“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” – Nelson Mandela

Here’s what the research says:

Some families simply don’t have the income to provide money for college tuition. Lower-income families are less likely to know about financial aid than middle- and upper-income families, making it more difficult for those students to make it to college in the first place. A big determinant of whether parents pay for college is parents’ attitudes toward financial aid. These attitudes tend to differ by socioeconomic status, race, ethnicity, and predominant language spoken (Warnock, 2010).

Another predictor of whether parents pay for college is whether they received college education themselves. One of the biggest reasons why parents pay for college is that they know the benefits of what college education can do for their children. Most frequently mentioned of those benefits are economic security and occupational advantages. Parents also mentioned that they want their children to take college courses that they enjoy (Holstrom, Carp & Gray, 2011).

On February 17th, 2010, the average cost for private college was approximately $22,000 to $28,000 and the average cost for public universities was approximately $9,000 to $12,000. “The price for higher education is enough to make a grown man cry” (Carr, 2010).  College tuition continues to increase at a rate of 7 percent annually. Ideally, the best situation would be to earn a college degree and avoid student loans. How do you accomplish such a task? The answer is obvious – save for college (Car, 2010).

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Personal Account: I have seen in my life the benefits of having a savings accounts for college. I personally want to start now by saving small amounts of money for my children’s college funds to be able to help them out when the time comes. That way, the money I use to help them out will not hurt my future financial state.

There are obviously a lot of pros and cons to parents paying for their children’s college tuition, but based on the research mentioned above, saving for college is helpful on many levels. It’s up to you to decide whether it’s you saving up for college or your children. There are benefits to both!

References:

Carr, D. (2010). Paying for college. New Pittsburgh Courier, pp. D1-D2. Retrieved from: http://search.proquest.com/docview/368048973?accountid=9817

Holmstrom, L. L., Karp, D. A., & Gray, P. S. (2011). Why parents pay for college: The good parent, perceptions of advantage, and the intergenerational transfer of opportunity. Symbolic Interaction, 34(2), 265-289. doi:10.1525/si.2011.34.2.265. Retrieved from: http://search.proquest.com.byui.idm.oclc.org/docview/864730162/137E6DE64117183F30B/6?accountid=9817

Warnock, D. M. (2010). When does money matter? parents’ perceptions of paying for college and students’ expectations, preparedness, and enrollment. University of Washington. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, Retrieved from: http://search.proquest.com/docview/807724060?accountid=9817