Survey Finds Many Students Believe The Cost Of College Is Worth It [AUDIO]

A survey of business majors at four-year colleges finds better than seven in ten are confident their higher education investment is worth the money.

The survey was conducted by Wells Fargo and 'SIFE,' a student group that mobilizes to help communities. And 71 percent of students n the survey who borrowed feel confident that the cost of college will be worth it.

When selecting reasons for choosing a college, all respondents ranked 'cost' fifth. When paying for college, the survey showed students are using a combination of resources to cover the costs. Results show 60% of students are benefiting from grants/scholarships, 51% of students indicate they are borrowing federal or private loans and 35% indicate they are using their own income or savings. Although some 42% of students indicate they are relying on parent income/savings, only 13% indicate parents were borrowing money to help cover costs.

The survey showed the more expensive the tuition, the more likely parents are borrowing to help cover costs.

Wells Fargo's Paul Dockry says it reinforces a census study that finds those in the workforce with a degree earn twice as much as those without one. Dockry says the students they surveyed obviously also feel that way. He says they recognize the value in their higher education.

But not all is well among the higher education set. 94 percent of parents in a Pew Research Center survey say they expect their child to attend college. But even as college enrollments reach record levels, most young adults still do not attend a four-year college for financial reasons.

And the Pew survey, taken last year, found 57 percent of adults in the poll felt the U.S higher education system fails to provide students with good value for the money they and their families spend.