As a professional in the financial aid sector, I see synergy between the University of Nebraska students who participated in the Promoting At-Promise Student Success (PASS) project interviews and the daily experiences I have helped students manage my entire career in California schools. I recently had the opportunity during the American Education Research Association annual meeting — along with Drs. Todorova and Corwin — to share findings that emerged from PASS research that complicated understandings of how postsecondary students from low-income backgrounds experience financial well-being.
Many low-income students rely heavily on financial aid for college access. However, the complex system of financial aid often leaves students vulnerable to financial stress; unpredictable policy changes can exacerbate that stress, as demonstrated by the 2023 FAFSA simplification process. Despite efforts by stakeholders to assist these students, financial stress significantly affects their college experience, requiring the formation of new frameworks for aiding low-income students with financial need. Often, despite the substantial gift aid expenditures made by universities, philanthropists and the government, students from low-income backgrounds still struggle to attain financial wellness while in college. Furthermore, research in the financial aid space seldom focuses on the assets that low-income students bring with them to navigate college costs and develop financial wellness.
Analysis of the experiences of 160 low-income students in the PASS project is shedding light on the interaction of financial inclusion, financial literacy, and contextual elements affecting personal financial well-being. Data suggest that beyond knowledge, behaviors, and personal characteristics, financial well-being must be understood as a dynamic interaction between individuals and systems. Adopting this lens allows practitioners to focus on institutional and structural aspects that foster student financial well-being within a context or setting, moving the emphasis from individuals covering the costs associated with attendance to acknowledging broader contextual considerations and financial constraints.
Although student experiences affirm that inequitable opportunities and socioeconomic limitations significantly influence financial well-being, they also highlight a variety of skills and literacies they bring to navigating college affordability including the importance of personal relationships with peers, family, and community members who provide emotional and practical support as they navigate financial circumstances. At the same time, students did not demonstrate a strong understanding of how institutional resources beyond financial aid could play a crucial component in supporting their ability to practice financial wellness. Additionally, whether they received a scholarship to support their educational pursuits or not, students emphasized employment as a necessary component of their practice of financial well-being.
In order to re-evaluate the systems through which students are financially aided, practitioners must consider including students' nuanced experiences when seeking to enhance support mechanisms within education systems that alleviate financial stress. The PASS project is deepening our understanding of the gap between existing college access models and a student-centered approach to financial well-being in college. Further information about these emerging findings on low-income students’ financial well-being is available here.
