Attending college can be exciting but also at times scary, especially when you consider that most students aren't taught much about personal finance. Students’ fears have only been intensified in the past year by the COVID-19 pandemic. Though the vaccine will eventually help us achieve a full return to in-person schooling, the financial consequences of the crisis may make it difficult for some students to pay tuition.
In order to learn more about college students’ preparedness and how the coronavirus pandemic has affected their school plans, WalletHub conducted a nationally representative survey, which found that nearly 25% of students think that a college education is less important due the pandemic. The survey asked about everything from whether students have missed any bill payments since the pandemic began to what financial lessons they have learned. You can find the complete results in the infographic below.
Key Stats
- Almost 25% of students think that a college education is less important due to COVID-19.
- 42% of students think that credit cards will be more important after the pandemic.
- 29% of students have missed a bill payment since the pandemic began.
- Having emergency savings (48%) is the most important financial lesson students have learned from the pandemic, followed by having a steady job (24%) and not going into debt (15%).
- Almost 1 in 2 students say that the pandemic has helped improve their financial literacy.
Methodology
This report reflects the results of a nationally representative online survey of over 280 respondents.
After we collected all responses, we normalized the data by gender and income so that the sample would reflect U.S. demographics.
Full Details Overall
| After COVID-19, do you think credit scores will be as important? | |
|---|---|
| Same importance | 47% |
| More important | 33% |
| Less important | 20% |
| After COVID-19, how will your spending on non-essential items compare vs pre-COVID-19? | |
| I will spend less | 47% |
| No change | 33% |
| I will spend more | 20% |
| After COVID-19, how important do you think credit cards will be? | |
| Same importance | 42% |
| More important | 42% |
| Less important | 16% |
| Has the COVID-19 pandemic changed your opinion on the importance of college education? | |
| Same importance | 48% |
| More important | 27% |
| Less important | 25% |
| Has the COVID-19 pandemic changed your opinion on the importance of steady employment? | |
| More important | 66% |
| Same importance | 20% |
| Less important | 14% |
| Has COVID-19 changed your plans for getting a summer job? | |
| Yes | 55% |
| No | 45% |
| Have you missed any bill payments since the coronavirus pandemic began? | |
| No | 71% |
| Yes | 29% |
| What is the most important financial lesson you’ve learned during the coronavirus pandemic? | |
| Have emergency savings | 48% |
| Have a steady job | 24% |
| Don’t go into debt | 15% |
| Stockpile supplies | 8% |
| Don’t live in a city | 5% |
| Do you think colleges should open completely for the fall semester? | |
| Yes | 59% |
| No | 41% |
| Did COVID-19 help improve your financial literacy? | |
| No | 51% |
| Yes | 49% |
Note: Percentages may not total 100% due to rounding.