Financial literacy has been evaluated in many different surveys of American adults and children. College students are a dynamic population who face unique financial challenges, yet they have not been broadly sampled as part of existing work measuring financial literacy. This is a notable void in the literature given the rapid increase in college prices and the number of students who finance their college investment using loans. The 2015–16 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS:16) included, for the first time, a standard set of financial literacy questions as well as a new set of questions measuring awareness of student loan repayment terms. Students demonstrated objectively low levels of financial literacy, but levels were higher among groups with social, demographic, economic, and institutional characteristics that are predictive of success in college. Student borrowers tended to have higher student loan literacy, even if they were part of groups with lower financial literacy. We conclude from this that financial literacy is distinctive from student loan literacy and that student loan literacy appears to be learned through experience.
The state of financial knowledge in college
New evidence from a national survey
Anderson, D. M., Conzelmann, J. G., & Lacy, T. A. (2018). The state of financial knowledge in college: New evidence from a national survey. RAND Corporation. Rand Working Papers No. WR-1256 https://doi.org/10.7249/WR1256
Abstract
Publications Info
To contact an RTI author, request a report, or for additional information about publications by our experts, send us your request.
Meet the Experts
View All ExpertsRecent Publications
Article
Protection of forest ecosystems in the eastern United States from elevated atmospheric deposition of sulfur and nitrogen
Article
The use of patient experience feedback in rehabilitation quality improvement and codesign activities
Article
SPTSSA variants alter sphingolipid synthesis and cause a complex hereditary spastic paraplegia
OCCASIONAL PAPER