College Student Financial Facts

One Small, Surprising Way to Ensure Your Kid Gets to College
by Sarah Lorge ButlerTuesday, May 17, 2011

Here's a fascinating bit of research that caught my eye: According to a new report by the College Savings Initiative, kids with a savings account in their own name are six times more likely to attend college than those without an account. Yep, you read that right: six times more likely.

This research examined what happens when kids have ownership, so they're the ones who can make deposits and withdrawals at a bank. (It's not looking at what happens when their parents open a 529 or Roth IRA for them with their education expenses in mind.) The amount in the kids' account doesn't matter. It's the fact of having it that does.


Here are some of the College Board college debt report findings:

1. Two-thirds of college students graduated with college debt.
2. Among student loan borrowers, 25% left school with at least $30,500 worth of college debt.
3. 10% of all college students borrowed $39,300 or more for their education.
4. 38% of students attending public universities graduated with no college debt.
5. 28% of students attending private, non-profit colleges graduated with no college debt.
6. Here is the ethnic breakdown of students who graduated with no student debt:
Asian 40%, White 36%, Hispanic 33%, Black 19%
7. 52% of students with parents making more than $100,000 a year graduated with no student debt
8. Student, attending private, non-profit colleges, borrowed an average of $16,900 in private student loans, which are the least desirable college loans.
9. Students, who attended public universities, borrowed an average $9,800 through private student loans.
10. Asian students were more likely than other students to rely on private loans.
11. Families with incomes above $100,000 were more likely to take out private college loans.
12. Students attending private, for-profit schools generated the worst debt. A whopping 53% of them graduated with college debt of $30,500 or more!