Money 

ON CAMPUS

Matters 

How Early Attitudes 

and Behaviors Aect the 

Financial Decisions of 

First-Year College Students 
Money Matters on Campus details the fi ndings of a survey of 40,000 

fi rst-year college students from across the U.S. conducted by EverFi 

and sponsored by Higher One. Students were surveyed on a variety of 

pertinent topics around banking, savings, credit cards, and school loans. 

This report outlines the survey’s key fi ndings, examining the fi nancial 

attitudes and behaviors of students to better understand what most 

signifi cantly predicts positive and negative fi nancial outcomes.

www.moneymattersoncampus.org
Executive Summary 4

Introduction 5

Student Debt in the National Spotlight 

Financial Literacy as a Focal Point 

Responsibility of the Entire Institution 

Data Collection & Survey Methodology 8

Results Brief 9

Results 10

Preliminary Findings 

 Credit Card Behavior 

 Bank Behavior 

 Attitudes Towards Finance 

Factor Analysis 

Hierarchical Regression Analysis 

Discussion 19

Implications 

Suggestions for Research & Practice 

 Practice 

 Research 

 Conclusion 

Citations 23

Collaborators 25 

Table of Contents 
4

For Americans, the outcomes of the recent economic downturn revealed 

a lack of knowledge about credit, banking and fi nancial planning, paired 

with risky fi nancial attitudes and behaviors. Similarly for college students, 

these same risk factors have contributed to increases in student loan and 

credit card debt, loan delinquency or default, and risky fi nancial behaviors 

such as credit card cash advances, payday lending, and lack of bank affi liation. This study examines the fi nancial attitudes and behaviors of college 

students in an attempt to better understand what facets of a student’s life 

most signifi cantly predict positive and negative fi nancial outcomes. 

Approximately 40,000 fi rst-year college students across the United States 

were surveyed on a variety of pertinent topics around banking, savings, 

credit cards, and school loans. Results indicate that increased levels of 

cautious fi nancial attitudes, paired with decreased levels of spending compulsion, and risky debt behavior most signifi cantly predicted responsible 

student behavior around credit, spending, and banking. Although fi nancial 

knowledge alone plays a strong predictive role of increasing positive 

fi nancial outcomes, these results provide strong evidence that more 

intervention is required to foster the development of positive fi nancial 

behaviors and outcomes.

Educators, researchers, and policy 

makers should augment fi nancial literacy 

education programs with attitudinal 

and behavioral components to maximize 

the likelihood that college students are 

prepared to make sound fi nancial 

decisions while in college and beyond.

Executive Summary 
5

Introduction 

STUDENT DEBT IN THE NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT

The outcomes from the “Great Recession” have revealed that we as Americans 

struggle when making complex fi nancial decisions. Although many of the 

problems experienced stemmed from bad actors focused on personal gain at 

the expense of others, there were also many decent individuals that found it diffi cult to successfully negotiate decisions around credit, investing, banking, and 

fi nancial planning (President’s Advisory Council on Financial Capability, 2012). 

Diffi culty with these issues is not isolated to adults in the workforce. Many 

college students have also demonstrated true diffi culty with making highly 

informed fi nancial decisions (Elliot & Beverly, 2011). In addition, college student 

debt and delinquency is on the rise.

For the fi rst time ever in 2011, student 

loans accounted for more national debt 

than credit cards—and in 2012 aggregate 

student loan debt amounted to over one 

trillion dollars. 

According to a recent investigation, two-thirds of the graduating class of 2011 

held student loans at the time of graduation, with the average borrower owing 

$26,600, up fi ve percent from the previous year (The Project on Student Debt, 

2012). The picture becomes bleaker when you consider that more than nine 

percent of graduates default within the fi rst two years, and 13.4 percent within 

three years (Department of Education, 2012). This increase in student debt can 

be attributed to a variety of factors (e.g. family unemployment), but it also must 

be considered that for many public and private institutions, the costs of education have increased exponentially, while incomes and government aid continue 

to struggle to keep pace (Department of Education, 2012). 
6

FINANCIAL LITERACY AS A FOCAL POINT

These trends have not gone unnoticed. Financial literacy initiatives by the 

President’s Advisory Council on Financial Capability (PACFC), and the U.S. 

Departments of Education and Treasury indicate a profound national interest 

in ensuring that all students are empowered to make sound fi nancial decisions 

(PACFC, 2012). A key component to these national initiatives is the emphasis 

on fi nancial literacy education, with the goal to ensure college students 

graduate with the ability to make sound decisions about spending, credit 

and investments, and help adults navigate diffi cult fi nancial situations such 

as buying a home and saving for retirement. 

RESPONSIBILITY OF THE ENTIRE INSTITUTION

It’s critical when attempting to understand 

the fi nancial behaviors of college students 

that we acknowledge student debt and 

other fi nancial issues do not occur in a 

vacuum, where they are isolated from the 

rest of student life. 

Previous research has shown that students who report diffi culty with mental 

health, experience academic failure, and withdraw from enrollment frequently 

cite fi nancial diffi culties as the key predictor of these problems (Pleskac, et al., 

2011). Without this consideration, suffi ciently addressing the fi nancial issues 

affecting college students becomes all the more diffi cult. If fi nancial stress is 

only considered a fi nancial issue—not impacting the rest of student life—the 

responsibility of any on-campus intervention programming may be pushed off 

to the fi nancial aid department with little-to-no emphasis on holistic education. 

Instead, addressing student fi nancial problems should be the responsibility of 

the entire institution—students, faculty, student affairs, and fi nancial aid. 
7

Although it is clear that institutions of higher education must act to address this 

critical issue impacting our nation’s students, many institutions still have done 

little or nothing in terms of establishing fi nancial literacy education programming. Instead, many of the methods to address student fi nancial problems 

remain as reactionary tools—such as default management or exit counseling—

without much consideration of preventive approaches. 

The current investigation attempts to 

demonstrate a clearer picture to colleges 

and universities of how student fi nancial 

problems not only impact individual student 

outcomes but also the institutional mission. 

Over the years, fi nancial literacy education has primarily focused on 

increasing fi nancial knowledge, in hopes that this will equip students with 

the tools necessary to make better fi nancial decisions (Shim, et al., 2009). 

But does the focus on knowledge alone account for all that goes into being 

fi nancially literate? What role does an individual’s attitudes, motivation, and 

behavior play in his or her fi nancial decisions? 

In this study, researchers aimed to better understand incoming college students’ fi nancial literacy—not just by their knowledge, but also by their attitudes 

towards debt and his or her fi nancial behavior—in an attempt to determine what 

role each plays in fi nancial outcomes.
8

Data Collection and 

Survey Methodology 

In a collaborative investigation between Higher One and EverFi, researchers surveyed approximately 40,000 college students across the United States on their 

fi nancial attitudes and behaviors. These students were surveyed on a variety of 

pertinent topics around banking, savings, credit cards, and school loans. The 

survey was deployed just before the implementation of an online education 

program around college wellness. The majority of participants (91.2 percent) 

were fi rst-year college students (mean age = 18.2 years). All students were 

enrolled in traditional four-year public and private colleges or universities across 

43 states. The sample was demographically representative of American college 

students, comprising of 54.5 percent female, 68.7 percent Caucasian/white 

(non-Hispanic). Additionally, 57.5 percent of students had fathers with at least 

a college degree, and 59.1 percent had mothers with at least a college degree.

91.2%

68.7% 

100%

were first-year college students

were Caucasion

59.1% had mothers with at least a college degree

57.5% had fathers with at least a college degree

were female

were enrolled in traditional four-year public and 

private colleges or universities across 43 states

54.5%
RESULTS BRIEF

To better recognize the key components of how 

students understand fi nance, investigators discovered 

seven key factors of student attitudes and behaviors 

infl uence. The factors are Cautious Financial Attitudes, 

Indulgence for Status and Social Gain, Utilitarian 

Financial Behavior, Debt as a Necessity, Possessions 

Providing Happiness, Spending Compulsion, and 

Aversion to Debt. These factors may help researchers 

better identify and assist students at risk. The factors 

were analyzed to determine their level of impact on key 

fi nancial outcomes, such as being late on credit card 

payments; following a budget; structured savings; 

likelihood to withdraw from college; high-risk debt 

behavior (credit card cash advances, payday lenders, 

etc.); paying student loan on time; paying student 

loans in full; having a checking account; and frequency 

of bank contact (visiting a bank branch or website). 

The analysis revealed that most of these factors 

played a signifi cant predictive role with at least one 

of the key outcomes of interest. However, a few of 

the factors appear to be more robust in their ability to 

predict across many of the key outcomes. 

The factor of Cautious Financial Attitudes was found 

to signifi cantly predict increased likelihood to follow a 

budget, decreased likelihood to withdraw from college, 

decreased likelihood to participate in high-risk debt 

behavior, and increased likelihood to have a 

checking account. 

The Debt as Necessity factor had a signifi cant 

negative impact on positive fi nancial behaviors—

having a checking account, paying student loans on 

time and in full, saving, and budgeting—and positive 

impact on negative fi nancial behaviors—high-risk 

debt behaviors, withdrawal from college, and being 

late on credit card payment. 

The last, most signifi cant predictor was Spending 

Compulsion, which most strongly predicted the very 

high-risk outcomes—not being affi liated with a bank, 

not paying loans on time and in full, high-risk debt 

(going to a payday lender or getting a credit card cash 

advance), and being late on credit card bills.

This investigation posits the notion that specifi c 

student attitudes and planned behaviors play a 

signifi cant predictive role on student fi nance-related 

outcomes. Consequently, if there is hope to scaffold 

future generations forward in terms of fi nancial 

literacy, it is necessary to consider integrating 

attitudes and behaviors pertaining to 1) responsible 

fi nancial behavior, 2) debt as necessity, and 3) 

spending compulsion into fi nancial literacy curriculum.

The current investigation revealed a strong correlation between incurring 

early debt and not being affi liated with a banking institution and an 

increased risk of negative fi nancially-related outcomes and risky attitudes/

behaviors—both concurrently and later on in life. These at-risk students 

are signifi cantly less likely to be affi liated with a bank, more likely to 

demonstrate extremely risky attitudes and behaviors towards spending, 

saving, and debt (e.g. more likely to have problems with their students 

loans later on in their collegiate career). 

9
10

Results 

Results from the investigation are presented in three segments 1) preliminary 

fi ndings around loan/debt and credit card behavior, banking behavior, and 

fi nancial attitudes, 2) determining the structure of the survey and classifying 

specifi c categories of student fi nance-related attitudes and behaviors using 

factor analysis, and 3) understanding signifi cant predictors of student fi nancial 

behavior using hierarchical regression analysis of factorial impact. 

PRELIMINARY FINDINGS

Preliminary results of the investigation revealed a strong correlation between 

incurring early debt and not being affi liated with a banking institution and an 

increased risk of negative fi nancially-related outcomes and risky attitudes/

behaviors—both concurrently and later on in life. 

CREDIT CARD BEHAVIOR. Investigators found that students entering college already demonstrate very 

risky debt behavior at matriculation. This raises serious concerns because of the potential for signifi cant negative 

outcomes. Of the population of students who had a credit card, 23.7 percent had over $1,000 in credit card debt 

(5.3 percent had over $5,000), 35 percent reported they typically only make the minimum payment on their credit 

card, and 7.5 percent have been late on their credit card payment at least once in the past year. 

havemore than one credit card

havebeen late on a payment

24.6% 

23.7% haveover $1,000 in debt

haveOVER $5,000 in debt

7.5%

5.3%

28.2% have a credit card
11

In addition, simple regression analysis revealed that as credit card debt 

increases, students are at increased risk for a variety of negative outcomes and 

behaviors. For example, as credit card debt increases, students are signifi cantly 

less likely to be affi liated with a bank, less likely to work (part-time or full-time), 

and more likely to demonstrate extremely risky attitudes and behaviors towards 

spending, saving, and debt—more likely to have problems with their student 

loans later on (see table 1 for complete results). Investigators were also able 

to replicate similar fi ndings when looking at school loan debt, where as debt 

increased, students were more likely to demonstrate a variety of negative 

fi nance-related outcomes. 

TABLE 1: Regression analysis of credit card debt impacting student 

fi nance-related attitudes and behaviors

OUTCOME REGRESSION 

WEIGHT ( ) P-VALUE 

More likely to spend any money left over at the end of a pay period .069 .000

More likely to agree with the statement “it’s better to have 

something now and pay for it later” .065 .000

Less likely to use personal fi nance tools -.035 .000

Less likely to have a checking account -.022 .001

More likely to report that “others would be horrifi ed if they knew their 

spending habits” .092 .000

Less likely to make their student loan payments on time -.101 .000

Less likely to be employed (part time, full-time, summer employment) -.091 .000
12

BANKING BEHAVIOR. Although there are many areas for concern 

when considering debt behavior, fi ndings around student banking behavior 

present room for encouragement—86 percent of the participants reported 

having a checking account (58.4 percent their own account; 12.4 percent a 

joint account; 22.5 percent a custodial account; and 6.7 percent don’t know 

what kind of account). In addition, 65.4 percent of students reported going 

to their bank’s website at least a couple of times per month, and 55.1 percent 

reported visiting a physical branch of their bank at least once a month. These 

fi ndings can be seen as encouraging because of the impact that having a 

checking account has on other fi nance-related behaviors, such a loan behavior, 

budgeting, and saving (see table 2). 

Students with a checking account were 

found be signifi cantly more likely to report 

buying only things that they need, follow a 

budget, pay their entire credit card bill each 

month, and pay their student loans on time 

and in full.

86% have a checking account

have a PERSONAL account CUSTODIAL 58.4% 12.4% 22.5% 6.7% 

of

these

did not 

JOINT know type

account account
13

ATTITUDES TOWARDS FINANCE. Researchers also looked into 

student attitudes across a variety of fi nance-related topics. When asked about 

fi nance-related stress, an astounding 79.2 percent of students reported that 

they “frequently” worry about debt. Consider this statistic alongside the high 

level of student agreement with the following statements: 

• “Students have to go into debt” 

(40.5 percent at least moderately agree)

• “It’s okay to have an overdraft fee if you know you can pay it off” 

(60.1 percent at least moderately agree)

• “Banks should not be surprised when students incur large debts” 

(73.4 percent at least moderately agree) 

• “I like to own things that impress people”

(60.2 percent at least moderately agree)

• “It’s better to have something now and pay for it later” 

(30.7 percent at least moderately agree)

These preliminary attitudinal results suggest that not only are students 

expressing some alarming attitudes toward fi nance-related behaviors, but 

they also may actually be engaging in some of these behaviors, causing a vast 

majority of students (79.2 percent, as referenced above) to feel increased 

levels of debt-related stress in their daily lives. These risky attitudes give us 

a look inside the beginning stages of students citing fi nancial problems as 

a central source of diffi culties with mental health, academic failure, and 

continued enrollment (Pleskac, et al., 2011).

worry 79.2% about

DEBT
14

TABLE 2: Regression analysis of holding a checking account impacting 

student fi nance-related attitudes and behaviors

OUTCOME REGRESSION 

WEIGHT ( ) P-VALUE 

More likely to report buying only things that they need .059 .000

Less likely to report fi nance related stress -.031 .041

More likely to follow a budget .028 .043

More likely to pay their entire credit card bill each month .018 .001

Less likely to participate in very high risk debt behavior – credit card 

cash advance -.078 .000

Less likely to participate in very high risk debt behavior – payday 

lending -.069 .000

More likely to report that they plan to start saving for retirement in 

the next year .024 .005

More likely to pay their student loans payments on time .034 .000

More likely to work (part-time, full-time, summer employment .037 .000

More likely to use online banking .450 .000

FACTOR ANALYSIS

These preliminary fi ndings alone should challenge educators, policy makers, 

researchers, and fi nancial institutions to mitigate these risky behaviors by 

addressing them early on. To help answer this call, investigators were able to 

empirically derive seven key factors of fi nancial attitudes and behaviors (see 

table 3) that provide a helpful categorization for identifying and assisting 

students at risk. These factors were established using principal components 

factor analysis and varimax rotation. Overall, the Chronbach alphas ranged from 

α = .61 to .96, which suggests moderately high to extremely high reliability in the 

structure of the factors. 
15

TABLE 3: Factor analysis of student fi nancial attitudes and behaviors 

FACTOR SURVEY ITEMS INCLUDED IN THE FACTOR:

Cautious 

Financial 

Attitudes

“ The lower a person’s income, the more important it is to save money every month”

“You should always save up fi rst before buying something”

“ You should stay home rather than borrow money to go out for an evening out on the town”

“Once you are in debt it is very diffi cult to get out”

“Students should be discouraged from using credit cards” 

“I worry about debts”

Indulgence 

for Status 

and Social 

Gain

“I like to own things that impress people”

“The things I own say a lot about how well I’m doing in life”

“ Some of the most important achievements in life include acquiring material possessions”

“I admire people who own expensive homes, cars, and clothes”

“I like a lot of luxury in my life”

Utilitarian 

Financial 

Behavior

“I don’t pay much attention to the material objects other people have” 

“I try to keep my life simple, as far as possessions are concerned” 

“ I don’t place much emphasis on the amount of material objects people own 

as a sign of success”

“I usually buy only the things I need”

“I put less emphasis on material things than most people I know” 

“The things I own aren’t at all that important to me”

Debt as a 

Necessity 

“Debt is an integral part of today’s lifestyle”

“Taking out a loan is a good thing because it allows you to enjoy life as a student”

“Students have to go into debt”

“It is better to have something now and pay for it later”

Possessions 

Providing 

Happiness 

“I’d be happier if I could afford to buy more things”

“My life would be better if I owned certain things I don’t have”

“It sometimes bothers me quite a bit that I can’t afford to buy all of the things that I’d like”

[Reversed] “I wouldn’t be any happier if I owned nicer things” 

[Reversed] “I have all the things I really need to enjoy life”
16

TABLE 3: Continued

FACTOR SURVEY ITEMS INCLUDED IN THE FACTOR:

Spending 

Compulsion

“I enjoy spending money on things that aren’t practical”

“Buying things gives me a lot of pleasure”

“If I have money left over at the end of a pay period, I just have to spend it” 

Aversion 

to Debt

“There is no excuse for borrowing money”

“Owing money is basically wrong”

“ Banks should not give interest free overdrafts to students”

[Reversed] “It is okay to borrow money in order to buy food”

HIERARCHICAL REGRESSION

The factors were then analyzed to determine their level of impact on key 

fi nancial outcomes, relative to the other factors. More specifi cally, hierarchical 

regression analysis was used to see how each of these factors impacted eight 

key measures of fi nancial outcomes: being late on credit card payments; following a budget; structured savings; likelihood to withdraw from college; high-risk 

debt behavior (credit card cash advances, payday lenders, etc.); paying student 

loan on time and in full; having a checking account; and frequency of bank contact (visiting a bank branch or website). With hierarchical regression analysis we 

are able to essentially rank in order the level of impact each of these factors has 

on the eight key measures of fi nancial outcomes, while partialling out the impact of all other factors (see table 4). Most of these factors played a signifi cant 

predictive role with at least one of the key outcomes of interest. However, a few 

of the factors appear to play a more consistent and stronger role across many of 

the key outcomes.

The fi rst of these is the Cautious Financial Attitudes factor. It was found 

that this factor signifi cantly predicted the increased likelihood to follow a budget, 

decreased likelihood to withdraw from college, decreased likelihood to 

participate in high-risk debt behavior, and increased likelihood to have a 

checking account. This factor played the largest role in predicting the likelihood 

a student will be able to pay their loans on time and in full, while the factor’s 

level of strength and magnitude of predictivity was far above and beyond the 

other signifi cant factors. 
17

Debt As Necessity was the second most important factor in terms of strength 

and magnitude of predictivity across multiple key outcomes. A student’s report 

of the need to borrow money and the inevitability of debt appears to have a signifi cantly negative impact on positive fi nancial behaviors (e.g. having a checking 

account, paying student loans on time and in full, saving, and budgeting) and, 

conversely, positive impact on negative fi nancial behaviors (e.g. high-risk debt 

behaviors, withdrawal from college, being late on credit card payment). 

This is not to suggest that debt is considered entirely bad, or that even 

positive attitudes towards debt are undesirable. In fact, although this factor 

signifi cantly predicted all of the key outcomes, the strength and magnitude of 

the relationship was far smaller than the other key factors. This may suggest 

that a low dose of positive perceptions of debt, paired with a healthy level of 

caution around debt, may actually be benefi cial. And, this benefi t may fade away 

as the level of caution decreases and a favorable view of debt increases. 

The last, most signifi cant predictor was Spending Compulsion. This factor is 

defi ned by a student’s need to spend compulsively, either for a therapeutic 

purpose or by sheer necessity. This factor most strongly predicted the very highrisk key outcomes (not being in contact with a bank, not paying loans on time 

and in full, high-risk debt behavior, and being late on credit card bills).

Certain factors play a more consistent 

and stronger role across many of the 

key outcomes:

• Cautious Financial Attitudes

• Debt As Necessity

• Spending Compulsion
18

TABLE 4: Hierarchical regression analysis of student attitudes and 

behaviors impacting key measures of fi nancial outcomes

KEY OUTCOMES: SIGNIFICANT PREDICTORS (IN RANK ORDER)

Late on credit card payment (at least once 

in past year) 

1) Spending compulsion (+)

2) Debt as a necessity (+)

3) Indulgence for status & social gain (+)

Follows a budget

1) Debt as a necessity (-)

2) Utilitarian fi nancial behavior (+)

3) Cautious fi nancial attitudes (+)

4) Spending compulsion (-)

5) Aversion to debt (+)

6) Indulgence for status & social gain (-)

Structured saving plan (5-10% of monthly 

income)

1) Debt as necessity (-)

2) Spending compulsion (-)

3) Indulgence for status & social gain (-)

Likelihood to withdraw from college (in the 

next year)

1) Cautious fi nancial attitudes (-)

2) Debt as a necessity (+)

3) Spending compulsion (+)

High-risk debt behavior

1) Cautious fi nancial attitudes (-)

2) Debt as a necessity (+)

3) Spending compulsion (+)

Paying student loans on time & in full

1) Cautious fi nancial attitudes (+)

2) Debt as necessity (-)

3) Spending compulsion (-)

Having a checking account

1) Debt as necessity (-)

2) Cautious fi nancial attitudes 

3) Utilitarian fi nancial behavior (+)

Frequency of bank contact 1) Utilitarian fi nancial behavior (+)

2) Spending compulsion (-)

3) Debt as necessity (-) 
19

IMPLICATIONS

It is apparent that since the economic downturn, educators, policy 

makers, and researchers have brought fi nancial literacy to the forefront 

of the discussion around recovery in an attempt to increase knowledge 

around fi nances—but there is still much work to be done. Much of the 

current research and educational programming is focused around the 

correct assumption that fi nancial knowledge is one of the most signifi cant 

predictors of increasing positive fi nancial outcomes and decreasing 

negative outcomes. However, this investigation puts forward that a few 

very specifi c student attitudes and planned behaviors are playing a 

signifi cant predictive role on these outcomes as well. 

SUGGESTIONS FOR PRACTICE & RESEARCH

PRACTICE. As America’s economy continues to maintain high unemployment, alongside skyrocketing school loan debt and the shifting workforce 

tide toward putting the responsibility of saving, retirement, and budgeting 

on the employee, it has become clear that adolescents and young adults 

need to be better equipped to make sound fi nancial decisions. 

It is critical to point out that addressing these issues cannot simply come 

through debt management, exit counseling, and other typical practices 

alone. Instead, equipping young people with the necessary tools to make 

good fi nancial decisions must come through fi nancial literacy education. 

The current investigation has led to three proposed central tenants of 

successful fi nancial literacy education. 

First, one area of diffi culty for many education programs has been the 

struggle to get students to complete a fi nancial literacy program. However, 

institutions that successfully implemented a mandated fi nancial literacy 

curriculum (EverFi, Inc., 2011) have anecdotally seen dramatic results in 

terms of increased completion rates as well as increases of fi nancial 

knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors. 

Discussion 
20

Second, it cannot be assumed that implementing education at one point 

in time in an individual’s life will have a life-changing effect. Instead, 

it’s suggested that educators and policymakers take a developmental 

perspective on fi nancial literacy education, where curriculum is 

implemented at multiple time points throughout an individual’s childhood 

and adulthood. This approach fosters the need to provide frequent and 

relevant information during the correct developmental periods in an 

individual’s life. 

For example, a freshman in college may benefi t most from education 

around school loans, budgeting while in school, and credit card behavior, 

whereas seniors in college may benefi t more from education around 

budgeting for life on their own, retirement planning, and mortgages. 

The third practice recommendation is to take a population-level approach

to fi nancial literacy education. Historically, much of the fi nancial literacy 

education that is available to children, students, and adults is implemented for those who have already been identifi ed as “at-risk” or are experiencing problems with debt, default, or other fi nance-related issues. However, 

in order to enact real and lasting social change it is essential to make 

fi nancial literacy education compulsory for the nation’s youth. 

SUGGESTIONS FOR PRACTICE

• IMPLEMENT A FINANCIAL LITERACY CURRICULUM

• TAKE A DEVELOPMENTAL PERSPECTIVE

• TAKE A POPULATION-LEVEL APPROACH
21

RESEARCH. In addition to recommendations for practice, the current 

investigation also helps point to future research directions. There are 

four proposed future directions that researchers can take from this and 

previous literature. 

First, the current investigation only looked at fi rst-year college students, 

however it’s critical to better understand how these attitudes, behaviors, 

and planned behaviors shift over time, throughout a student’s college 

career. In order to adequately answer this call, researchers must take a 

longitudinal approach to this issue. 

A longitudinal approach leads directly into the second recommendation, 

which is to focus more on post-college outcomes. Addressing these 

two recommendations will give researchers a clearer understanding of 

how these key factors impact students’ lives long term, especially with 

post-college debt, saving, and budgeting behavior. 

The third recommendation stems from much of the work of Lusardi and 

Mitchell, among others (2007, for example), suggesting fi nancial literacy 

can vary greatly across different populations, namely vulnerable demographic populations such as the less educated, women, and individuals 

of color. In order to better understand the magnitude of impact for each of 

these established factors on fi nance-related outcomes, researchers need 

to investigate the demographic variations of fi nance-related attitudes 

and behaviors. In relation to looking at the demographic variations of 

student fi nance-related attitudes and behaviors, the fourth suggestion 

is that future investigations would benefi t from looking beyond the 

“traditional” college student and working with non-college young adults, 

students at community colleges, and students at private sector colleges 

and universities. 

Finally, as established by Pleskac and colleagues (2011) the key predictor 

of academic diffi culty and withdrawal from college enrollment is debt and 

fi nancial stress. This research suggests that there are also other important 

components of student life to consider when attempting to understand 

college student academic, fi nancial, and social diffi culties. Consequently, 

it’s necessary to investigate the co-morbidity between fi nancial 

illiteracy and other problem behaviors. 
22

For example, researchers should look into the pathways between fi nancial 

attitudes and behaviors with mental health, substance use, and social support of college students. This directly addresses the previously mentioned 

idea that the responsibility of addressing college student fi nancial literacy 

cannot just fall in the lap of a fi nancial aid department—it is the responsibility of the entire institution, which includes student affairs, counseling and 

psychological services, and academic affairs. 

SUGGESTIONS FOR RESEARCH

• TAKE A LONGITUDINAL APPROACH

• FOCUS MORE ON POST-COLLEGE OUTCOMES

• TAKE A POPULATION-LEVEL APPROACH

• INVESTIGATE THE DEMOGRAPHIC VARIATIONS 

OF FINANCE-RELATED ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIORS

• INVESTIGATE THE CO-MORBIDITY BETWEEN 

FINANCIAL ILLITERACY AND OTHER PROBLEM 

BEHAVIORS

CONCLUSION. At matriculation, incoming college students are faced with 

critical decisions about college loans, credit cards, banking, and saving. 

Yet for many, the ability to successfully negotiate these and other decisions 

may be severely impeded by their existing fi nance-related behaviors and 

attitudes. The current investigation found that there are key factors that 

help predict student fi nance-related outcomes. This new information should 

compel researchers and policy makers to consider how to integrate student 

attitudes, behaviors, and planned behaviors (alongside student fi nancial 

knowledge) into fi nancial literacy curriculum to better address the fi nancial 

futures of America’s college students. Essentially, if there is hope to scaffold future generations forward in terms of fi nancial literacy, it is necessary 

to consider integrating attitudes and behaviors pertaining to 1) Cautious 

fi nancial attitudes, 2) Debt as necessity, and 3) Spending compulsion into 

fi nancial literacy curriculum. 
23

Department of Education (2012). National Student Loan Data System 

[Database]. Retrieved from: http://www.nslds.ed.gov/nslds_SA/defaultmanagement/.

Department of Education (Sept, 2012). Press release: First offi cial threeyear student loan default rates published: Department continues efforts 

to help students better manage their debt. Retrieved from: http://www.

ed.gov/news/press-releases/fi rst-offi cial-three-year-student-loan-defaultrates-published.

Elliott, W. and Beverly, S. (2011). The role of savings and wealth in reducing 

“wilt” between expectations and college attendance. Journal of Children & 

Poverty, 17, 165-185. 

EverFi, Inc. (2011, August). Insight Report: Financial Literacy in Higher 

Education [Research Brief]. Washington D.C.: Wyatt, Todd.

Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (2010). Financial Capability Study 

[Data]. Retrieved from: http://www.usfi nancial capability.org. 

Kubisch, A.C., Auspos, P., Brown, P., Chaskin, R., Fulbright-Anderson, K., 

Hamilton, R., (2002). Voices From the Field II: Refl ections on Comprehensive Community Change. Roundtable on Comprehensive Community 

Initiatives for Children and Families, The Aspen Institute.

Lusardi, A., & Mitchell, O.S. (2007). Financial literacy and retirement 

preparedness: Evidence and implications for fi nancial education. Business 

Economics, 42, 35-44. 

Pleskac, T.J., Keeney, J., Merritt, S.B., Schmitt, N., & Oswald, F.L. (2011). A 

detection model of college withdrawal. Organizational Behavior and Human 

Decision Processes, 115, 85-98. 

Presidents Advisory Council on Financial Capability (2012). Key Themes 

for President’s Advisory Council on Financial Capability (PACFC). Retrieved 

Citations
24

from: http://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/fi nancial- education/ 

Documents/Key_Themes.pdf.

Project on Student Debt (Oct, 2012). Student Debt and The Class of 2011. 

The Institute for College Access & Success. Retrieved from: http://ticas.org/

fi les/pub/classof2011.pdf.

Shim, S., Barber, B., Card, N., Xiao, & Serido, J. (2009). Financial 

socialization of young adults: The role of family, work and education. 

Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 39, 1457-1470.

SUGGESTIONS FOR RESEARCH & PRACTI
25

Collaborators

ABOUT HIGHER ONE 

Higher One is a leading company focused on creating cost-saving effi ciencies for higher education institutions and providing high-value services 

to students. Higher One offers a wide array of technological services on 

campus, ranging from streamlining the institution’s performance analytics 

and fi nancial aid refund processes to offering students innovative banking 

services, tuition payment plans, and the basics of fi nancial management. 

Higher One works closely with colleges and universities to allocate resources 

more effi ciently in order to provide a higher quality of service and education 

to students. 

Founded in 2000 on a college campus by students, Higher One now serves 

more than half of the higher education market, providing its services to over 

1,300 campuses almost 11 million students at distinguished public and 

private institutions nationwide.

More information about Higher One can be found at www.higherone.com.

ABOUT EVERFI, INC.

EverFi, Inc. is the leading education technology company focused on teaching, assessing, and certifying K-12 and college students in the critical skills 

they need for life. The company is powering a national movement in 50 

states that enables students to learn using the latest technology, including 

rich media, 3D gaming, simulations, social networking, and virtual worlds. 

EverFi’s AlcoholEdu® for College is one of the few education technology 

programs proven to reduce student alcohol use and negative consequences, 

as demonstrated through independently conducted, empirical research 

funded by the National Institutes of Health. EverFi has reached more than 

4.5 million students with its online learning platforms.

Learn more at www.everfi .com.