American Families Spending Less on College Tuition

However, more parents agree that college is a sound investment.

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Sallie Mae, the girl J. Cole strung along when he was still trying to make it, recently conducted a survey about how Americans are paying for college. The results yielded an obvious pattern: Families are finding ways to spend less on tuition money. 

Kids are still amped about going to college and 85 percent of parents said they believed college was a wise investment in their children's futures—a six year high. That's always good to hear, but families are struggling to come up with the necessary funds to pay for it. Last year, the average amount of tuition money spent per student was a little over $21,179, a drop from 2010 when it was $24,000. In addition, more students are relying on scholarship money and grants than their parents and other family members coming out of pocket for it—out of pocket spending has dropped by 35 percent since 2011. 

The most disappointing takeaway from the study is in regards to the dwindling number of African-American students enrolled at private, four-year universities. In just one year, the number has dropped from 30 percent to 14 percent.

[via Gawker]

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