The Reality of Today’s College Students: Addressing Students’ Economic and Material Well-Being

Posted by Bridging Theory to Practice on October 15, 2019

Despite idealized notions of college as a protected or even carefree time for emergent adulthood, the reality is that three-quarters of undergraduates are “nontraditional” or “new-traditional” students, meaning they do not fit the stereotype of a young adult attending college full-time immediately after high school.[1] Instead, most students are navigating college while managing significant work and family responsibilities, and they are doing so under considerable constraint.

Over the past several decades, the price of college has increased while family income and need-based financial aid have stagnated.[2] As a result, over half of students and their families must devote more than one-quarter of their total family income to the price of college, after aid received from grants.[3] Although most students work while attending college, students cannot work their way through college in the same way that prior generations did—the total price of college is too high and work pays too little.[4] To cope, students employ alternative strategies: attend part-time, leave college for a semester, take out loans, and cut back on books and basic material needs like food and shelter.

Read more: https://www.bttop.org/news-events/feature-reality-today’s-college-students-addressing-students’-economic-and-material-well