Increased awareness of student loan debt has caused 71 percent of parents to look at different strategies to fund their child’s education, says the College Savings Foundation. 

Some of these strategies include having their child attend two years of community college and then transfer to a four-year school (26 percent); live locally to save on room and board (22 percent); take advanced high school classes that earn college credits (22 percent); or choose a state school over a private school (21 percent). 

Three quarters of parents expect their children to contribute towards their college tuition, with 44 percent of those expecting their child to work.

In addition, 42 percent of parents said they view vocational schools in the same way as they do a four-year colleges.

Of the 51 percent that said they are saving for their children’s college education, 46 percent have saved more than $5,000 per child.

The most popular savings vehicle was a 529 plan, with 33 percent of parents owning such a plan, followed by savings accounts (28 percent) and mutual funds (24 percent).

However, 58 percent of parents are still planning to borrow to meet college costs, the survey found. They are relying primarily on education loans, but also on second mortgages, credit cards or loans against their retirement or other investments.

Eight hundred parents of children 18 or under participated in the survey, which was conducted by Survey Monkey.