The majority of American parents endeavor to be financially prepared to send their children to college. Almost 66% of parents with children under the age of 18, who they expect will attend college someday, are saving or planning for how to pay for this expense. If you fall into this age demographic, you may be interested in seeing how other parents are doing this.
Sallie Mae (America’s saving, planning, and paying for college company), in conjunction with Ipsos (a global independent market research company, which ranks third in the world among research firms) has been surveying American parents with children under the age of 18 about how they save for college since 2009. This is the seventh survey in the series.
Ipsos interviewed 2,003 parents online in January and February 2018. They were asked about the total amount they had saved for college and the amount saved during the last year. The survey population was reflective of a cross-section of Americans. Parents were able to respond in English or Spanish.
Households were defined as follows:
• Low Income: Annual income less than $35,000
• Middle Income: Annual income from $35,000 to less than $100,000
• High Income: Annual income of $100,000 or more
Here is a summary of the study’s findings:
• Parents of children under the age of 18 consider saving for college to be high on their list of savings goals. Those planning or saving for college have a higher belief that college is part of the American Dream than non-planners and non-savers.
• One-third of parents saving for college saved more this year than last year.
• Parents with a plan to pay for college have saved more than twice as much as those without a plan ($22,169 vs. $9,208).
• The amount reported saved this year, $18,135, is the highest since 2013. Nearly 90% of savers believe that they will reach their saving goal.
• Nine in 10 parents are confident that they will meet their savings goal. Most parents are about one-third of the way to their goal.
It’s never too late to start saving or planning for your child’s education. Making this a priority in your savings hierarchy will help your children to receive a college education without them going into debt or you using your retirement savings.
You can find more about the survey here.
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Related Resources:
• Preparing for College in High School, a free guide
• Sallie Mae: Student Loans with Options and Flexibility, a podcast episode
• What to Do in Your Senior Year to Enhance Your Chances of a College Acceptance
