The economy may have pulled itself out of the doldrums it experienced for the past several years, but rising college costs haven’t ebbed at all, which means many parents are relying more on grants and scholarships to pay for their children’s education.

According to a survey titled “How America Pays for College,” conducted by Sallie Mae, about two-thirds of families rely on grants and scholarships to help fund college. That’s up from the half of families who reported the same just five years ago. Those outside funds account for covering about 30 percent of a student’s college bill. In comparison, parents are spending about 27 percent of their own income (or dipping into savings) for college.

“The post-recession reality is (parents) don’t have the income and savings,” says Sallie Mae’s Senior Vice President of Public Policy Sarah Ducich. “It’s not that they’re not willing to stretch. It’s that they don’t think they have the money to do that.” (USA Today)

Paul Asay has covered religion for The Washington Post, Christianity Today, Beliefnet.com and The (Colorado Springs) Gazette. He writes about culture for Plugged In and wrote the Batman book God on the Streets of Gotham (Tyndale). He lives in Colorado Springs with wife Wendy and his two children. Follow him on Twitter.