Financial Literacy
How Prepared are College Students for their Financial Futures?
Keywords:
financial literacy, financial education, parental influences, financial wellbeing, financial behaviorAbstract
This study assesses financial literacy among college students and its importance in determining financial wellbeing. A total of 617 college students were contacted and 365 (59%) completed the survey. Students were asked to assess their financial literacy level, interest, perceived importance, family influences, areas of interest, desired methods of learning, and when financial literacy should be taught in schools. Our findings indicate that there is a low level of financial literacy among college students. We also highlight an important disconnect where college students rate financial literacy as very important while their interest in it is much less obvious. This leads to our recommendation of mandating financial literacy at the college level. Our regression analysis results indicate that exposure at home has the most significant impact on financial wellbeing. This is consistent with our survey results in which students rate parental influence as the most important factor regarding financial literacy.
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References
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