Both parents and students are in agreement that a finding at least one job after graduating is a top priority, according to the Discover Student Loans survey.
“On many questions you see the answers for parents and students are not largely different,” Straub said. “We want alignment between those two parties.”
The top fear for parents is that their child will not be able to pay the monthly principal and interest payments on their student loans. Parents would also be willing to make sacrifices to erase their child’s debt, saying they’d give up social media, desserts, cell phones and their favorite shows if it would lessen the impact of loans.
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“Parents are first and foremost seeking the best possible outcomes for their children,” said Straub. “They’re the ones who can see what life after college is going to be like.”
The more communication that happens between parents and students before, during and after college about student loans, the better, she said. There are many strategic choices that families can make to keep the cost of education down and ensure that student loan repayment is not a financial burden on children or parents, said Straub.
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