It may sound like a sad state of affairs, but according to recent studies, students are shouldering more of the burden for their college costs, and parents are increasingly withdrawing their financial and parental support.

Students that were asked in the survey stated that they were paying approximately 33% of their total college costs for the 2011-12 school year with a mixture of loans, part-time employment, and limited savings. Four years ago, however, students were paying just 25% of this cost.

Parents are still taking on more of the burden than their children, but the opportunities available to help your kids pay for school seems to have come up against a wall. In the same survey, parents were paying almost 40% of the bill, and that included loans, which is down from 50% in 2010. Parent contributions took a serious nose-dive in what they were giving to their children before, with just under 30% with savings and income for the recent school year, compared to only 40% one year ago.

Basically, parents gave about $4,000 from their own income for their children’s education, compared with about $5,000 a couple of years earlier. Families in the middle class cut down on their cost the most.

Even though parents have about 18 years to prepare for their children’s college education funds, most are totally unprepared. Only about 40% of families had a college savings plan before their children actually enrolled in college. Contact Investment Management Solutions Inc. for a financial plan that will he your children achieve the college education that they so desperately need, without incurring years of post-graduate debt!