The Rising Cost of College: A Family Matter

Your senior has just received their high school diploma, and as they anxiously prepare to head off to college, you’re worried that as a family you aren’t financial prepared to cover the rising cost of college.  You aren’t alone.

Millions of middle age Americans are reportedly putting retirement savings on hold to help their children cover college tuition that, in the last 30 years, has tripled.  And while 78 percent of students surveyed in a College Savings Foundation (CSF) survey believe it is their responsibility to pay for at least part of their college education, they are worried and confused about how to accomplish this.

Many students (63 percent in fact) expect that even with parental support, they will still have to borrow to help pay for college.  And unfortunately, by the time they graduate college, far too many students are burdened with enormous debt.  The Federal Reserve Bank of New York says that student loan debt hit $904 billion in the first quarter of 2012, up from $241 billion a decade ago.

In the June 5 episode, Your Money, Your Matters welcomes special guest Melissa Hunt with Credit Union Student Choice – a provider of private student lending services to credit unions across the country.  Hunt and Your Money, Your Matters radio personalities Rick Grady and Linda Webb-Manon, Texas Credit Union League; Todd Mark, Consumer Credit Counseling Services, and Courtney Moran, Texas Credit Union Foundation, will dialogue on this important subject matter.

Tune in; share your thoughts; or gain helpful advice.

Your Money, Your Matters is a weekly show broadcasting every Tuesday from 11 a.m. to noon Central Time.