Paul Martin's Business Update August 27th, 2014

Depending on how you ask the question, the gap between parents and their children headed to post-secondary schools in the next week or two is quite wide or quite narrow.

Two studies – one from CIBC and the other from BMO Bank of Montreal – asked both parents and students about who is going to pay for university or technical school and in broad terms both agree that each side should contribute. But how much is a more intriguing question.

CIBC found there is a gap on this one. Parents said they were ready to put up two-third of the cost. Students, on the other hand, thought it was about one-third would.

Over at BMO, the study said 40 per cent of parents expected to pay half the cost of tuition.

Both studies found that parents expect the cost of an under-grad degree will exceed $50,000 with some saying it could run as high as $80,000.

One tool for saving for post-secondary school is an RESP but, according to BMO, Saskatchewan people are among the least likely to have one.

http://martincharlton.ca/?p=774 #wetellyourstories #CIBC #BMO #SchoolFees