HOW AFFORDABILITY AND THE RISING COSTS OF COLLEGE UNIVERSITIES CAN AFFECT A STUDENT’S ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

 

College education is intended to improve lives by increasing income, but the rising costs of college universities create challenges for students.  Universities are intended to educate people so that they can make more money, but they are setting students up for financial failure.  They take advantage of students with their rising costs.  Students struggle to pay for college.  The financial burdens due to the rising costs of college cause stress, which can increase the probability for debt.  The rising costs of college causes stress on students and affects their academic performance (Bennett, McCarty, & Carter, 2015).  Students are suffering financially and failing academically.  Students can reduce stress by preparing for college financially and taking advantage of the resources available.

The costs to attend college is rising every year.  Students and families are struggling financially to pay for college.  College is approaching costs around $60,000 a year (Bien, 2009).  In today’s economy, most people need a college degree to have a successful career.  Most careers require a four-year degree.  In 2005, the average yearly income with a bachelor’s degree was $50, 900, and the average yearly income with a high school diploma was only $31,500 (Bien, 2009).  Although some students have the advantage of financial aid, the rising costs of colleges are making it more difficult to afford.  More students are taking on the burden of debt, which causes stress.  The financial stress is impacting academic performance.

Students who come from low-income families are more at risk for financial burdens due to the costs to attend college.  These students are more likely to suffer academically because of the financial strain.  Students dropped out of school or reduced their academic credits based on factors associated with demographic, financial and personal issues (Joo, Durband, & Gramble, 2008-2009).  Gender, marital status, and ethnic backgrounds are also factors that contribute to increased stress while attending college (Joo et al., 2009).

It is challenging for students to afford college.  Financial strain is one of the main stressors for low-income students (Adams, Meyers, & Beidas, 2016).  Even though students can apply for scholarships, grants, and financial aid, many students aren’t aware of their options or don’t qualify, so they are responsible financially.  A Pell Grant only covers approximately 30% of a four-year education.  The students who qualify for financial aid sometimes do not get the amount needed and must find ways to pay for the remaining balance.  They are responsible for paying a large portion on the costs to attend a university on top of academic materials needed for their classes.  There needs to be more programs and government funding provided to students so that stress is reduced.

Most students and families are unprepared for the costs of college universities.  They are having to take out student loans to pay for their college.  The average student loan for public colleges and non-profits alone was $27,850 per borrower (Bennett et al., 2015).  By taking out student loans, students are increasing their debt.  They are setting themselves up with financial burdens.  Aware of the consequences, parents are relying on student home equity loans, federal loans, income, credit cards, and retirement to pay for college (Bien, 2009).

Many college students must work to maintain their lifestyle or pay for personal expenses while in college.  There are several families who cannot support their children in college.  The burden is left on the student.  The costs of living is rising, so most student must work while they are in college.  Students have a hard time balancing work and school.  Balancing work and school takes time (Joo et al., 2009).  Therefore, grades are affected.  The average employed student spends at least 30 hours per week working (Joo et al., 2009).  Time management is a coping strategy but may be complex (Macan, Shahani, Dipboye, & Phillips, 1990).

Students are decreasing their credit hours so that they can work, or they are dropping out of school completely because they have less time available.  Some students skip classes to work to make more money (Hogan, Bryant, & Overymyer-Day, 2013).  They are staying in school longer as a result and end up paying more in college expenses.  Many of these students are obtaining credit card debt and stress.  In today’s economy, most students would need to work fifty-five hours a week to pay for tuition (Britt, Mendiola, Schink, Tibbetts, & Jonese, 2016).  There is an increase in stress levels for students who work and try to balance college.

Students who work while in college are more likely to seek negative behaviors, have sleeping issues, psychological problems, and health issues.  There is a topic of concern to relationships among debt, undesirable academic behaviors and cognitions, and academic performance (Hogan et al., 2013).  Research regarding sources of stress confirms the influential role that personal financial problems play in the lives of college students (Heckman, Lim, & Montalto, 2014).

Students lack a sense of well-being and engage in negative behaviors such as drinking, drug use, or committing crimes to relieve stress.  The cause of dysfunctional behaviors are due to many factors including attitudes, beliefs, and personality variables (Hogan et al., 2013).  The behaviors can have a negative effect on a student’s academic performance because of stress.  The stress leads to students having issues sleeping.  They can become depressed and have anxiety.  There is a link between college drop outs and crime (Joo et al., 2009).  By decreasing the number of college drop outs, the number of individuals incarcerated will be reduced (Joo et al., 2009).

Most students are not aware of the resources available to them.  It is important for students to reduce expenses, increase income, improve management skills, reduce borrowing money, and employ psychological means to reduce or avoid stress, and seeking help (Heckman et al., 2014).  Although there needs to be more funding for students, there are so many different resources available for students to take advantage of to reduce stress due to financial burdens.  The programs include, counseling, financial therapy, and money management.  The resources are useful and informative for college students and parents by raising financial awareness.

Counseling services provide students with coping skills.  Counseling may incorporate educational topics and materials and educators may address individual questions or concerns (Britt, Canale, Fernatt, Stutz, & Tibbetts, 2015).  Students can express themselves and address challenges.  Counselors can provide a sense of relief by helping students with academic achievement.  It helps students develop positive thoughts and attitudes.  They choose better behaviors, have less anxiety, and are less stressed.  Their overall outcomes about their grades and finances are better.  The financial aid offices at school can be a great place to start.  They can provide counseling services and provide outside resources for students.

Financial therapy is beneficial to students because it provides students with knowledge about finances and therapy to cope with financial stress.  They learn effective plans to reduce stress and find solutions.  Every student reacts differently when it comes to finances.  Their mental health and finances are addressed so that they have a positive outlook on life and a better understanding about their situations.  There are several free financial therapy services available to students.  These services can help students with their academics and finances.

Although counseling and therapy are great resources for students, money management is another important resource.  Personal finance education reduces student overconfidence in their ability to handle their personal finances (Lim, Heckman, Letkiewicz, & Montalto, 2010).  Money management provides students with opportunities to get ahead with their finances.  They learn how to save money and prepare for the future.  There are unexpected situations that occur, and students need to be prepared.  College is expensive, so this resource is a great way to help students save for their future.  They can determine how much money they need to save up.   They learn to balance their finances, which helps reduce stress.

The most effective solution for students is to prepare.  They need to do as much research as they can to limit their debt and stress.  Students can prepare by researching multiple colleges.  They can determine which college is the most affordable to attend.  They can also attend a community college in the beginning and transfer because it is much cheaper.  Students and parents need to gather all the financial information they can, so they can budget accordingly and save money in advance.  It is estimated that an average college graduate will enter the workforce with $25,250 in debt due to student loans (Hogan et al., 2013).  By preparing, credit card debt and school loans are more likely to be reduced.

In conclusion, colleges should be affordable for students.  The increase in the costs to attend college universities reflects financial debt.  Students deserve a higher education because education is vital to improving the self, which impacts society (Bien, 2009).  The United States continues to hamper economic recovery due to personal debt incurred by students (Hogan et al., 2013).  By preparing for college, students are more likely to reduce financial debt and succeed academically.  If college tuition rates dropped, students would not have to work as many hours.  They would have more time to study and focus on their grades.  Their financial situations would increase, and their debt would decrease.  As a result, society will be impacted in a positive way (Bien, 2009).

 

References

Adams, D. R., Meyers, S. A., & Beidas, R. S. (2016). The relationship between financial strain, perceived stress, psychological symptoms, and academic and social integration in undergraduate students. Journal of American College Health, 64(5), 362-370.

Bennett, D., McCarty, C., & Carter, S. (2015). The Impact of Financial Stress on Academic Performance in College Economics Courses. Academy of Educational Leadership Journal, 19(3), 25-30.

Bien, R. (2009). Bien, R. (2009). The Rising Cost of Higher Education: The Effects on Access, Retention and Affordability. (Master’s thesis, 2009). Ann Arbor: ProQuest LLC.

Britt, S. L., Canale, A., Fernatt, F., Stutz, K., & Tibbetts, R. (2015). Financial Stress and Financial Counseling: Helping College Students. Journal of Financial Counseling and Planning, 26(2), 172-186.

Britt, S., Mendiola, M., Schink, G., Tibbetts, R., & Jonese, S. (2016). Financial Stress, Coping Strategy, and Academic Achievement of College Students. Journal of Financial Counseling and Planning, 27(2), 172-183.

Heckman, S., Lim, H., & Montalto, C. (2014). Factors Related to Financial Stress among College Students. Journal of Financial Therapy, 5 (1) 3. https://doi.org/10.4148/1944-9771.1063

Hogan, E. A., Bryant, S. K., & Overymyer-Day, L. E. (2013). Relationships Between College Students’ Credit Card Debt, Undesirable Academic Behaviors and Cognitions, and Academic Performance. 47(1), 102.

Joo, S., Durband, D. B., & Grable, J. (2009). The Academic Impact of Financial Stress on College Students. 10(3), 287-305.

Lim, H., Heckman, S. J., Letkiewicz, J. C., & Montalto, C. P. (2014). Financial Stress, Self-Efficacy, and Financial Help-Seeking Behavior of College Students. Journal of Financial Counseling and Planning, 25(2), 148-160.

Macan, T. H., Shahani, C., Dipboye, R. L., & Phillips, A. P. (1990). College students time management: Correlations with academic performance and stress. Journal of Educational Psychology, 82(4), 760-768.