The Latest College Stats & Trends College Problems Every Family Can Avoid!

College Mistakes Affect Families for Decades

11 Roadblocks

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 Plan’, developed using the latest SCORM-LMS Training Technology, and the new College Video Library were both 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!

  • 91% of colleges mislead students about actual Financial Aid amounts, as well as costs & fees – U.S. GAO
  • 79% of Black and 68% of Hispanic students fail to graduate in 4 years – Department of Education
  • 68% of parents are worried about paying for college – Discover Study
  • More than 50% of grads from 33% of colleges earn LESS than high school graduates – Georgetown University Study
  • 69% of current students are concerned their loan payments will be higher than anticipated & 53% worry they won’t be able to make their payments – College Ave Survey
  • 82% of women, 80% of Black & 78% of Hispanic families say college is no longer affordable –  Morning Consult Survey
  • 8,400 Bachelor degrees have a negative ROI – 2022 Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity
  • The ‘College Disconnect’: 53% of college Grads feel unqualified for a job in their field – Harvard Business Review
  • 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
  • Those 60 & older are the fastest growing age group for student loan debt – Department of Education
  • 72% of parents state final PLUS loan balance was higher than expected ($103 Billion) – Fidelity Study
  • 1.7 Million high school Grads missed out on $3.7 Billion in free money last year  – 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%! – Century Foundation Report
  • 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 – Department of Education
  • 64% of students run out of money every semester – Edvisors
  • Money is the top reason students drop out of college – University Professional and Continuing Education Association (UPCEA) Study
  • 32% of college Grads (36% of those without a college degree) move back to home because they can’t afford to live on their own – Pew Foundation 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) – Betterment Study
  • Employees spend 25% of their workday worrying about money – SoFi Study
  • Financial stress costs employers $4.7 Billion per week – BenefitsPro
    (Formerly $1 Billion per year!)
  • 85% of employees report financial stress – American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries (ASPPA) Study
  • Retirement account balances dipped by 20% in 2022 – PlanSponsor