New Research Shows College-Bound Families Strongly Believe in the Value of College, but Lack Confidence and Understanding About Funding Their Education
February 14 2022 - 9:58AM
Business Wire
Sallie Mae’s New Research, “College Confidence:
What America Knows About Paying for College,” Uncovers Gaps in
Knowledge and Preparedness for Planning and Paying for College
Company Acquires Nitro College to Bring
Innovative Suite of Free Confidence-Inspiring Tools, Products, and
Resources to Help Families Prepare and Make Informed Choices About
College
Eight in ten college-bound juniors and seniors (81%) view higher
education as a path to better opportunities, yet fewer than half
(42%) of families feel confident about financing that education,
according to “College Confidence: What America Knows About Paying
for College,” the latest national study from Sallie Mae® and Ipsos.
In addition, 42% of college-bound families agree they need help
planning to pay for college, and 43% believe there are too few
resources to help pay for higher education.
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the full release here:
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College Confidence Infographic (Graphic:
Business Wire)
“As we have seen in our extensive research portfolio with Sallie
Mae, students and families continue to agree college is a
worthwhile investment. However, with this research we learned that
just 11% of college-bound families feel very knowledgeable about
the different ways to pay for college, and many aren’t aware of the
different funding sources available to them,” said Jennifer Berg,
Research Director, Ipsos. “The lack of understanding is even
greater for first-generation families — just 35% feel confident
about paying for college. This all speaks to a broader
recommendation that college financing topics should be introduced
in high school or earlier to provide families with tools,
knowledge, and confidence to meet the cost of higher
education.”
Some of the key findings from the research include:
- While nearly three-quarters of families (74%) have started
thinking about how they will cover the cost of higher education by
the time their child is a high school junior, fewer than half of
college-bound families (44%) are very or somewhat familiar with the
FAFSA – the gateway to billions of dollars in scholarships, grants,
and federal financial aid. In fact, just 62% of families plan to
complete the FAFSA, with 29% feeling it’s a waste of time if the
family makes too much money.
- Nearly half of families (45%) believe scholarships are only
available for students with exceptional grades or abilities.
- While about half of families (54%) are familiar with financial
aid offers from colleges and universities, 37% of them don’t know
what information is included in these offers.
- Nearly half (47%) of college-bound families are planning to
borrow to pay for college, but many are unclear on what types of
aid needs to be paid back. Less than half of college-bound families
correctly identified direct subsidized loans (47%), direct
unsubsidized loans (46%), and the Parent PLUS loans (41%) as money
that needs to be repaid.
“Higher education opens doors and opportunities for students and
families, but it’s clear planning and preparing for that
significant investment can be confusing and stressful,” said
Nicolas Jafarieh, senior vice president, Sallie Mae. “Students and
families need clear and consistent information, and support to fill
these confidence gaps and we’re committed to doing just that at
Sallie Mae. Through new tools and resources, and our recent
acquisition of Nitro College, we are putting more solutions in the
hands of college-bound families so they can make informed and
confident decisions about their higher education journey.”
To help more students and families navigate their higher
education journey, Sallie Mae entered into an agreement to acquire
education solutions company Nitro College. Together, Sallie Mae and
Nitro will provide a variety of free financial aid tools and
resources, including a scholarship finder and FAFSA support as well
calculators, research, and education to help students and families
make informed decisions about college.
“College Confidence: What America Knows About Paying for
College” reports the results of online interviews conducted from
Aug. 19, 2021, through September 20, 2021, with 550 parents of high
school juniors and seniors planning to continue their education and
585 high school juniors and seniors with plans to continue their
education beyond high school.
The complete report and related infographic are available at
SallieMae.com/CollegeConfidence.
Sallie Mae (Nasdaq: SLM) believes education and life-long
learning, in all forms, help people achieve great things. As the
leader in private student lending, we provide financing and
know-how to support access to college and offer products and
resources to help customers make new goals and experiences, beyond
college, happen. 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.
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.
Category: Corporate and Financial
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220209006194/en/
Connor Peoples 302.451.0402 Connor.Peoples@SallieMae.com
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