Press Herald Interviews Marrs About Parents Paying Higher Education Costs
The Portland Press Herald spoke with Gianna Marrs, director of student financial aid at the University of Maine, for the article “In many Maine households, parents shoulder high costs of college.” According to Sallie Mae, the nation’s largest private education lender, two-thirds of parents help pay for college, while the average amount saved in advance by parents is only $10,400, the article states. Marrs told the Press Herald her office receives the most calls in March, April and May, as parents seek help calculating costs and explore borrowing options. “We’re not being a good nation of savers, whether it’s for retirement or our children’s college education,” she said. “That really puts pressure on students to pay their own way through college.”