Here’s how stressing about money is affecting students

It’s no secret that college is expensive. It’s no secret that college is stressful. Combine the two, and you have one tightly-wound student. A recent study done by Ohio State University backs this up. They found that 70% of students are stressed about their finances. Yee-gads.

Here’s how they found this out: Ohio State took a look at 52 US colleges and universities, surveying a total of 18,795 students between the fall 2014 and winter 2015 terms.

If we take a closer look, it gets even more intricate. Sixty percent of those observed said they were worried about having enough money to pay for their studies, and 30% were concerned with their monthly expenses. Even worse, the study found that these stresses were responsible for 32% of students neglecting their studies.

It gets crazier. Reportedly 64% of students borrowed money to pay their college fees, and 24% expect to rack up of debt of $30-50,000 by graduation.

All this money anxiety led 30% of students to reduce their workload, 16% to take a break and 13% transferred schools all together.

This seems bleak, but it’s not all bad news. Despite these dismal statistics, most students remained hopeful about their financial situation. Eighty percent claimed they’d be able to solve their money issues during college, and 67% felt optimistic about their financial future. Evidence that people believe that education pays off.

Nevertheless, this study as inspired professors and administrators to take a look at these associations and work on alleviating the stress levels of students who are focused on their finances. Catherine Montalto, a co-author of the study, summed it up nicely:

What’s most important here is that you get everything possible out of your educational experience. Use your resources, reach out to the administration, keep your head up in class. Do everything possible to get your money’s worth, and you won’t regret shelling out that cash.

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