The Latest College Stats & Trends 2022-2023 Academic Year

Uninformed Families Make Costly Mistakes

News

College is one of the biggest financial decisions many parents and grandparents of college-bound students will ever make, yet too many uninformed families are making costly mistakes … which will affect their financial security for decades. LFE’s new scalable College Planning Financial Wellness tools, developed using the latest LMS Training Technology, were designed to provide the missing information to prevent so many of the problems noted below.

Education to Help Families Avoid These Problems
Has Been Missing … Until Now!

  • 82% of women, 80% of Black & 78% of Hispanic families say college is no longer affordable – 2022 Morning Consult Survey
  • 8,400 Bachelor degrees have a negative ROI – 2022 Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity
  • College was supposed to close the wealth gap for black Americans: The opposite happened! – The Wall Street Journal
  • Private student loan debt now averages $54,921 per borrower – Educationdata.org
  • The number of student loan borrowers over age 50 have increased by 512% in the past 14 years – The New Yorker, July 2022
  • Those 60 & older are the fastest growing age group for student loan debt – Department of Education 2022
  • 72% of parents state final PLUS loan balance was higher than expected ($103 Billion) – Fidelity Study
  • 1.7 Million high school grads failed to complete FAFSA last year, leaving $3.7 Billion in unclaimed funds – National College Attainment Network
  • After 10 years, Parent PLUS borrowers owe 55% of their initial balance … and after 20 years, they still owe an astonishing 38%! – 2022 Century Foundation Report
  • Amount of student loan debt held by those 60 & older grew 33% in one year! – Fidelity
  • More than 50% of grads from 33% of colleges earn LESS than high school graduates
    – 2022 Georgetown University Study
  • The ‘College Disconnect’: 53% of college graduates do not apply for entry-level jobs in their field because they feel unqualified; 42% feel they don’t have the skills employers want – 2022 Harvard Business Review
  • Students are training for jobs that no longer exist – NBC News
  • Last year, 40% of incoming Freshmen declared a major in one of the STEM fields, yet most are unaware the current STEM drop-out rates can be as high as 50% – Numerous 2022 Studies (Harvard, USC, White House Report, etc.)
  • 60% of students take 6 years or more to complete a 4-year degree – 2022 Department of Education
  • 64% of students run out of money every semester – Edvisors
  • Money is the top reason students drop out of college – 2022 University Professional and Continuing Education Association (UPCEA) Study
  • Students without a College Plan spend up to 3.5 times more for college – Sallie Mae

New Financial Wellness Statistics for Employers

  • Employees want Financial Wellness solutions more than PTO (Paid Time Off) – 2022 Betterment Study
  • Employees spend 25% of their workday worrying about money – 2022 SoFi Study
  • Financial stress costs employers $4.7 Billion per week – 2022 BenefitsPro
    (Formerly $1 Billion per year!)
  • 85% of employees report financial stress – 2022 American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries (ASPPA) Study
  • 68% of large companies fail to prioritize worker’s financial health – 2022 Financial Wellbeing Survey