Tips for Parents

   pic from flickr user 401(K)2012  As your college-bound family considers a college, there are many considerations. Job placement rate, quality of program, and graduation rate should always be considered. However, for most families, finances play an important role in college choice. Recent research confirms this, showing that families are coping with rising college costs by more frequently having students choose to live at home, take online classes or graduate early.   Comparing the cost of schools before acceptance can be tricky. This difficulty is compounded by the fact that scholarships and grants may not be known until after the acceptance process is complete. However, for those who wish to ballpark possible pre-grant and pre-scholarship costs, there are quite a few ways to go about it. Here are a few that College Parents of America like:

   (Penn State's Fall Career Days, pic by Penn State Live) 

   How well are you and your family saving for your student's college education? The average family, according to a recent Fidelity Investments survey, is on track to meet only 34% of their college savings goals. That's certainly not where many families would prefer to be, especially given that sixty-one percent of parents report they have a financial plan in place to help them reach their college savings goals. 

  When should a family start planning and saving for higher education? Generally, families should start as early as possible, but some families need a bit of help. And, although parents often do a lot of the planning and saving, it might be beneficial to get the kids in on the act. 

IntroductionA sad truth of higher education is that not every student will graduate.

   photo from flickr user Michael Theis  

  While the economy is slowly recovering, some recent college graduates are still struggling to find work.  

 photo by flickr user 401(K) 2013 

As the costs of college have risen, so has the number of parent loans and the amount borrowed by parents. A recent Wall Street Journal article discussed this rise. Citing FinAid.org, "over 17% of graduates in the 2011-12 academic year had parent Plus loans borrowed for them, which are loans available directly from the federal government, each with an average $33,800." Just how big a rise is that from previous parent borrowing? "That's up from 13% with about $23,300 on average in the 2007-08 academic year." 

(photo by user 401(K) 2013 on flickr)