So much has been asked of caregivers, especially those in the process of getting a college degree and balancing home and work responsibilities through the pandemic. According to the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, 4.8 million college students are simultaneously raising children. There also exists a great number of student caregivers who fall into the “sandwich generation”--those who are raising children and supporting their adult relatives simultaneously.
In a recent UNC Chapel Hill survey, more than 1 in 20 students identified as caregivers. These same caregivers are overwhelmingly women, financial aid recipients and part-time students who often reported lower GPAs and higher instances of anxiety and depression. As the number of student caregivers is expected to grow, colleges and universities must identify and offer unique services to this demographic.
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