Kaplan Test Prep and MONEY Magazine Survey: Parents Weigh in On Ways to Control College Costs, But None Win Majority Support

NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–With the cost of college a hot-button issue in the political arena, a
variety of proposed remedies have been floated by regulators,
legislators and advocacy groups– but what do those who are most
directly impacted think? A new survey from Kaplan Test Prep and MONEY
magazine of parents of prospective college students finds mixed support
for many of these proposals*:

  • Ending Federal Aid in Exchange for Two Years of Free Tuition: A
    plurality (45%) of parents would agree to a proposal that ends all
    federal financial aid and tax breaks, if that meant free college for
    two years for all students, regardless of family income. Twenty-nine
    percent (29%) oppose this idea; 26% are undecided.
  • Living At Home: Another 44% of parents would agree to a
    proposal that would give students a free year of college if he or she
    lived at home that year and took online courses; 32% don’t agree with
    this proposal; and the remaining 24% are undecided.
  • No New Taxes: Thirty-eight percent of parents say they’d agree
    to pay higher state taxes if that made tuition at public colleges more
    affordable. Forty percent (40%) oppose this idea, while 22% are
    undecided.
  • Higher Income, Higher Tuition: Only 31% would agree to a plan
    that raised tuition rates at public colleges for higher-earning
    families so that students from lower-income families could be awarded
    more scholarships. A plurality (44%) of parents do not agree with this
    route, while 25% aren’t sure.
  • Students as Investments: Just under a quarter of parents (23%)
    support the idea of an investor covering a student’s tuition in return
    for a percentage of a student’s income after graduation. Fifty percent
    don’t agree with this idea; and 27% are not sure.

A new
report
shows that the average sticker price at an in-state public
college is $19,548, including tuition and fees and room and board, $617
more than last year. Average private college tuition stands at $43,921,
up $1,476 from last year.

“As this survey confirms, parents are looking to political leaders for
real solutions to the problem of high college costs, not just glib
proposals,” said Greg Daugherty, education editor at MONEY. “At the same
time, we’re seeing parents holding colleges more accountable for
delivering value for the money. These are both very encouraging trends.”

“While we’ve heard a lot of policy proposals during this campaign
season, our survey results find that no one approach has caught fire
with families,” said Lee Weiss, vice president of college admissions
programs, Kaplan Test Prep. “While the not-so-bad news is that this
year’s tuition increase is the lowest since the 1970s, government data
show that tuition costs have outpaced inflation rate for years. Every
generation of parents wants their kids to do better than they did and a
policy redress on college costs is an important place to start.”

For more information on picking out the right college, try out MONEY’S
College Planner: https://best-colleges.time.com/money/search-colleges#/filter

For more information about Kaplan and MONEY’s survey, contact Russell
Schaffer at 212.453.7538 or russell.schaffer@kaplan.com.

*The Kaplan/MONEY magazine e-survey was conducted in October 2015 and
includes responses from 536 parents of prospective college students.

About Kaplan Test Prep

Kaplan Test Prep (www.kaptest.com)
is a premier provider of educational and career services for
individuals, schools and businesses. Established in 1938, Kaplan is the
world leader in the test prep industry. With a comprehensive menu of
online offerings as well as a complete array of print books and digital
products, Kaplan offers preparation for more than 90 standardized tests,
including entrance exams for secondary school, college and graduate
school, as well as professional licensing exams for attorneys,
physicians and nurses. Kaplan also provides private tutoring and
graduate admissions consulting services. Additionally, Kaplan operates
new economy skills training (NEST) bootcamps designed to provide
immersive training in skills that are in high demand in today’s job
market and prepare participants for hire.

Note to editors: Kaplan is a subsidiary of The Graham Holdings
Company (NYSE: GHC)

Contacts

Kaplan Test Prep
Russell Schaffer, 212-453-7538
russell.schaffer@kaplan.com,
Twitter:
@KapTestNews, @KaplanSATACT

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