Financial Wellness of First-Generation College Students

Among many challenges that first-generation college students face, navigating how to balance the financial costs of college with covering monthly expenses can be particularly challenging. The present study uses the lens of person-in-environment theory to conceptualize how the financial attitudes, behaviors, and resources of first-generation college students contribute to their financial wellness. Data from the multi-institutional Study on Collegiate Financial Wellness are used to compare first-generation students and continuing-generation students at four-year public institutions on sources of educational funding, financial knowledge, financial optimism, financial strain, and financial self-efficacy. First-generation students were significantly more likely to use federal student loans, private student loans, money from a job, scholarships/grants, and credit cards to fund their education, whereas continuing-generation students were more likely to use parent and family income. First-generation students had significantly higher scores on average than continuing-generation students on the financial strain measure; this was reversed for the financial knowledge score, the financial self-efficacy measure, and the financial optimism measure. These results support findings from prior literature that first-generation students may experience greater financial hardship and implicate an impact on attitudes and beliefs around finances.