NEW HAVEN, Conn.—First-year college students say they feel less prepared to manage their personal finances than any other aspect of college life, according to a new report from Higher One, which provides financial services to colleges and students, and EverFi, which provides computer-based instruction.
The study of 42,000 college students found 58% of students surveyed said they felt prepared to manage their money, while 73% felt ready to keep up with coursework and 63% were confident about managing their time.
The survey found that many of the freshmen surveyed have good intentions about staying on top of money matters, with 64% saying they expected to follow a budget to limit spending in the next year. Among the students with credit cards, 78% said they expected to pay their card bills on time.
But over the three years in which the survey has been conducted, Higher One and EverFi reported that the percentages of freshmen planning to take these and other steps for careful money management have declined.
Students’ biggest financial worry: finding a job after graduation. Sixty-nine percent of the surveyed freshmen say that is their biggest source of stress about finances. Rising tuition charges are named as the top concern by 55% of respondents, while 44% cite the amount of student debt they will be incurring.
Thirty-two percent of respondents have at least one credit card, up from 28% in 2012, and 88% have a checking account, up from 86%. Sixty-three percent reported taking out student loans, up from 61%.
Sixty-two percent said they check their account balances, and 72% stop spending when their resources are low, the survey found.
About one-third of the students had taken a financial-literacy course in high school. Those who did so were more confident of their ability to manage money—with 64% feeling prepared, compared with 54% of those who didn’t take a course.