Financial circumstances, financial difficulties and academic achievement among first-year undergraduates

Abstract

Many governments have adopted a policy of seeking to increase the number of students entering higher education and to finance this expansion by transferring costs from the state to the individual. In the United Kingdom, this policy has been pursued with relatively little concern for the impact that the increasing financial burden may have on students.Research at one case-study university suggested that many students were coping with their day-to-day living costs more comfortably than they had expected to in the first year. However, those in a difficult financial position at the start of their period of study were likely to face greater problems in the course of their first year. Two difficulties in particularhaving missed payments at the start of the academic programme, and having to wait for the first student loan payment -were shown to have a damaging effect on academic performance.

Factors Related to Financial Stress among College Students

“…Much of the literature on financial stress has focused on stress outcomes. Research has documented the following negative outcomes of financial stress: (a) depression (Andrews & Wilding, 2004;Clark-Lempers, Lempers, & Netusil, 1990), (b) anxiety (Andrews & Wilding, 2004), (c) poor academic performance (Andrews & Wilding, 2004;Harding, 2011), (d) poor health (Northern et al, 2010), and (e) difficulty persisting towards degree completion (Letkiewicz, in press;Joo, Durband, & Grable, 2008;Robb, Moody, & Abdel-Ghany, 2011). Other research has focused on coping behavior of financially-stressed students, such as seeking help (Britt et al, 2011;Lim, Heckman, Letkiewicz, Fox, & Montalto, 2012).…”

Towards a typology of debt attitudes among contemporary young UK undergraduates

“…Many talked about friends or acquaintances that they felt spent too much time or money on alcohol and socialising: This mindful frugality contrasts with some of the prevailing media stereotypes of young students, which depict them as hedonistic and unconcerned (removed for review). It is important to stress that it appeared that the individuals in this group had active and rewarding social lives and did not see a constrained finances as a significant impediment, although some did talk wistfully about the high-adrenaline lifestyles that they perceived that they 'should' be having: Seven participants remarked upon maladministration at the Student Loans Company (the private sector organisation operating the system on the government's behalf) and tardiness in rectifying errors or, more generally, the unhelpful timing of payments in terms of meeting costs (Harding 2011).…”

“…However, this changed with the creation of tuition fee loans in 2006, with students from lower socio-economic groups being more likely to take out this additional debt than their more affluent peers (Johnson et al 2009). Instead, Johnson et al (2009) found that students living in the family home were the new low-debt group, achieved by avoiding accommodation costs, while Harding (2011) found that students from low-income backgrounds were more likely to take on debts beyond their student loans. Removed for review found that students with extravert personality traits were likely to accumulate more debt, probably to support a more costly social lifestyle (Metcalf 2005).…”

Student budgets and widening participation: Comparative experiences of finance in low and higher income undergraduates at a northern red brick university

“…Corresponding with other research in the area, there was also a high level of variation in the level of financial support offered by families-with those in the lower income group receiving considerably less than their higher income counterparts (Harding, 2011;Hordósy, 2016;West et al, 2015). Table 2 is directly derived from interview data with students being selected to demonstrate specifically the differences in the type and level of financial support they received across the three years of study.…”

“…This was, and still is, an assessment of how much parents are expected to subsidize the student budget-regardless of whether they actually do in practice. A number of authors have now highlighted how parental ability or willingness to contribute can be variously compromised by low parental income, their own retirement costs, number and age of siblings, commuter status, and family estrangement (Christie, Munro, & Rettig, 2001;Harding, 2011;Harrison, 2018;Hordósy, 2016;Kettley, Whitehead, & Raffan, 2008;West et al, 2015).…”