Students entering college may not have the financial knowledge and competency needed to completely understand the loans they are signing up for when committing to student financial aid. The purpose of this qualitative case study is to examine the level of financial knowledge that first-year college students have when taking out college loans. This…

This report explores the financial wellness and mental health of students younger than 25 years old compared to that of students aged 25 and older using data from Trellis' Fall 2021 Student Financial Wellness Survey. The report identifies potential areas of concern and additional support to help younger students succeed in higher education.

The author of this study offers new evidence on the effectiveness of chatbots as an instructional mode via a randomized controlled experiment in which college seniors were given online training on the convenience of pursuing a master's degree and the suitability of taking out a graduate student loan. Two educational formats, a YouTube video and a…

Obtaining a college degree creates a pathway for low-income students and their families toward advancement within American society. Earning a postsecondary credential positively impacts an individual's employment outcomes, income, job satisfaction, and overall health. In working toward this goal, older, financially independent working…

Austin Community College's (ACC) Student Money Management Office conducted a text messaging scavenger hunt to engage ACC students in financial-aid-related education and programming, including when to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid and how to ensure Satisfactory Academic Progress. Results demonstrated that 268 students began…

Many college students struggle financially, and student debt continues to grow in the United States. Students that complete a degree can have high monthly student loan payments, and those that do not complete a degree can struggle financially even more. There is a growing amount of research examining methods to reduce these financial challenges.…

A prominent concern is that college students are harming their long-term economic prospects by making student loan decisions without full information about the implications of their choices. We designed an experiment to examine students' responses to a debt letter, an increasingly popular strategy to provide easily accessible information about…

To provide greater understanding, Trellis Research recently conducted a mixed-methods, outcomes-based study of parent PLUS borrowers in Texas. The study, "PLUS Borrowing in Texas: Repayment Expectations, Experience, and Hindsight by Minority-Serving Institution Status," provides a rare look into the repayment behavior of Parent PLUS…

Financial literacy, or understanding how money is made, spent, and saved in order to make informed decisions, is particularly important during the transition to and through college. Students who have a deeper understanding of finances and how they work are better positioned to make decisions regarding the college or university they attend, what to…

Community college students face a number of financial decisions and obligations along the path to degree completion. Students must secure resources to pay for college expenses, including their tuition, fees, and basic living necessities. Central to this is students' abilities to access financial aid resources including federal, state, and…

While much has been written about the increasing debt burden that college students incur, little research examines student's perceptions of debt. This study sought to determine if student loan debt literacy differs by generation status (first-generation and continuing-generation). The data for this study was collected from a sample of 156…

Students are taking on more college debt in this struggling economy, often without the knowledge to make wise choices. To help students better manage their debt, some college campuses and high schools are ramping up their financial-literacy efforts, where experts say such education should begin. But a squeeze on K-12 resources has hampered the…

College student debt and loan default are growing concerns in the United States. For each U.S. institution, the federal government is now reporting a cohort default rate, which is the percent of students who defaulted on their loan, averaged over a three-year period. Previous studies have amply shown that student characteristics are strongly…

A survey administered to student loan recipients at their exit interview provided information about their characteristics (college of graduation, gender, race, grade point average, and age), post-graduation plans, anticipated annual income, estimated time for loan repayment, total debt, and monthly payment. (MSE)

A study of college students' money management knowledge examined student understanding of credit cards, insurance, personal loans, recordkeeping, and overall financial management. Student characteristics associated with differences in knowledge level were identifed. (MSE)