With parents out of work, and unable to find even a minimum wage summer job for themselves, about 56 percent of college students say they can no longer afford their tuition costs, according to a survey by OneClass, which sells study guides.
About 7 percent of those responding have left college and are seeking full-time work or exploring alternate paths to an education.
With millions suddenly out of work and millions of businesses paused or failing, about 55 percent of students and 69 percent of parents told a NitroCollege.com poll that the economic shutdown has impaired their ability to afford post-high school education.
Almost 40 percent of parents have taken money from college savings for their children to pay current expenses, a Lending Tree survey found.
Balances in those formal “529” college savings plans have fallen from $328 billion in December to $293 billion in March.
Among 1,000 students still in high school, 33 percent said the shutdown has impinged on their plans for funding college, a College Savings Foundation study discovered. Half the respondents said at least one parent had been laid off and they will have less saved for college than expected; 41 percent foresee borrowing more to pay tuition and other costs; and 39 percent said uncertainty caused by the shutdown has altered their college plans in some way.
About 36 percent plan to attend a community college, compared to 28 percent before the pandemic arrived; 15 percent will go to a public college instead of a pricier private one; and 27 percent will delay college by at least one year to get their finances in order, the survey found.
Currently, 70 percent of students graduate from public colleges and universities owing an average of $30,000 in education-related debt. That average could rise to $37,500 for students graduating from high school this year, according to NerdWallet.
The cost of attending college has more than tripled in the last 50 years, the College Board has reported.
In all, 55 percent of students surveyed expect the pandemic and economic shutdown to have a material impact in shaping the rest of their lives.
TREND FORECAST: The lack of money for career training and lack of a vision of a positive future is creating another “lost generation.”
The lower they fall, the higher drives of social unrest and demands for government school subsidies and loan forgiveness.
As we have noted since the outset of the lockdowns, with students beginning a whole new era of online learning from home, the “College Town Rustbelt 2.0” trend we had forecast will intensify.
Moreover, “Interactive U,” the new age of learning remotely, is the 2020 future and beyond. Ontrendprenuers® who fill this market sector with products and services to meet demand will be bountifully rewarded.
