tips for college parents

(pic from NazarethCollege on flickr)

Fall 2013 student move-in has already begun at some colleges (and is rapidly approaching elsewhere). Many more students are moving into apartments or homes near campuses nationwide.

Introduction

A sad truth of higher education is that not every student will graduate.

While the economy is slowly recovering, some recent college graduates are still struggling to find work. 

As the costs of college have risen, so has the number of parent loans and the amount borrowed by parents.

A recent Wall Street Journal article discussed this rise. Citing FinAid.org, "over 17% of graduates in the 2011-12 academic year had parent Plus loans borrowed for them, which are loans available directly from the federal government, each with an average $33,800."

Just how big a rise is that from previous parent borrowing? "That's up from 13% with about $23,300 on average in the 2007-08 academic year."