Nearly half of Canadian students aged eight to 16 would give up video games or their allowance to save and help parents pay for college or university, according to the second annual BMO Intuition RESP
Survey.

The survey was conducted for BMO Mutual Funds. In the report, both parents and their children said they will share the costs of post-secondary education.

“Both parents and children know the importance of a post-secondary education,” says Linda Knight, Vice-President, BMO Mutual Funds. “With the turbulent financial markets, saving for an education as early as possible becomes even more important. By encouraging children to save for their own future, Canadian parents are teaching them the value of an education and the financial planning skills that will help children throughout their lives.”

The second annual BMO Intuition RESP Survey was conducted for BMO Mutual Funds in October 2002 and involved 500 telephone interviews with parents and children between the ages of eight and 16.

The report noted that more than 90 per cent of Canadian parents have begun teaching their children financial planning skills. Eighty-five per cent of children say they are saving money and 35% are saving for their future education – a 10 per cent increase from 2001.

What types of education will this saving support? Technology and medicine are the fields most students would like to pursue. Parents agree on these career choices, with more than 30% stating they believe that technology will be the most popular career path to pursue by the time their child is ready to attend a post-secondary institution.

Nearly half of Canadian parents continue to use Registered Education
Savings Plans (RESPs) to save. Sixty-nine per cent of parents will likely invest in an RESP once the benefits of the Canada Education Savings Grant were explained and more than 75% of parents very likely will invest in an RESP because of the tax-sheltered growth.

Studies estimate that in 18 years a post-secondary education in Canada will cost approximately $96,000(*).

Other survey highlights include:

> Nearly 90 per cent of children state they will go on to college or university after high school

> Twenty-four per cent of children state their biggest concern is choosing the proper post-secondary program

> Twenty-three per cent of children state getting into the right school is their biggest concern while 19 per cent are concerned about their ability to afford tuition

> Sixty-five per cent of parents believe they will be able to afford their child’s tuition, either by themselves or with their child’s help

> Eighty-five per cent of children believe they will be able to afford tuition, either by themselves or with their parent’s help

> Forty per cent of parents believe their child’s post-secondary education will cost between $25,000 and $50,000

> Thirty per cent of children believe their future education will cost between $25,000 and $50,000