Parents with college-age children place more focus on their offspring”™s education than their own financial needs, but achieving that goal has become more challenging.
According to a new survey of 1,001 parents conducted by Barnes & Noble Insights on behalf of College Ave Student Loans, most parents (93%) plan to help pay for some, if not all, of their child’s college education ”“ and families of college-aged children rank “paying for college” as their top financial goal (78%), compared to saving for their retirement (64%) or building an emergency fund (43%). Parents polled for this survey said funding a college degree took priority over putting money into savings (67%), investing (40%) and retirement (35%).
Among the parents who are helping to pay for college, 66% said savings and income were their primary method for achieving that goal. More than half (55%) planned to use anywhere from $5,000 to $30,000 from their own personal savings or income, while nearly two-thirds (61%) will use grants and scholarships.
And nearly half (45%) of those surveyed wished they had spent more time researching and applying for scholarships earlier in the process.
“For college-bound families, adding in the cost of college to a household budget ”“ especially when some of those costs may be unknown ”“ can be confusing if not stressful,” said Joe DePaulo, co-founder and CEO of College Ave Student Loans. “Despite the many financial priorities parents are juggling for college as well as everyday expenses and goals, our survey finds parents are deeply committed to investing in their child’s education and future.”
