“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world” - Nelson Mandela 

For the last 12 years, average college costs have risen faster than inflation, yet federal grant aid has not kept pace. We have all heard the stats: According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the tuition component of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased by 8% per year, on average, from 1979 to 2001.  For many, a college education is becoming less and less accessible.

There is no question that education is an investment in our future and the stakes just keep getting higher. The earnings gap between those with higher education and those without it is widening.  Today, men and women aged 25-34 with bachelor’s degrees earn 60% - 70% more than those with high school diplomas. In 1985, that gap was 37% - 47%.   Parents should expect to pay at least half to two-thirds of their children’s college costs through a combination of savings, current income, and loans. Gift aid from the government, the colleges and universities, and private scholarships accounts for only about a third of total college costs according to www.finaid.org

And just this month we read that some of the country’s biggest banks including Citi, JPMorganchase, PNC and SunTrust have stopped lending to students attending community colleges - arguably the students who most need to be given funding to enter the competitive arena better educated.  

I went to one of the best schools in the world-The London School of Economics & Political Science. It cost me nothing.  I was raised in England, a country that believes giving everyone access to a higher education is better for everyone.  Kids don’t have to work several jobs to get through school, nor do they come out of college with enormous debt.  Since the Thatcher administration things have changed somewhat, but kids still go to college for far less than a state university education in the U.S.

Education is the passport to choice, freedom and opportunity-not to mention expanded social experience, relationship building, personal development, and character development.  I’ve never thought these opportunities should be unavailable to those who simply don’t have enough money. That’s why I’m especially fond of coming across Prosper stories like the one (Prosper Listing 347314: Paying For My Senior Year Of College), recently shared with us her story.

I am pleased to have been a part of helping Prosper members with funding of over $800,000 in loans for student needs since January 2008.  But parents should still always think about other savings vehicles like a 529’s, Coverdell ESA’s, and loyalty programs like Upromise, a brand loyalty network that rewards customers with college funding. There are also good resources such as

• SavingForCollege.com
• Finaid.org
• StudentAid.ed.gov

Leave no stone unturned, tap them all.

To post your listing for a personal loan for students on Prosper, click on Prosper Loans

To bid on a Prosper personal loan for students, click on Lending at Prosper

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Catherine Muriel is the Chief Marketing Officer of Prosper.