College Students are Making Changes to Adapt to the Slow Economy
National Survey Finds that Students are Changing Financial Habits and Post-College Plans as the Downturn Continues
NEW HAVEN, Conn., June 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Amid concerns about the economy, college students are changing their lives to cope with the future economic outlook, according to a survey released today by Higher One. More than 20 percent of students are looking at entering a different profession than they were before the economic collapse, and an additional 20 percent are considering attending graduate school as a result of the economy.
Students are also increasing their interest in learning about effective money management. More than 85 percent reported that they have changed the way they manage their finances in the last year.
"There is no doubt that the economy has impacted students' financial management habits, and their new budgeting habits are a strong demonstration of their new outlook," said Miles Lasater, chief operating officer and co-founder of Higher One, a financial organization that works with colleges and universities. "A third of students said they were spending less money, and nearly 40 percent are checking account balances more often than they used to."
According to the survey, despite the challenges the economy poses for students, many remain positive about their prospects. Fifty-four percent are confident that they will find a job within six months of graduating. Additionally, those with high confidence in their money management skills have a greater sense of assurance that they will find a job in that time period.
Additional findings from the survey include:
69 percent of students reported that they were confident or very confident in their own ability to manage money, up from 67 percent of students last year
Nearly 90 percent of students regularly balance their finances and budget for future expenditures
45 percent of students save at least 5 percent of their income, the same percentage as last year
86 percent of students rated financial management as somewhat or very important
This was the second annual Higher One Financial Literacy Survey, which is conducted among current college and university students to determine how students manage their money. Last year, more than 60 percent of students said that parents were the most important source for financial information, but this year students primarily turned to the Internet and professional sources.
Students have also shifted their interest in learning about certain financial topics. Nearly 20 percent of students had a strong desire to learn more about establishing and maintaining credit.
"There has been a shift in how students see money. They used to view money management as unnecessary, but they have started to take a more responsible approach," Lasater said.
Several colleges and universities have taken steps to meet the new demand for financial management information, while providing students with the professional sources for that information. Sam Houston State University has recently expanded a widely popular program designed to teach colleges students how to responsibly manage their money.
"Even prior to the economic downturn we saw an increased demand from students for courses on financial management," said Kristy Vienne, a program director at Sam Houston State. "As the Higher One survey notes, schools and financial services companies alike can certainly help meet this new demand on a variety of levels, from courses to online and printed materials. Sam Houston State has made a conscious effort to build our program to provide comprehensive financial literacy tools for our students. We know how important it is for students to develop these skills now, to prepare for life after school."
About the Survey
The Higher One Survey was conducted among 464 students nationwide in April 2009. All the survey respondents are enrolled in four-year universities, community colleges or two-year vocational schools. All respondents are enrolled in an institution of higher education that utilizes services provided by Higher One. Response frequencies were measured for each of the questions and the data was independently analyzed using the SAS statistical package. Where possible, comparisons were made to the 2008 Higher One Financial Literacy Survey.
About Higher One
Founded in 2000, Higher One provides higher education institutions and their students with efficient, convenient and easy-to-use solutions to handle financial disbursements. These include: student refunds, on-campus and community purchases, payroll and employee expenses, as well as the collection of payments from students, parents and sponsors.
Higher One offers a suite of online banking services including the OneAccount, an FDIC-Insured checking account, and OneCard, a Debit MasterCard(R). To date, Higher One has disbursed over $7.78 billion dollars in refunds for its clients to more than 2 Million students, faculty, and staff at over 305 distinguished public and private higher education institutions throughout the country.
Higher One recently ranked #79 on the 2008 Fast 500 list of the 500 Fastest Growing Technology Companies in the United States. Higher One is based in New Haven, CT.
