Paying for College: Advice from Current Students to Incoming Freshmen

The purpose of this research was to develop a better understanding of how students cope with college costs. As part of an online survey at two large public universities, students responded to an open-ended question at the end of the survey about financial management, paying for college, and advice they would offer to incoming freshmen. A qualitative analysis of the responses produced six dominant themes: costs and methods of payment, spending, credit card use, time management, financial knowledge and education, and personal feelings and family impacts. The themes were organized into a theoretical framework with costs and methods of payment serving as the dominant theme. The themes provide insight into the college students’ beliefs about paying for college. The findings could assist educators, college administrators and researchers in addressing students’ needs in the future.