Annual survey reveals that the volatile economy and rising inflation are putting even more strain on families trying to pay for college

A recent annual survey conducted by Discover Student Loans found:

Fifty percent of parents with college bound children have saved less than $15,000 for their child’s education
Fifty-five percent of parents believe their ability to pay for college has not improved over last year; fears of uncertainty and potential recession drive financial concern for parents.
66% of parents with kids aged 16-18 planning to go to college are worried about paying for their child’s education.
Of parents worried about paying for college, 55% are concerned about rising tuition while nearly half say inflation is straining their savings (42%) and 28% noted that fears of an impending recession caused them concern about paying for college, up 14 percentage points from last year.
Nearly a third of parents (32%) feel they did not start saving early enough.
Of parents planning to help pay for their child’s college, 41% aim to take out student loans, and 43% will dip into their savings. The number of parents intending to fund their child’s education through scholarships increased 7 percentage points from 2021 to 2022, to 54%.