Most Families Say College is Worth the Cost According to New Research from Sallie Mae and Ipsos
August 16 2018 - 02:31PM
Business Wire
‘How America Values College 2018’ Reveals
Most Families Believe They’re Getting a Good Value for the Amount
They Spend on College
The clear majority of families believe higher education is
well-worth the investment, and most students and parents are
willing to stretch themselves financially to make it happen,
according to “How America Values College 2018,” the national study
from Sallie Mae, the nation’s saving, planning, and paying for
college company, and Ipsos, an independent global market research
company.
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Sixty-six percent of college-going families believe they are
getting a good value for the price they’re paying for college: 36
percent report they are paying a fair price, 10 percent say they’re
getting somewhat of a bargain, and 20 percent believe the education
is worth every penny.
Nearly 80 percent of families say going to college fulfills the
American Dream. Eighty-three percent of families believe the
student will earn more money with a college degree and the expected
median starting salary range after college is $40,000-$59,000. The
importance of a college education is rising; 77 percent of students
and parents believe a college degree is more important now than it
used to be.
“It would appear that families are making smarter decisions when
it comes to considering how they pay for a college education –
which itself is seen as increasingly essential in today’s
competitive job market,” says Julia Clark, senior vice president,
Ipsos. “It is especially heartening to see more families
recognizing and planning for this expense against the broader
backdrop of general economic optimism; clearly the challenges of
the recent recession are firmly fixed in the minds of college-bound
students and their parents alike.”
Families, even those willing to stretch financially, are taking
deliberate, resourceful, and concrete steps to make college more
affordable. Forty-five percent of college students are working
year-round to earn money for school, and 37 percent of students
live at home with parents or relatives to save on housing costs.
Sixty-seven percent of students are cutting back their spending,
and 24 percent of students are taking classes over a shorter period
of time in order to graduate sooner and reduce costs.
“It is human nature not to want to overpay for an important
investment, including a college education. Families resoundingly
shared that college is worth the cost, and their resourcefulness
made it more affordable,” said Raymond J. Quinlan, Chairman and
CEO, Sallie Mae. “Still, there is work to do to equip more families
with tools and information to create a plan to pay for college.
Sallie Mae commits to providing this assistance, which will not
only help families become better prepared to meet college costs,
but also make them more confident in the process.”
Planning, and ultimately paying for college, involves terms and
jargon that may leave families scratching their heads. When asked a
series of true or false questions about certain paying-for-college
terminology, 42 percent of families mistakenly believe work-study
funds are automatic, more than 20 percent believe “free tuition”
means college is free, and 19 percent believe the sticker price is
what college will cost them.
“How America Values College 2018” reports the results of 1,907
online interviews Ipsos conducted between April 20 and May 25,
2018, of 957 American parents of undergraduate students and 950 18-
to 24-year-old undergraduate students. The survey sample reflected
a cross-section of key demographic variables in the United States.
Respondents were able to take the survey in English or Spanish.
The complete report and a related infographic are available at
SallieMae.com/AmericaValuesCollege.
Ipsos is a global independent market research company
ranking third worldwide among research firms. At Ipsos, we are
passionately curious about people, markets, brands, and society. We
make our changing world easier and faster to navigate, and inspire
clients to make smarter decisions. We deliver research with
security, speed, simplicity, and substance. We believe it’s time to
change the game — it’s time for Game Changers! Visit
http://www.ipsos-na.com to learn more.
Sallie Mae (Nasdaq: SLM) is the nation’s saving,
planning, and paying for college company. Whether college is a long
way off or just around the corner, Sallie Mae offers products that
promote responsible personal finance, including private education
loans, free scholarship search tools, free college financial
planning tools, and online retail banking. Learn more at
SallieMae.com. Commonly known as Sallie Mae, SLM Corporation and
its subsidiaries are not sponsored by or agencies of the United
States of America.
View source
version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180816005608/en/
Sallie MaeRick Castellano,
571-425-4029rick.castellano@salliemae.comorIpsosJulia Clark,
202-560-2014Julia.clark@ipsos.com
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