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Local Families Turning To Fundraising Websites To Pay For School

BOSTON (CBS) --- It's a painful feeling being felt by so many Americans; Parents and students all across the country, struggling to come up with the cash for college, and in some cases even private high schools.

WBZ' NewsRadio 1030's Mary Blake reports

Families Turning To Fundraising Websites To Pay For School

WBZ NewsRadio 1030 found that more and more students are turning to strangers for help via fundraising websites more commonly used to pay for medical treatments or life events, just to help meet tuition needs.

The donation process to sites like YouCaring.com, Fundly.com and GoFundMe.com takes little more than typing in your credit card number, and punching in a dollar amount.

An Austin Prep student on one of the sites, was pulled out of class before taking a midterm exam and told she couldn't take the test until her tuition was paid. That student is now reading her books and trying to keep up until her family can afford to send her back to school.

One post on a fundraising site is from a Claremont, New Hampshire student who says he works two jobs and has pooled all his resources to pay for his $50,000-a-year university education.

Mark Kantrowitz is the founder of FinAid.org he says the average college student's debt at graduation is $27,200. When you add in parent loans, the total is $34,400.

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