grants, and federal aid are handed out. For many students, it’s this funding that makes college possible, but it can require hours of time and effort devoted to filling out applications and writing essays.
For the current high school kids who plan to go to college, parents say that the contributions from the students will also be a factor. Almost half (41%) say they expect their child to get a job during college to help cover costs, and 37% expect their kids to work during school breaks and summers.
Many parents do expect their kdis to take on some of the loan burden too, with 41% saying that their child will be taking out a federal student loan.
What Should Parents Of Current High School Kids Do?
Expect that, barring some significant change, your child’s college costs will be higher than you’ve previously expected. If you’re setting aside savings for college, bear in mind that prices keep rising.
Talk to your teen now, and get a feel for their plans after school. If they’re interested in college, it’s not too soon to start planning for scholarship applications. Joining groups and extracurricular activities, like 4H, school sports, or volunteering for charitable organizations, can increase the number of scholarships your child may be eligible for.
Start planning for other options, like your child’s application for federal student aid, and loan programs. Consider backup plans, and how flexible your options are.
Even if your child isn’t sure whether they’ll go to college or are considering other options, planning ahead will help keep all avenues open.
