Some Facts About Post-Secondary Education

No matter how you look at it, a post-secondary education can come with a staggering price tag. The good news is that if you start saving early with a Plan offered by Knowledge First Financial, you can take advantage of the power of tax-deferred savings and that will help you prepare to afford the costs of post-secondary education and reduce or even eliminate the burden of debt that many students carry today.

Student debt – the facts.

• Universities and colleges are increasingly relying on tuition fees. Between 1989 and 2009, fees rose from 10% to 21% of their total revenues, while government funding fell from 72% to 55%.
• The proportion of graduates who borrowed for post-secondary education (PSE) increased from 49% to 57% between 1995 and 2005.
• In 2009, the average debt for Canadian university graduates was $26,680.
• 40% of parents expect their children to receive academic scholarships. Only 15% of PSE students actually receive this type of funding.
• The proportion of PSE students who rely  on financing from banks, credit cards or other loans is 2.5 times higher than parents expect.
• The number of jobs requiring PSE graduates almost doubled between 1990 and 2007. Only half as many jobs were available for those who had not completed high school.
• Unemployment rates for people without a high-school diploma are three times higher than for those with a university degree.
• Canadians aged 25-64 who had graduated from university programs earned an average  of 75% more income – in some provinces 103% more – than high school grads.

For more information about the cost of a post-secondary education, download a PDF of our 2011 Guide to Education Costs in Canada. 

**Sources: 
(1-2) The Financial Impact of Student Loans – Statistics Canada January 2010
(3) news Release – Canadian Council on Learning September 2010
(4-7) Post-secondary education in Canada: Meeting our needs? – Canadian Council on Learning 2008-2009
(8) Education Indicators in Canada: An international perspective – Council of Ministers of Education, Canada