Today’s college-bound high schoolers may be in for a surprise.
According to a recent report from Fidelity, only 70 percent of parents are stashing away money for college, down 2 percentage points from 2016. While this is not a huge drop, students can expect to foot a larger portion of the bill for their education: Just 29 percent of parents say they plan to give their kids a full ride, down from 43 percent two years ago. On average, parents expect to pay 62 percent of their kids’ education.
Part of the problem is that college costs have grown exponentially.
The College Board found that college tuition at public four-year institutions has increased by a whopping 213 percent over the last 30 years. In just the last 10 years alone, it’s grown by 37 percent. That doesn’t even account for the rising cost of student housing. It’s no wonder why student loan debt in this country has ballooned to a collective $1.4 trillion. College is absurdly expensive, and parents are balking at the price tag.
Naturally, they’re also struggling to see the return on investment.
As the economy continues to boom, it makes more sense for them to invest their money elsewhere, where they can see a stable growth trajectory. A college degree doesn’t quite hold the same promise as it did when they were of college age, and is a riskier investment, so why pour out their savings? Around 43 percent of recent college graduates are struggling with underemployment, at least partially due to a mismatch of skills in the workforce.
Colleges are refusing to adapt, and it shows.
Public distrust of academia has grown in the last few years, particularly on the right. Pew Research Center reported last year that 58 percent of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents say colleges and universities “have a negative effect on the way things are going in the country.” Could it be that the lack of conservative speakers and the overwhelming liberal bias of professors and administrators is finally catching up with them?
The Trump administration has also made alternatives to college more attractive and mainstream.
Parents are likely to think twice about paying tens of thousands of dollars to send their child to a university when high school graduates can make decent money (about $15 per hour) from day one of an apprenticeship, and earn a competitive starting salary without incurring any debt.
In the effort to combat a major skills gap in the country, President Trump signed an executive order last month that will expand the number of apprenticeships across the country. As a result of these efforts, a growing number of companies and associations are pledging to expand apprenticeships.
Parents are becoming increasingly skeptical of inflated college costs and are keeping their options open. They’ve woken up, and higher education will soon need to adapt if they want to survive.
Brendan Pringle (@BrendanPringle) is a freelance journalist in California. He is a National Journalism Center graduate and formerly served as a development officer for Young America’s Foundation at the Reagan Ranch.
