Survey shows Parents are relying on their kids to pay more of their college costs

As the cost of college continues to rise more parents are relying on their children to fund a bigger portion of the cost of attending College a survey conducted earlier this year by Discover Student Loans showed. This was the 5th year the study has been conducted and this year’s survey revealed that 48 percent of parents expect children to pay for most, if not all of their college education, compared to just 39 percent in 2012.

Counselors should encourage your students to become more financial literate as they will need to investigate ways to come up with more of the money required to get a college degree. Because most states do not require that financial literacy be taught in schools, most students never have the option to learn money management skills and financial responsibility before taking out their first student loans.

The lack of knowledge of financial opportunity is even further evident in other results from the Discover survey. The survey also revealed that while most students are taking on the burden of covering college costs, many do not take advantage of federal aid available to them. According to the 2016 survey, only 44 percent of families completed the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). You should encourage every student to fill out the FAFSA regardless of their families financial situation. There are many grants and scholarships given by schools that students may not be eligible to receive if they haven’t completed the FAFSA.

Scholarships should be investigated by every student that has a financial need. This is “free” money that doesn’t have to be paid back. There is a scholarship widget on our home page where your students can search for scholarships. May resources are available to help students fund their education. As their Counselor, you can help them find these resources.