HOBOKEN, N.J.–With the Spring college graduation season now concluded, new research offers insights into how many grads received money as a gift as well as what their plans are for it.
A survey of 1,000 2018 college graduates by LendEDU (http://www.lendedu.com) has found:
- 48% of 2018 graduates received graduation money, while 35.3% did not, and 16.7% opted not to say
- Of those who received money, $700 was the median amount received, while $1,847.44 was the average amount received
- Of those that did receive money, 25% will use it to pay off debt, 20% will invest it, 12% will use it to rent/purchase their first property, while 28% said they will save it and use it when it is needed
- Of those that will pay down debt, 59% will pay down student loan debt, while 29% will pay down credit card debt
- Of those who plan to invest it, 33% will do so through an online brokerage account, 32% will invest through their financial advisor, 12% will invest it in their 401(k), and 5% will use a robo-advisor
The full report can be found here.