PARENTS ARE HAVING to save money for an average of 8 years to put a child through college, a new survey has found.
Some are starting even earlier: more than one fifth start saving almost as soon as their child is born to be able to pay for third-level, according to the survey by the Irish League of Credit Unions.
The vast majority of parents (79%) support their children financially through college, having to pay an average of €428 per month towards rent, books, food, and socialising. This means that parents are having to fork out almost €4,000 per academic year if they have a child at third level.
Unsurprisingly, almost two-thirds of respondents (64%) said that they struggled with the costs involved, with many having to raid their savings to be able to pay for third-level.
The survey also found that there has been an increase in students who can afford to live away from home, with 44% now living away from their family, compared to 32% one year ago.
When asked about their greatest worries concerning their children in college, almost half of parents (42%) said it was their child not getting a job upon completing their studies.
Misuse of alcohol and drugs was a distant second at 14%, followed by money issues (13%) and difficulty passing exams (12%).
One thousand people were surveyed for the tracker results which was carried out by market research company iReach during the month of July.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
have your say