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Parents are dipping into their savings to help their children pay for college costs.
According to a survey from MONEY and Barnes & Noble College, many students don't realize that parents are dipping into savings and making sacrifices to pay for their children's
In fact, they think their parents sacrifice less than they actually do.
Take a look at the following disparities from a survey of over 1,000 college-aged students and over 2,000 parents of current and former students:
• 59% percent of parents say they have sacrificed on major purchases to pay for college. Only 33% of students think their parents did.
• 58% of parents say they sacrificed on everyday purchases to pay for college. Only 32% of students think so.
• 41% of parents say they sacrificed on retirement savings to pay for college. Only 17% of students think their parents did.
Along with thinking their parents sacrifice less than they actually do, students also think the overall cost of college is lower than the people who pay the bills.
The survey showed that current students think the estimated median annual cost of college after financial aid is $15,116, whereas parents of current students say it's $21,704 - and parents of newly graduated students, with price tags fresh in their minds, say it's $22,405.
Below, see where else parents and students don't see eye-to-eye when it comes to the cost of college:
Graphic courtesy of Money.com.