What percentage of people pay cash for college?

[mefordis]

I just read 42 percent of undergraduate students at public four-year universities graduate without any debt I remember going to the meeting before graduation (mid 90's) where they told us we'd have to pay up. I remember thinking there are not too many people in this auditorium. I'm sure 25 years later things have changed and that auditorium would be much more crowded, as the price of tuition has increased by quite a bit.

I was surprised that as high as 42% of college students pay cash, as they go.

 

[lions1995]

I don’t know any of my kids friends that do not have student loans. I do believe there are colleges that provide free tuition ( I’m thinking oh some in CA). So my knowledge is very regionally based.

 

[samandryanmom]

I have DD 21 in college. She’s double majoring and it will take five years. If she were finishing in four, she would graduate debt free due to her college fund, scholarships and Louisiana’s tuition program. Of her friends even with scholarships, I don’t know any graduating without debt. I don’t know if I believe that 42% figure.

 

[Southernmiss]

Our 4 got amazing merit scholarships to instate schools and have no debt for their 1st 4 years and got some money to live on back from the schools.

This really is a rarity and we know how fortunate we are for it.

 

[JimMIA]

It depends greatly on the state, I would guess. I don't know the details and the program may not still be in effect, but Georgia used to have a tuition-free policy for residents. I know several of our niece/nephews went to college under that program.

In Florida we have several programs, the best of which is Bright Futures. Bright Futures pays 75% or 100% of tuition for 4 years and a lot of the fees for students who score high on SAT/ACT. Bright Futures is in addition to any scholarships, so kids actually often graduate with money in the bank.

We also have an optional Pre-paid tuition plan where you purchase tuition or tuition + housing up front, so when the kid actually goes to college most of the costs are already covered. If you go to a non-state school (either in-state or out of state) Prepaid will pay the Florida resident rate of tuition for that college. So you might be paying $400/credit hour of more, but Prepaid would only pay $220/hour or whatever the current lowest tuition rate is for one of our state schools.

 

[mumto3girls]

Most of my kids’ friends have/will have student loan debt, but not all. We have 1 in college now with 2 more to go. We are hoping that they will graduate debt free for undergrad. My oldest intends to go to grad school right away. I suspect that although we will be able to help her financially, during grad school, we will not be able to pay it all. By then middle DD will be in college and youngest DD is not far behind. A lot will depend on where she ends up and how expensive it is.

 

[Lilias]

I think a large portion of students have parents who can afford their tuition and pay some/all of it for them now compared to when I was in college (2008). Nobody's parents were paying then haha

-cries in student debt-

 

[martikus]

It’s more like 27% graduate debt free. Unfortunately those with biggest debt are poor students. They don’t get enough financial literacy to avoid expensive private loans. States need to do a better job investing in higher education to bring costs down. In my terrible state they only pay 9% of what it costs to attend college. Everything is expensive including health care. It’s not as simple as lowering tuition.

 

[mefordis]

It’s more like 27% graduate debt free. Unfortunately those with biggest debt are poor students. They don’t get enough financial literacy to avoid expensive private loans. States need to do a better job investing in higher education to bring costs down. In my terrible state they only pay 9% of what it costs to attend college. Everything is expensive including health care. It’s not as simple as lowering tuition.

27% who graduate debt free is still incredibly high considering how many people attend college. It's much higher than I thought. Maybe they aren't counting PLUS (parent) loans. Students really don't get offered all that much in loans compared to parents.

 

[martikus]

27% who graduate debt free is still incredibly high considering how many people attend college. It's much higher than I thought. Maybe they aren't counting PLUS (parent) loans. Students really don't get offered all that much in loans compared to parents.

doesnt count PLUSz. Government isn’t tracking those. They don’t seem to care or they would make it harder to qualify for them.

 

[soccerdad72]

I think part of that figure for student’s graduating without debt probably includes students whose parents took out debt instead of the student.

https://studentloanhero.com/student-loan-debt-statistics/

 

[tvguy]

Never really thought about it.
I went to a private University and paid as I went way back in 1975-79.
My oldest went to the same private University 2005-10 and 80% of his tuition had been paid when he was done, the remaining 20% was paid off 3 years later.
My youngest went to a State University and her tuition was paid in full when she was done.
But College tuition and WHO should pay for it, the parents or the child has been the subject of some controversy of DIS.
I'm in the parents pay camp My parents paid for my college, my wife and I paid for our kids college. And it wasn't like we didn't have 18 years to save something towards their kids college.
What really surprises me is how much College debt some students pile up. I know some of my kids friends have debt that HAS to be more than their tuition and room and board totaled. And the other thing I have notice is how many YEARS some students take. They drop classes, fail classes change majors repeatedly, or change colleges repeatedly and lose classes that don't transfer*.. Both my kids were in college 5 years. My youngest's best friend, same age, graduated from High School the same year is in her 12th year in college, and is attending her 5th college. Her mother is not offering any financial help, and I have no idea how much debt she has piled up

*Regarding classes that don't transfer. I can understand different Colleges have different standards, but my youngest transferred from one California State University campus to another, and some classes did not transfer. Not sure how THAT is even possible.

 

[Luv Bunnies]

My parents paid college tuition for my sister and me back in the 80s, and paid my brother's way through trade school. They said they would help with tuition for any grandkids when the time came. As it turned out, I was the only one who had kids. My older guy has autism and college wasn't his thing. My younger son was accepted to an out-of-state private university that had a program he really wanted. Between my parents, my sister and us, he graduated last year debt-free. He was very fortunate to have that level of family support and he knows it!

 

[cvjw]

Resident of the state of Georgia. Our lottery program pays for in state tuition for kids that qualify with grades and rigor. There are 2 levels - one pays 100% tuition and you just pay the fees. The other level pays the majority of tuition and you are responsible for the remainder and the fees.

I had one of each. Made UGA super affordable. Older son even got his graduate degree for free by being a UGA graduate assistant.

Both boys graduated/will graduate debt free.

 

[DLgal]

It's possible due to the popularity of 529 plans. Those didn't exist when I went to college 25 years ago. I imagine many more students are able to have their college paid for by parents who opened these accounts when their kids were born 18-22 years ago, right around when they became popular.

We have enough in my 17 year olds 529 to fund 4 years of tuition, fees and books at the any state public school (either the UC or Cal State system) We literally opened the account when he was born and have only contributed $100/month. The account currently sits at $55,000. He isn't going to college, so if he goes to trade or vocational school, we will be able to fund it easily.

These accounts have made it easy for parents to save money for college over a child's lifetime.

 

[HopperFan]

Two kids fairly recent graduates, both debt free undergrads.

In Georgia you have the HOPE program where you have to have a high GPA to get it to begin with then must maintain a GPA to keep it. DD had it all but one semester. DS did not have it and he paid for all his tuition on his own with working. This is tuition only.

We, parents, paid for housing, food, car insurance, phones, books, fees. DS went away for two years then transferred and moved home to commute. DD commuted first year then moved to school the rest of the time. Both worked their entire time in college.

While college is not inexpensive, much of the cost comes from housing, dining plans etc. Living at home and commuting or doing classes online can make graduating debt free achievable for those with no other resources. Also doing community college first two years for core can save lots of money. And with good grades, can lead to scholarships the last two years.

Both had college savings accounts for grad school, saved for graduate school or down payment on a house. DD got her masters with savings account, scholarship, graduate assistant and one semester small student loan - she was out of state tuition. DS got his masters with govt student loan and his grad savings - holding back some to buy a car, much needed. He went to private school.

Both DH and I graduated debt free undergrad by living at home, working fulltime and paying our way through (private school). DH did do the community college route first. DH got his masters, his company paid for his.

*Regarding classes that don't transfer. I can understand different Colleges have different standards, but my youngest transferred from one California State University campus to another, and some classes did not transfer. Not sure how THAT is even possible.

DS transferred one state school to another and had lots of classes that didn't transfer with any value other than an elective ... even though they were approved core at school #1. Dumb.

 

[LYSE]

I mean my sister graduated debt free but that was only because my dad paid in "cash" that in reality was sourced from a HELOC

 

[_19disnA]

With any of those reports, it is good to look at how the information was gathered and with it does/doesn't include. All public/private colleges as well as community colleges? Sometimes they send out surveys to graduating students and who knows how many respond (or respond accurately)? Were any of the numbers estimated? I remember one survey a few years ago that didn't count anyone who was continuing on to graduate school which seemed to invalidate any of their conclusions.

Many colleges have co-op programs and not sure if they do or don't include those. Many types of full/partial scholarships are also offered which will impact how much the student is actually responsible for.

 

[mefordis]

It's possible due to the popularity of 529 plans. Those didn't exist when I went to college 25 years ago. I imagine many more students are able to have their college paid for by parents who opened these accounts when their kids were born 18-22 years ago, right around when they became popular.

We have enough in my 17 year olds 529 to fund 4 years of tuition, fees and books at the any state public school (either the UC or Cal State system) We literally opened the account when he was born and have only contributed $100/month. The account currently sits at $55,000. He isn't going to college, so if he goes to trade or vocational school, we will be able to fund it easily.

These accounts have made it easy for parents to save money for college over a child's lifetime.

That's great. You did it the right way. Since he isn't going to college, and if he doesn't end up going to trade school, do you have another kid you can use it for? I understand there is a penalty plus taxes on capital gains if you don't use it for educational expenses.

 

[mefordis]

It's possible due to the popularity of 529 plans. Those didn't exist when I went to college 25 years ago. I imagine many more students are able to have their college paid for by parents who opened these accounts when their kids were born 18-22 years ago, right around when they became popular.

We have enough in my 17 year olds 529 to fund 4 years of tuition, fees and books at the any state public school (either the UC or Cal State system) We literally opened the account when he was born and have only contributed $100/month. The account currently sits at $55,000. He isn't going to college, so if he goes to trade or vocational school, we will be able to fund it easily.

These accounts have made it easy for parents to save money for college over a child's lifetime.

Wait, you made a 34k return on your investment? Is my math right? You put in $100 x 12 = $1200 per year x 17 years = $20,400. Now it's at 55k. That's a return of $34,600. That's remarkable.