National Study from Sallie Mae and Gallup Shows Families Stretching to Pay for the Rising Costs of College Tuition

 The SLM Corporation (NYSE: SLM), or known as Sallie Mae, currently is the nation’s leading saving, planning and paying for education company, and the Gallup, a company that has studied human nature and behavior for more than 70 years conducted a national study showing how families are digging deeper to invest in the rising cost of college. The study clearly indicates that parents strongly agree that a college degree is now more important than ever. Even in the period of economic uncertainty, most families are trying to reduce costs to pay for the rising costs in higher education. Americans still see a college education as an essential investment.  During this, the third year of this lagging economy, American families have tapped out more scholarships and grants and have borrowed more to pay for the rising cost of college tuition. It’s mostly parents footing the bill through the use of 529 college savings plans to make up for the 17 percent increase in college expenses for this year.

 The study was conducted from March through May of 2010 and showed that parents paid 47 percent of the college costs for the 2009-10 academic year and the students paid around one quarter through income, savings and loans. The study also found that no improvement in the percent of families filling out the FAFSA: approximately 28 percent didn’t even fill out the financial aid form. How America Pays for College is the third annual study of students and parents. The full report is the nationally representative survey of 1,624 undergraduates, ages 18-24, and parents are available at www.SallieMae.com/howAmericapays.