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## Other Youth Topics

## Breadcrumb

            -  Youth Topics 
            -  Financial Capability & Literacy 
            -           Financing Higher Education      

# Financing Higher Education

Postsecondary education is important for future economic stability for the individual and the nation. Unfortunately, the high cost to attend a two- or four-year institution of higher education can keep lower and middle-income students from achieving an academic degree. A student must make a number of financial decisions to make higher education a possibility.

Prospective college students need to think about where they will go for college, how they will pay for it, and how they will manage their finances during school and beyond. Institutions of higher education, both two- and four-year, can help young people and other students gain financial capability.

A report from the Financial Literacy and Education Commission (FLEC) (PDF, 44 pages) describes key financial decisions facing college students, including:
                      - how much to work,
                      - how to spend and the value of budgeting,
                      - how to manage credit cards,
                      - how to use a bank or credit union account, and
                      - how to manage household finances.

The U.S. Department of Education’s College Affordability and Transparency Center provides a number of tools to compare schools by criteria such as cost, major, state spending on secondary education, graduation rates, and campus safety. These criteria are important to include in making the decision on which school to attend so that students can make smart choices for the short- and long-term management of their finances and helping to ensure their financial security.

To directly influence the financial capability and financial decision-making of students, the FLEC report update (PDF, 8 pages) recommends that institutions of higher education:
                      - implement effective financial education programs and build a culture of financial capability,
                      - prepare financial educators,
                      - provide opportunities for students to receive one-on-one counseling,
                      - provide students with peer-learning opportunities,
                      - provide access to cost calculators and customized information, and
                      - support research and evaluation on what works.

## Resources

**Financial inTuition Podcast (from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau)**The Financial inTuition podcast focuses on a variety of topics pertaining to saving and paying for higher education, managing money, and repaying student loan debt. Our team will share interviews with financial practitioners, students and recent graduates, family members and young adults that have successfully managed their money and repaid their student loan debt.

**StudentAid.gov**This website is for parents and students as they navigate the financial aid process, from thinking about higher education through repaying loans.

**Financial Aid Toolkit**This resource is for counselor, mentors, and individuals/organizations helping students through the financial aid process — this site has some great presentations, ideas of events, and content you can use.

**Federal Student Aid**This website is for Financial Aid Professionals and consolidates guidance, resources, and information related to the administration and processing of Title IV federal student aid into one online site for use by the entire financial aid community.

**Find Advice for Your Student Loans****(CFPB)**Offers guidance using basic information about repaying your student loans. Learn about your options and find a strategy that works for your situation.

**Your Financial Path to Graduation****(CFPB)**Currently in college? Planning college finances? Use this tool to help you:
                      - Understand your financial aid offer
                      - Plan to cover the remaining costs
                      - Estimate how much you’ll owe and if you can afford that debt
                      - Compare offers from different schools
                      - Decide what to do next

## Other Resources on this Topic

### Announcements 

                          - Report: A Retrospective Look at U.S. Education Statistics
                          - Report: Financial Literacy of 15-Year-Olds: Results from Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2015
                          - Report: Food Insecurity and Health-Related Concerns Among Elementary Schoolteachers During the COVID-19 Pandemic
                          - Report: High School Counseling and College Financial Aid
                          - Report: Lessons from a Historic Decline in Child Poverty
                          - Report: Outcomes of 2015–16 Bachelor’s Degree Earners in 2020
                          - Report: Reducing Intergenerational Poverty
                          - Report: Revenues and Expenditures for Public Elementary and Secondary School Districts, 2021
                          - Report: The Financial Literacy of 15-year-olds in the U.S. and Abroad
                          - Resource: 2019–20 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study: First Look at Student Financial Aid Estimates for 2019–20
                          - Resource: 5 Student Benefit Programs You Need to Check Out
                          - Resource: Addressing the Long-Term Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Children and Families
                          - Resource: Annual Survey of School System Finances
                          - Resource: Economic Empowerment for People Who Have Experienced Human Trafficking: A Guide for Anti-Trafficking Service Providers
                          - Resource: Engaging People with Lived Experience: Resources from Division X Technical Assistance
                          - Resource: Fact Sheet on Student Loan Relief
                          - Resource: Federal Student Aid and Homeless Youth
                          - Resource: Financial Literacy Activities
                          - Resource: Fostering Financial Empowerment for Youth and Young Adults with Disabilities
                          - Resource: Future Self Tool
                          - Resource: Guide to Help Organizations Connect Individuals with Stimulus Payment
                          - Resource: Helping Consumers Claim the Economic Impact Payment Guide
                          - Resource: Information for Student Loan Borrowers
                          - Resource: John H. Chafee Foster Care for Successful Transition to Adulthood Program Resource List
                          - Resource: Medicaid in Schools
                          - Resource: Money As You Grow: Help for Parents and Caregivers
                          - Resource: National Postsecondary Student Aid Study: First Look at Student Financial Aid Estimates for 2019–2020
                          - Resource: Options That May Help Survivors of Sexual Violence Continue Their Education and Manage Federal Student Loans
                          - Resource: Rural Development Institutions of Higher Education Funding and Resource Guide
                          - Resource: Social Determinants of Health
                          - Resource: Statement from Secretary Miguel Cardona: District Court Ruling on the Biden-Harris Administration Student Debt Relief Program
                          - Resource: Strengthening Information Accessibility for Consumers with Limited English Proficiency
                          - Resource: Student Loan Debt Relief
                          - Resource: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP): Preparing for Changes in Student Eligibility Following the End of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency
                          - Resource: Supplemental Security Income (SSI) for Children
                          - Resource: Tip Sheets on Everyday Parenting Topics
                          - Resource: Toolkit for Embracing a "Youth Welfare" System: A Guide to Capacity Building
                          - Resource: Updated Youth Financial Education Website
                          - Resource: Using Federal Funds for Summer Learning and Afterschool: A Guide for Providers, School Districts, and Intermediaries
                          - Resource: Youth Financial Education Publications
                          - Share with Youth: Create a “my Social Security” Account
                          - Share with Youth: Don’t Fall for These Scams: Phishing and Vishing
                          - Share with Youth: How to Get a Scholarship in Six Simple Steps
                          - Share with Youth: Resources for Transfer Students
                          - Share with Youth: Your Financial Path to Graduation
                          - Student Loan Debt Relief Program Is Blocked
                          - The Student Loan Payment Pause Has Been Extended (Share with Youth)
                          - Webinar Series: Better FAFSA, Better Future
                          - Webinar: College Planning Made Easy
                          - Youth Voices Have Moved to YE4C

### Feature Articles 

                          - Building Financial Capability: A Planning Guide for Integrated Services
                          - Financial Empowerment Toolkit
                          - Just Launched! Redesigned YE4C
                          - MyMoney.Gov: Expanding Financial Education and Access
                          - Recovering from Identity Theft
                          - Student Loan Forgiveness Scams

### Programs 

                          - John H. Chafee Foster Care Program for Successful Transition to Adulthood

### Resources 

                          - How Kids Develop Money Skills
                          - Money As You Grow Book Shelf
                          - Personal Finance Teaching Tool
                          - Share with Youth: Financial inTuition Podcast
                          - Supplemental Security Income (SSI) for Children
                          - Youth Financial Education:  Building Money Habits and Values
                          - Youth Financial Education:  Money Habits and Values Activities
                          - Youth Financial Education:  Practicing money skills and decision-making
                          - Youth Financial Education: Executive Function Activities
                          - Youth Financial Education: Practicing Money Skills and Decision-making

### Tools & Guides 

                          - Building Financial Capability: A Planning Guide for Integrated Services
                          - Curriculum Review Tool
                          - Expanding K–12 Financial Education
                          - Money As You Grow: Facilitator's Guide
                          - Parent Guide:  A Bargain for Frances
                          - Parent Guide:  Curious George Saves His Pennies
                          - Parent Guide: A Chair for Mother
                          - Parent Guide: Alexander Who Used to Be Rich on Monday
                          - Parent Guide: Count on Pablo
                          - Parent Guide: Just Shopping with Mom
                          - Parent Guide: Lemonade in Winter
                          - Parent Guide: Lemonade in Winter
                          - Parent Guide: My Rows and Piles of Coins
                          - Parent Guide: The Berenstain Bears Trouble with Money
                          - Parent Guide: The Berenstein Bears and Mama's New Job
                          - Parent Guide: The Ox Cart Man
                          - Parent Guide: The Purse
                          - Parent Guide: The Rag Coat
                          - Youth Financial Education: Developing Executive Function

### Websites 

                          - Share with Youth: MyCreditUnion.gov

### Youth Topics 

                          - Financial Capability & Literacy

## Youth Briefs

How Individualized Education Program (IEP) Transition Planning Makes a Difference for Youth with Disabilities
Youth who receive special education services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA 2004) and especially young adults of transition age, should be involved in planning for life after high school as early as possible and no later than age 16. Transition services should stem from the individual youth’s needs and strengths, ensuring that planning takes into account his or her interests, preferences, and desires for the future.

Youth Transitioning to Adulthood: How Holding Early Leadership Positions Can Make a Difference
Research links early leadership with increased self-efficacy and suggests that leadership can help youth to develop decision making and interpersonal skills that support successes in the workforce and adulthood. In addition, young leaders tend to be more involved in their communities, and have lower dropout rates than their peers. Youth leaders also show considerable benefits for their communities, providing valuable insight into the needs and interests of young people

How Trained Service Professionals and Self-Advocacy Makes a Difference for Youth with Mental Health, Substance Abuse, or Co-occurring Issues
Statistics reflecting the number of youth suffering from mental health, substance abuse, and co-occurring disorders highlight the necessity for schools, families, support staff, and communities to work together to develop targeted, coordinated, and comprehensive transition plans for young people with a history of mental health needs and/or substance abuse.

Young Adults Formerly in Foster Care: Challenges and Solutions
Nearly 30,000 youth aged out of foster care in Fiscal Year 2009, which represents nine percent of the young people involved in the foster care system that year. This transition can be challenging for youth, especially youth who have grown up in the child welfare system.

Coordinating Systems to Support Transition Age Youth with Mental Health Needs
Research has demonstrated that as many as one in five children/youth have a diagnosable mental health disorder. Read about how coordination between public service agencies can improve treatment for these youth.

Civic Engagement Strategies for Transition Age Youth
Civic engagement has the potential to empower young adults, increase their self-determination, and give them the skills and self-confidence they need to enter the workforce. Read about one youth’s experience in AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC).

## Main navigation

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- Facts About Youth Financial Knowledge & Capability
- Financing Higher Education
- Youth Employment Programs
- Additional Resources
- References

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### Feature Articles

Student Loan Forgiveness Scams

Just Launched! Redesigned YE4C

Building Financial Capability: A Planning Guide for Integrated Services

### Resources

Supplemental Security Income (SSI) for Children

Share with Youth: Financial inTuition Podcast

Money As You Grow Book Shelf

### Youth Topics

Financial Capability & Literacy