Only about half of K-12 students who want to pursue higher education believe they can pay for it, a Gallup and Walton Family Foundation poll found. Over 4 in 5 of members of Gen Z say a college education is fairly or very important, according to a new poll from Gallup and Walton Family Foundation. However, while the survey found that 85% of Gen Z students in K-12 schools view college as important, only 62% plan to pursue higher education after they earn their high school diploma. Only about half of college-bound Gen Z students, 53%, believe they will be able to afford a postsecondary education. Black students are particularly concerned about higher education costs, with only 39% saying they believed they could pay for college.
