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Finding Four : Paying for College Is Difficult but Doable

College is perceived as expensive, and 63% of Florida residents strongly or somewhat disagree that families are doing a good job of saving for college. Floridians are divided on the question of whether there are many qualified people who are currently unable to go to college. Forty-eight percent feel that there are many people who are qualified to go to college but do not have an opportunity to do so, while 44% say that the vast majority of those who are qualified have an opportunity to do so.

But the majority of Floridians are convinced that where there is a will, there is a way. Ninety percent either strongly (68%) or somewhat (22%) agree that people who really want to go to college can find a way to pay for it even if they have to go to school and work at the same time.

Floridians also support a broad range of financial aid proposals, with 78% thinking that the government should offer more tax breaks for students, 78% favoring more funds for work-study, and 61% favoring more money for loans. Direct grants to students were somewhat less popular; only 49% favored more money for grants.

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