Haley Samsel

It's no secret that college costs are on the rise -- especially to families preparing to shell out thousands of dollars for tuition this fall. But how exactly do families manage to pay for college?

That question is at the center of "How America Pays for College 2017," a new report from student loan company Sallie Mae and market research firm Ipsos. The companies asked 800 undergraduate students and 800 parents of undergraduates about the resources they use to pay for school as well as their attitudes about college.

Among the report's most intriguing findings: Students and parents are equally sharing the burden of college costs. Students foot about 30% of the bill with income, savings and loans while parents cover 31% of the costs.

"That's somewhat of a shift," says Rick Castellano, Sallie Mae's vice president of corporate communications. "We hadn't seen that so close previously."

Student borrowing is up to 19% of college costs, an increase from 13% in 2016. Scholarships and grants account for the majority of the remaining costs at 35% of college costs, while relatives and friends chipped in 4%.

This is the second year in a row that the report has seen scholarships and grants "fund the largest portion of the 'paying for college pie,' and the largest it's been in a decade," Castellano says.

Since scholarships and grants cover the largest portion of college costs, it's no surprise that more families are receiving them. 49% of families surveyed received a scholarship for the 2016-17 school year, and 47% of them received a grant. An overwhelming majority (87%) of families who used scholarships said they obtained one from the student's school.

These statistics show how families are becoming more fluent in applying for financial aid, Castellano says.

"If you think about how families are paying, they're really becoming savvier higher education consumers," Castellano adds, noting that 86% of families reported filling out the FAFSA, compared to 74% in Sallie Mae's first report in 2008.

The report also examined regional differences in how families view and pay for college across the country.

Students attending college on the West Coast pay, on average, the least amount for college at $19,181, while students in Northeastern states are paying the highest: $35,431. Across the board, students report being more cost-conscious than their parents and eliminate schools due to cost at a higher rate.

Related: 10 states with the cheapest public college tuition

Students also assume they have more responsibility to pay for loans than parents think they do, says Marie O'Malley, Sallie Mae's senior director of consumer research. "Part of what we're talking about here is almost a communication issue rather than an underlying philosophy," she says.

Overall, more families are starting to eliminate colleges from their wishlist due to costs, the report found. 76% of families say they eliminated a college from consideration due to costs. That's a 18% jump since 2008, when 58% of families reported the same thing.

While families prioritize college attendance — 86% of families said they knew their child would go to college since the child was in preschool — families still struggle to create a financial plan to pay for it. The percentage of families who have a plan has hovered around 40% for years, Castellano says.

"The majority of families do not have a plan to pay for all years of college before the student enrolls," the report reads. "Planning has remained persistently low over time."

O'Malley says that planning includes saving for college, researching costs, budgeting, understanding financial aid eligibility and earning college credit while still in high school, among other options.

"There's no one right answer for how to do college in terms of the choices you make, whether it's the school you choose, where it's located, what your living arrangements are going to be," O'Malley says. "But there are choices that can be made and resources that can help make it affordable or doable, depending on what direction you take."

The biggest hurdle in planning to pay for college is getting started, Castellano says.

"It's those who plan that usually save more and borrow less, and that's really the name of the game when it comes to paying for college," Castellano says. "The earlier you can start a plan, the better."

Dig into more findings from "How America Pays for College 2017" here.

Related: 5 essential strategies for when you're broke and can't pay your student loans

Haley Samsel is an American University student and a USA TODAY digital producer.

This story originally appeared on the USA TODAY College blog, a news source produced for college students by student journalists. The blog closed in September of 2017.