Families Use Loans to Pay for Private School Education

Online, August 26, 2010 (Newswire.com) - Parents of children who attend private secondary schools will tell you that the advantages of attending a private school are worth the cost. Often, private school parents mention that the schools have a more "community-like" atmosphere that allows for a lower student-to-teacher ratio. With smaller class sizes, teachers are able to focus more on individual students, and have more time to get to know students better, and typically experience fewer discipline problems. In addition, students who attend private schools have a lower drop out rate, experience fewer drug problems, and report less violence. They also tend to have higher scores on standardized tests and college entrance exams. One of the most important advantages of private schools is that, as a percentage of overall enrollment, more of their students go on to college.

Private school parents will tell you that providing their children with the best available education is essential, but it is an essential that is becoming harder and harder to afford. For parents who remain committed to providing their children with a private school education, loans and credit cards are often the only remaining options, but they often come with higher interest rates and fees than they did even a few years ago. A study by the National Association of Independent Schools showed that one out of every five parents of students in private schools pay for tuition and expenses by using some form of credit - typically personal loans, home equity loans or credit cards.

The U.S. Department of Education estimates private school enrollment declined by 3% in the years between 2006 and 2010, reducing the amount of funds that schools have available for operating costs - let alone budgeting extra for student financial aid programs. The recession has impacted families heavily, causing donations from alumni to fall drastically in some cases. Even schools that have significant investments or enjoy the benefits of an endowment have seen the income from investment portfolios fall and endowments to shrink. Some schools have resorted to cutting programs, others to creative program design or increased fund-raising to offset the drop in operating funds. A few schools have resorted to short-term business loans to help until the economy rebounds.

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