Fascinating results here, folks......
"A new survey found that an increasing majority (68 percent) of Americans with loans or whose children have loans expressed some regret about the way they paid for that education. That represents an eight percentage point increase from the 2013 survey, when 60 percent had regrets."
68% !
There's more......
"The survey found that more than four-in-five (84 percent) adults said they would make at least one change to their education choices, given the chance to do things differently. Popular do-over options included attending a less expensive college (54 percent) and going to a trade school for a specific profession (43 percent). Twenty-seven percent would have delayed starting college in order to build up savings and reduce the amount of student loans needed– with Millennials (35 percent) being more likely to delay than any other age group."
You catch that?
54% would choose a less-expensive alternative.
I presume that means a state school rather than a private school.
Or, maybe a community college rather than a state school.
Read the full news release here:
These stats are particularly interesting in light of this, which was released just a few days ago:
"Only 48% of parents are saving for their child's education, down from 51% last year, according to Sallie Mae's new "How America Saves for College 2015" report, which surveyed 1,988 parents with children younger than age 18. Families' average college savings balance has decreased, too, dropping 25% from $13,408 in 2014 to $10,040 in 2015, the lowest level in three years."
2 takeaways for parents out there:
- college is expensive; start saving NOW, so debt-load is as low as possible
- 4 years of college is not a right fit for everyone; for some kids, a 2-year degree is a perfect deal and can score him/her a great job; remember..... an Associates Degree is better than no degree
Out for now......
Matt