PARENTS SUPPORT BOYS' COLLEGE MORE THAN GIRLS'

Parents of all boys are more likely to have money saved for college: 50% of parents of all boys have money saved for their kids’ college compared with only 39% of parents of all girls. Additionally, among the parents who do save for their kids’ college, parents of all boys contribute to their kids’ college savings more frequently, with 83% contributing at least monthly compared with 70% of parents of all girls.

• Parents of all boys are more likely to say they will cover the entire cost of college: 17% of parents of all boys say they will be able to cover the entire cost of college compared with only 8% of parents of all girls.

• Parents with only boys are less likely to consider a lower cost college: Only 60% of parents of all boys agree with the statement, “I would consider sending my kids to a less expensive college to avoid taking on student loans,” compared with 72% of parents of all girls who agree with that statement.

• There is a greater willingness among parents of all boys to take on significant student debt: 23% of parents of all boys are willing to personally take on $75,000 or more in student loans compared to only 12% of parents of all girls. Parents of all boys are also more willing to let their kids take on significant student debt, with 29% saying they are willing to let their kids take with $50,000 or more in student loans, compared to only 17% of parents of only girls.

• Most parents of all boys prioritize college savings over retirement savings, but only half of parents of all girls do: 68% of parents of all boys say that saving for their kids’ education is a greater priority than saving for retirement, compared to 50% of parents of all girls who said that college savings is a greater priority.

• And more boys agree that their college saving is more important than their parents’ retirement:45% of boys think it’s more important for their parents to save for their college over their parents’ retirement, compared with only 27% of girls.

• More boys say their parents are saving for their college: 65% of boys reported that their parents are saving for their college compared with only 53% of girls.

• Dads of all boys place particularly strong emphasis on college: Dads of all boys are particularly likely to say that saving for their kids’ college is a priority over saving for retirement (73% vs. 28%), even when compared with moms of all boys (63% vs. 37%). Similarly, more dads of all boys are willing to take $75,000 or more in college debt for their kids (33%) compared with moms of all boys (14%).

PARENTS OF BOYS AND GIRLS SHORT-CHANGE RETIREMENT FOR KIDS' COLLEGE

• More parents are saving for their kids’ college than their own retirement: 53% of parents are saving for their kids’ college and 49% are saving for their own retirement.

• Parents are willing to delay their retirement to cover college costs: 73% of parents agree with the statement, “I’d be willing to delay my retirement to pay for my kids’ college education.”

• Parents are more likely to pull money from retirement savings than college savings: 44% of parents have pulled money from their retirement savings over the past two years compared with only 32% of parents who have pulled money from their kids’ college savings during that time span.

• Kids’ education is the second most common reason parents tap retirement savings: 33% of parents who have pulled money from retirement savings in the past two years did so to cover their kids’ college education. This is the second most common reason selected behind only paying off debt (35%).

• Some parents anticipate pulling money from their retirement savings to cover college costs:14% of parents anticipate pulling money from their retirement to cover their kids’ college costs.