The Financial Struggle of College Students
It may have happened once, maybe twice, okay three times during this Fall Semester
where my account was either below twenty dollars or overdrawn. It’s gotten so bad to the point
where I had to open a credit card, simply because of the lack of money I have to spend on the
things I need. Sometimes I think, has college really ruined my money management? As it turns
out, there are millions of students like me who struggle financially. But how come? Through
interviews, surveys, and written reports, this research paper will seek to identify various
spending habits of college students and why students may struggle financially.
As a college student, you constantly find yourself spending your money everywhere.
Firstly there’s your tuition cost. If you live in New York, you tend to spend less for your tuition
than an out of state student. Typical expenses for undergraduate students at a State University of
New York (SUNY) is about $24,540 living on campus and $13,510 if you commute. For
out-of-state students they may pay around $34,750 (“Tuition and Fees at SUNY”).
College students worry about their tuition costs the most. Many students take out loans in
order to pay their tuition, however a lot of these loans may take up to twenty years to pay off.
The Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and Higher Education Services Corporation (HESC) exist for
this reason. Their aim is to help students pay the cost of attending college. But does everyone get
accepted for financial aid? In my survey I determined that 67% received financial aid which
covered their entire tuition costs while 15% received financial aid but had to pay a remainder.
15% of the respondents said that they paid for their tuition with no loans.
So the journey to find out why these students are financially struggling and the problem
seems to rely on the cost of living. Expenses like transportation and shelter are some factors, but
students seem to have bad spending habits when it mostly comes to food.
For a college student, their tuition is just the tip of the iceberg. Therefore it’s important to
note out the various spending habits of college students and how much they are spending money
every week. I conducted a survey on about thirty college students who attend Bernard M. Baruch
College and asked them a range of questions about their college spending life.
From my results I determined that 67% of students have said that they struggle
financially in the school semester rather than out of the semester (Spending Habits of College
Students). Most of the responses were from commuter students who received financial aid and
paid no tuition. Their biggest reason for their financial struggle came from buying food. Around
64% of students said that they buy food once or twice a day, while 24% buy food three to five
3
times a day. 65% have said that their food ranges from $12 to $15 (Spending Habits of College
Students).
The reason for this phenomena comes from the location of Baruch and services that the
college provides for its students. Baruch College is located in Midtown Manhattan. The cost of
food prices have increased due to inflation and most students that attend Baruch College eat out
at various spots around Midtown. Chipotle, Cava, Wendy’s, Food Carts, Bodegas, and Pizza
stores are just some of the few places where students go out to eat regularly. But why the need to
constantly eat food from stores? I determined that Baruch College does not offer a food court
like other schools and this is a real important factor which students are upset about.
In my survey, I asked students if they believed they’d save more money if Baruch had a
food court. About 70% agreed that they would’ve saved more. This concept of college food
insecurity has been a long time issue. Food insecurity affects a students ability to achieve
academic success, so it’s crucial that college students eat. However, students whose campuses
don’t have dining halls and food courts tend to see themselves repeatedly paying for food that
gets more and more expensive every semester.
A group of researchers from the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior (JNEB),
conducted research into the high rates of food insecurity among college students before and after
the COVID-19 pandemic. According to them, “These new-to-college students face challenges to
academic success, many of which stem from economic hardship. For example, many of the 20
million US college students today experience food insecurity, defined by the US Department of
Agriculture (USDA) as a lack of consistent access to enough food for an active, healthy
lifestyle.(Laska et al., 2020)” This claim is true as many of the food stores around Baruch are
“fast-food” which does not sustain a healthy lifestyle. For this implication of their research
findings, they’ve stated “Finally, as a result of COVID-19, additional university- and
college-level challenges relevant to food insecurity are now surfacing with the anticipated
reopening of college campuses—including food service venues and campus food pantries—this
fall. Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior members can play a pivotal role in reviewing
these reopening policies to ensure they are most sensitive to the needs of students experiencing
food insecurity. (Laska et al., 2020)” Baruch College should look to offer food venues and
pantries for its students in order to protect them from food insecurity and allow their students to
save more money.
The financial stress on students attending college is real and this stress can cause long
term effects on students. Financial stress takes a toll on college students’ mental health by
creating a persistent state of anxiety and pressure. The constant worry about meeting financial
obligations can lead to depression and heightened stress levels which affects concentration and
cognitive function.
In 2021, a group of researchers examined the impact of financial stress on college
students’ well-being. “Research has demonstrated a link between financial stress and poorer
mental health outcomes; for example, worry over finances has been correlated with mental
illnesses like depression and anxiety. Similar studies have also reported an association between
financial stress and general poor mental health.” (Moore et al., 2021) From this evidence,
Students experiencing financial stress tend to find it challenging to navigate through their life,
which often leads to feelings of isolation.
The fear of accumulating debt and the uncertainty surrounding future financial stability
contribute to a sense of hopelessness and despair. This emotional burden usually progresses into
more serious mental health issues such as mental disorders and suicidal thoughts. The stigma
associated with financial struggles may prevent students from seeking help, worsening their
mental health challenges.
In 2019, the City University of New York (CUNY) published a report on the lack of
access to healthcare for students. “One study found that more than half of uninsured young adults
went without needed care, including not seeing a doctor, failing to fill a prescription, or skipping
a recommended test, treatment or follow-up visit, because of cost.” So why don’t these students
just get insured and do the work they need to do to get healthcare? They stated “Students
reported that the complicated, multi-step, multi- appointment process for acquiring insurance
was a critical barrier to enrollment, noting that the lack of communications about enrollment
opportunities and the difficulty finding locations make the complex process even more opaque.”
Still CUNY seeks to improve the well being of their students by recommending students to
promote and facilitate Medicaid enrollment at CUNY.
It is crucial for educational institutions to provide accessible mental health resources,
counseling services, and create a supportive environment that encourages open discussions about
financial challenges. By addressing the mental health aspects of financial stress, institutions can
contribute to a more compassionate and resilient student community.
This paper has highlighted the several factors that play into a student’s spending habits in
college. Through surveys, interviews, and reports, this paper found the reason for financial stress
that students have upon them. From this paper we can seek to improve the life of college students
by adopting new spending habits, changing our institutions to
Works Cited
Abdallah, Tawfiq “Spending Habits Of College Students” November 2023
SUNY “Tuition and Fees at SUNY” August 2023
https://www.suny.edu/smarttrack/tuition-and-fees/
CUNY “A Report by Healthy CUNY and CUNY Graduate School of Public Health and Health
Policy” March 2019
https://sph.cuny.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Report_04_Health-Care-Access_Final.
pdf
54% of Americans experience mental health issues due to student debt | BestColleges. (n.d.).
BestColleges.com.
https://www.bestcolleges.com/news/most-americans-experience-anxiety-depression-due-t
o-student-debt/#:~:text=The%20study%20surveyed%202%2C000%20Americans,%25)%
20because%20of%20student%20debt.
Developer, W. (2022, June 7). How does food insecurity affect college students? American
Dining Creations.
Hanson, M. (2023, September 25). Average Time to Pay Off Student Loans [2023]: Data
Analysis. Education Data Initiative.
https://educationdata.org/average-time-to-repay-student-loans
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Laska, M. N., Fleischhacker, S., Petsoulis, C., Bruening, M., & Stebleton, M. J. (2020).
Addressing college food insecurity: An Assessment of Federal legislation Before and
during coronavirus disease-2019. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 52(10),
982–987. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jneb.2020.07.001
Moore, A., Nguyen, A., Rivas, S., Bany-Mohammed, A., Majeika, J., & Martinez, L. (2021). A
qualitative examination of the impacts of financial stress on college students’ well-being:
Insights from a large, private institution. Sage Open Medicine, 9, 205031212110181.
https://doi.org/10.1177/20503121211018122
