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Students show poor spending habits, little knowledge of financial aid

Although college students have many financial aid options available to them, new research from America’s Promise Alliance shows that a lack of transparency and simplicity in the application process can make paying for an associate’s or bachelor’s degree more difficult, U.S. News & World Report reports. At the same time, many students show poor spending habits, which experts say could come back to haunt them when they must repay their loans. The report is based on a discussion group comprised of 23 students, college financial aid advisers, high school counselors, researchers and business professionals. In analyzing the conversation, the alliance found that many participants were worried about how much information on financial aid is available to students and their parents in both high school and college. High schoolers in particular tend to spend much of their time focusing on how they can get into their dream school, the report states. They frequently do not even think about financial aid until they are accepted and discover they cannot afford to attend their choice college. … Other recent studies have indicated that college students tend to have poor financial literacy. For instance, a new survey conducted by EverFi and sponsored by Higher One shows that 24% of college students feel others would be “horrified” if they saw their spending habits.

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