University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses

Examining Financial Well-being and Financial Stress: Experiences of Low-income and First-generation Postsecondary Students

(USC Thesis Other)

Examining Financial Well-being and Financial Stress: Experiences of Low-income and First-generation Postsecondary Students

PDF

Download a page range

Download transcript

Copy asset link

Request this asset

Transcript (if available)

Content

Examining Financial Well-Being and Financial Stress: Experiences of Low-Income and
First Generation Postsecondary Students

Khalilah R. Lauderdale

Rossier School of Education
University of Southern California
A dissertation submitted to the faculty
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Education

August 2023

© Copyright by Khalilah R. Lauderdale 2023
All Rights Reserved

The Committee for Khalilah R. Lauderdale certifies the approval of this Dissertation

Joseph Kitchen
Kedra Ishop
Zoë Corwin, Committee Chair

Rossier School of Education
University of Southern California
2023

iv
Abstract
This qualitative study investigates the financial stress and financial well-being of 10 diverse at-
promise students attending three university campuses in the midwestern United States. The
study’s data included 29 individual participant interviews conducted during the fall, spring, and
summer semesters of the 1st-year of their college careers. Analysis of findings are informed by
García-Mata and Zerón-Felix’s (2022) theory of financial well-being and Fu’s (2020) theory of
what shapes financial well-being. The results of the study highlight obstacles individuals from
challenging socioeconomic backgrounds face, including limited access to resources, unequal
opportunities, and social class-based stigmatization; the importance of personal relationships,
such as family, friends, and mentors, in influencing participants’ financial well-being by
providing emotional and practical support; and the importance of educational support systems
within institutions in enhancing or inhibiting student financial well-being for tailored acclimation
to the campus financial marketplace. These themes collectively provide insights into the
multifaceted nature of financial well-being and the various factors that influence individuals’
financial outcomes. These themes spanned five of García-Mata and Zerón-Felix’s (2022)
propositions of financial well-being. Study implications offer guidance for institutions and
leaders to improve support mechanisms within the education systems which can reduce financial
stress.

Acknowledgments
I would first like to thank my dissertation chair, Zoë Corwin, for her support. Zoë, the
support and time that you dedicated to my success throughout this journey, I know, was a
sacrifice. Thank you so much for guiding me through this process with such patience. I am
certain that this would not have been possible without your encouragement and direction.
Thank you for your guidance, committee members Dr. Ishop and Dr. Kitchen. Your
expertise in the field and as researchers has made this journey purposeful, as I know that its
outcome will be a meaningful contribution to academia. Thank you, Cohort 2021, particularly
Alex, Claudia, Serena, and Billy, for the laughs and encouragement over the past few years.
I would also like to thank the numerous instructors I had throughout my education who
frequently reminded me that I could accomplish anything I set my mind to. You motivated me to
become a teacher and spread this message to stakeholders. I would like to thank the Pullias
Center and PASS II team for welcoming us as partners on this project. Your work is impressive
and will assist many students in the future.
To my parents, thank you for prioritizing educational pursuits as a part of our family
culture. You encouraged me and served as both inspiration and motivation for the pursuit of
personal self-actualization. To my family and friends who provided understanding, patience,
love, and support. My sister, Abigail, and brothers, Michael, and Jonathan, being your sister is
one of the greatest joys of my life.
Lastly, to my girls who sacrificed weekends and home-cooked meals to give me the time
I needed to work. Your love and support will never be forgotten, from the times you took care of
the dog, to the times you came and watched TV in my room while I worked so we could be
together. Thank you for being you.

Table of Contents
Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... iv
Acknowledgments........................................................................................................................... v
List of Tables ............................................................................................................................... viii
List of Figures ................................................................................................................................ ix
Chapter One: Overview of the Study .............................................................................................. 1
Background of the Problem ................................................................................................ 1
Statement of the Problem .................................................................................................... 5
Purpose of the Study ........................................................................................................... 6
Purpose Statement ............................................................................................................... 8
Significance of the Study .................................................................................................... 9
Limitations and Delimitations........................................................................................... 11
Organization of the Study ................................................................................................. 13
Chapter Two: Review of the Literature ........................................................................................ 17
Financial Aid ..................................................................................................................... 17
Student Identities Affecting Financial Stress and Well-Being ......................................... 24
Factors Influencing Financial Stress and Well-Being ...................................................... 33
Conceptual Framework ..................................................................................................... 40
Summary ........................................................................................................................... 45
Chapter Three: Methodology ........................................................................................................ 46
Participant Selection and Setting ...................................................................................... 48
Data Collection Procedures............................................................................................... 51
Data Analysis Procedures and Presentation of Result ...................................................... 52
Trustworthiness and Role of the Researcher .................................................................... 54
Chapter Four: Findings ................................................................................................................. 58

Participant Profiles ............................................................................................................ 59
Key Findings ..................................................................................................................... 82
Findings Related to Students’ Financial Well-Being........................................................ 84
Institutional Contexts Influence an Individual’s Financial Well-Being ........................... 96
Summary ........................................................................................................................... 98
Chapter Five: Discussion ............................................................................................................ 100
Discussion of Findings .................................................................................................... 100
Relationship of Findings to Prior Research .................................................................... 106
Implications for Policy and Practice ............................................................................... 112
Implications for Future Research .................................................................................... 116
Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 118
References ................................................................................................................................... 121
Appendix A: Interview Questionnaire Protocol Fall 2021 ......................................................... 150
Appendix B: Interview Questionnaire Protocol Spring 2022 .................................................... 152
Appendix C: Interview Questionnaire Protocol Summer 2023 .................................................. 154

List of Tables
Table 1: Thematic Presentation of Findings for Financial Well-Being for 1st-Year Students…83

List of Figures
Figure 1: Conceptual Framework 41

1

Chapter One: Overview of the Study
Researchers recognize financial stress and psychosocial issues as probable factors for
university student attrition (Adams et al., 2007). Financial anxiety, which is a leading cause of
stress in the United States (Doehring, 2018), is often overlooked as a subversive harm
experienced by at-promise students. At-promise students are typically low-income, racially
minoritized, and first generation college students (Bettencourt et al., 2023; Kezar et al., 2021).
This research examines the financial stress and financial well-being of 10 at-promise students
attending University of Nebraska campuses. Using a progressive spectrum lens of measurement
as García-Mata and Zerón-Félix (2022) proposed, I analyzed the students’ experiences at the
start, middle, and end of their 1st school year.
Background of the Problem
For many people in the United States, higher education can be seen as an essential
investment for a better future. For students from low-income families, securing sufficient
financial aid to attend college is a critical component of their ability to access higher education
(Long, 2004). The current financial aid system, however, has become a complicated labyrinth
that has left many students feeling vulnerable. The ever-growing weariness of unexpected policy
changes has made it difficult for students to plan their finances. The burden of student debt has
been escalating over the years, with graduates from Nebraska, for example, incurring an average
debt of $32,156 in 2022. Students who do not persist in earning a degree accumulate debt with
almost nothing to show, resulting in perpetual negative net worth. Research has consistently
shown that poverty can have negative effects on academic attainment, as well as other areas of
child development (Engle & Black, 2008). The challenges poverty causes for students can
contribute to lower academic achievement, higher rates of absenteeism, and lower high school
2

graduation rates among students from impoverished backgrounds (Engle & Black, 2008; Schels,
2020). To ensure the financial well-being of college students, it is crucial to reduce students’
financial burden, move financial support approaches away from a singular focus on personal
accountability, and bolster institutional support systems that focus on students.
For instance, the U.S. Financial Literacy and Education Commission’s (2020), FLEC,
published the U.S. National Strategy for Financial Literacy to outline best practices for delivery
of financial literacy and education to the public:
• Know the individuals and families to be served.
• Provide actionable, relevant, and timely information.
• Improve key financial skills.
• Build on motivation.
• Make it easy to make good decisions and follow through.
• Develop standards for professional educators.
• Provide ongoing support.
• Evaluate for impact. (pp 7-8)
It is undeniable that improving personal consumer finance is a critical issue today.
However, as far as this study is concerned, emphasis should be placed on the first two practices
outlined by FLEC (2019): service population knowledge and tailored information. Students
constitute a distinct demographic group, and their 1st-year of university requires specialized
knowledge. Therefore, higher educational institutions must have access to the resources that can
help them meet the unique financial needs of this population. FLEC’s (2019) Best Practices for
Financial Literacy and Education at Institutions of Higher Education provides a nuanced strategy
3

for addressing these concerns, and it is updated yearly to reflect the changing needs of the
population.
Nonetheless, it is worth noting that FLEC’s best practices for higher education
institutions disproportionately emphasize student debt repayment education. While this is an
important issue, it is not the only one facing university students. The other two practices
suggested by FLEC focus on institutional approaches for targeting students and effectively
engaging them in financial education. However, none of these practices recommend shifting
support approaches away from a solitary focus on personal accountability, implying that the
primary emphasis for institutional support be a focus on the student and their family’s lack of
financial acumen.
Low-Income Students in the United States
The U.S. Census Bureau (2021), the agency responsible for measuring poverty,
determines poverty in the United States by comparing a person’s or family’s income to a poverty
threshold or the minimum amount of income required to meet basic requirements. People whose
income falls below the poverty line are deemed to be poor. According to the United States
Census Bureau (2021), the national child poverty rate in 2021 was 16.9%. However, there was
a significant difference within states, ranging from 8.1% to 27.7%.
Poverty was defined in terms of income and the poverty line or as a broader social
disadvantage associated with exclusion factors such as age, gender, race, and ethnicity (Engle &
Black, 2008). An absolute poverty approach measures an individual’s food intake, housing, and
other basic material requirements. A relative poverty approach considered income inequality,
such as living below the federal poverty limit, and was the more quantitative method of
calculating poverty (Yoshikawa et al., 2012).
4

According to a study by the Pew Institute (Fry & Cilluffo, 2019), in 2016, 20% of
dependent undergraduate students were from low-income families, a significant increase from
1996 (12%). The study states that since the overall rate of poverty among people aged 18 to 64
stayed constant at around 12% over these time periods, it is likely that more low-income students
are enrolling in postsecondary education today than they were 20 years ago (Fry & Cilluffo,
2019). Despite being eligible for Pell Grants, challenges related to poverty include significant
challenges in accessing higher education due to the well-documented increase in college costs.
The average net price of a college education for students from the lowest income quartile
was around 94% of their family income, amounting to a staggering $32,542 in 2016 (Perna,
2022). These financial barriers can profoundly impact the social mobility of low-income
students, further exacerbating the cycle of poverty. Despite the many efforts to expand access to
higher education, the data clearly indicate that opportunity is still segmented by familial wealth.
Childhood Poverty in Nebraska
According to the 2019 American Community Survey, approximately 51,085 children in
Nebraska, or 11% of all children in the state, reside in poverty, with 21,827 living in extreme
poverty (below 50% of the federal poverty line). In 2020, 20 Nebraska counties had a higher
child poverty rate than the national average. According to U.S. census data compiled by The
University of Omaha’s Center for Public Affairs (2021), each of the 20 counties has a population
of less than 40,000. Statistically, certain subgroups of Nebraska’s children have a larger poverty
rate than others. Among all racial/ethnic categories, the poverty rate among Black children in the
state is the highest, at 32%. Hispanic children have a poverty rate of 19%, while non-Hispanic
White children have a poverty rate of 7% (U.S. Census Bureau, 2022). In 2019, 51,085 Nebraska
children were living in poverty.
5

According to the FLEC (2020), “Financial education is key to unlocking the foundations
of economic opportunity and powering a strong and resilient economy. Americans must acquire
financial skills and knowledge to fully participate in our dynamic economy.” With financial
education set as a national priority to combat poverty, 17 states have enacted legislation to
require financial education coursework for high school graduation. Nebraska, a predominantly
rural state located in the Midwest, enacted LB 452 in 2021, which mandates that all public K–12
school districts in the state provide financial literacy and life skills education to their students as
a graduation requirement. The law stipulates that financial literacy education must cover topics
such as budgeting, credit management, and student loan repayment.
The bill mandates that financial education be provided in a manner accessible to all
students, including those who are low-income or have limited financial literacy skills. The
enactment of this legislation in Nebraska is significant because it serves as an example of how
states are taking steps to promote economic opportunity for students before they arrive on
college campuses. Since financial literacy education is not always emphasized in all school
curriculums, implementing such a mandate is noteworthy. However, the overarching spirit of the
bill narrowly focuses on enhancing personal financial acumen to achieve full economic
participation.
Statement of the Problem
Wealth justice activist Chloe McKenzie (Forbes, 2022) believes financial literacy is a
myth. Financial literacy, the capacity to comprehend and use diverse financial techniques, such
as personal financial management, budgets, and saving as the cornerstone of one’s relationship
with money, emphasizes behavioral responses but disregards how complicated socio-political
6

and socioeconomic forces obstruct ignored populations from becoming financially secure.
McKenzie (2021) goes on further to state:
Institutions that enact [financial literacy] policies are often the ripest context for financial
trauma to be perpetrated and/or transmitted … policy directly influences a person’s and
community’s sense of material safety. In order to attain material safety, agency, and
autonomy must be restored to individuals so that they can actually create material safety
for themselves. However, external factors [e.g., popular media] can make this process
more difficult, or nearly impossible, especially for purposely ignored populations. (Slide
12).
This study seeks to move from an investigation of the impact of information (financial
literacy) to an examination of the financial well-being [impact of support systems on financial
capability] of low SES students. Often this necessitates taking a wraparound approach within
student services departments. Postsecondary institutions face the problem of providing excellent
education to students while remaining competitive in an increasingly complicated and expensive
industry. As practitioners implement financial well-being programming, understanding the effect
of systems on the individual, in this case, the student, is crucial. As outlined in the following
literature review, various stakeholders (i.e., federal government and private foundations) provide
low-income students with millions of dollars in financial resources. However, the question
arises, how are students fairing from the governmental and institutional initiatives intended to
support their financial well-being?
Purpose of the Study
Even though federal and state educational policies demanded a fair and equal opportunity
for all students to receive a high-quality education, and Operation Hope’s (2023) Financial
7

Literacy for All movement prioritized improving financial education, the financial experiences of
low-income students in public institutions remain challenging. This study is designed to examine
how low-income students experience financial stress and financial well-being. The study is part
of a broader longitudinal mixed-methods research effort conducted by the University of Southern
California’s Pullias Center for Higher Education. The Promoting At-promise Student Success
(PASS) project is a multi-year study conducted at three University of Nebraska campuses: the
University of Nebraska at Lincoln (UNL), the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO), and the
University of Nebraska at Kearney (UNK).
The objective of the PASS project is to gain a deeper understanding of at-promise
students’ academic, career, and psychosocial outcomes. The PASS project consists of two stages,
PASS I (2014–2020) and PASS II (2020–2025), with each phase including varied research
subjects, student cohorts, and team members. The first PASS study investigated the relationship
between academic and psychosocial constructs such as academic self-efficacy, a sense of
belonging, and a sense of mattering. A longitudinal design was used to evaluate numerous time
points and discover changes in students’ attitudes, behaviors, and outcomes of interest over time.
The research also included a randomized controlled trial, which enabled the team to establish
assertions about causality and determine the direct influence of a comprehensive college
transition program’s (CCTP) components on student outcomes. The results of the PASS I
research found that students were experiencing significant levels of financial stress.
Consequently, a focus on financial stress was integrated into the second phase of PASS. This
study draws from PASS II qualitative interview data to learn from the experiences of financial
stress and financial well-being among 10 of the PASS II participants.
8

Examination of Financial Well-Being
This qualitative study serves as a resource to assist the ongoing efforts of the larger PASS
II project and the Susan Thompson Buffet Foundation, which explores how college experiences
relate to at-promise student success. Although a considerable amount of literature examines
student financial well-being correlated to first generation, SES, and loan debt, much of the
research has been quantitative, evaluating racial groups, and loan repayment patterns (Callender
& Jackson, 2008; Doehring, 2018; Lim et al., 2014; Woo & Matthews, 1994). These statistics
help colleges comply with federal reporting requirements by monitoring the median amount of
student loan debt after graduation (U.S. Department of Education, 2022). Supporting the U.S.
efforts toward financial capability, I used García-Mata and Zerón-Félix’s (2022) definition of
financial well-being and Jonathan Fu’s institutional research theory to inform this study.
Fu’s (2022) theory shifts the emphasis of the impact from the importance of personal
financial literacy and formal financial inclusion for individuals to contextual-level predictors by
examining the impact of structural and institutional financial characteristics on students’
experiences. By use of these theories, the study fills in the literature gap of the higher education
context since the capabilities required (FAFSA navigation, scholarship acquisition & retention,
work/school time management) for financial well-being is expanded beyond those used by a
consumer workforce (investments, credit, and saving).
Purpose Statement
The purpose of this research was to understand the influence of systems on how 1st year
college students experience financial well-being and in doing so, be able to enhance the higher
education experience of economically disadvantaged students. A single research question guides
9

this study: How do low SES students experience financial well-being and financial stress during
their 1
st
year at the University of Nebraska?
Significance of the Study
In a national study of financial well-being in higher educational settings, students
reported that although open to formal institutional guidance, most had not spoken to a university
representative (Webster et al., 2022). There is little qualitative data on campus financial
education offerings and their influence on college students’ financial well-being. This study
contributes to research on financial stress and produces empirically based recommendations for
higher education practitioners on the financial well-being of 1st year students. It contributes to
the field by examining the experiences of 1st year students and exploring the university’s
institutional financial systems’ effect on said experiences. While similar topics have been studied
in the financial sector more broadly (Fu, 2020), their relationship with the current design of
consumer financial well-being has not been longitudinally examined within the university
setting.
It was significant to focus on this psychosocial issue because the repercussions of
financial stress and financial well-being transcend individual situations, such as the economic
effect of decreased consumer purchasing due to student loan debt (Cornelius & Frank, 2015).
Significant economic mobility trends have also emerged, necessitating a focus on financial well-
being within the United States. Notably, the probability that a low-income child in the bottom
20% will acquire enough income to reach the top 20 % is less likely in the United States than in
some other industrialized nations, such as Canada, according to studies (Chetty et al., 2014;
Grusky & Saez, 2018; Shahrokni, 2018).
10

Using Fu’s institutional contextual review, this study will provide predictors of financial
stress that stakeholders can respond to by policy and intervention, improving student financial
well-being. The issue must be addressed because, if left ignored, a singular focus on personal
financial literacy could undermine the potential for national upward mobility and the worldwide
competitive edge our diverse population has generated (Blanden et al., 2005; Obama, 2012;
Shahrokni, 2018). According to the Heckman et al. (2014) study, a degradation in the support
systems adds to students’ experiences, financial or otherwise, and has a detrimental impact on
their well-being.
Understanding at-promise students’ financial well-being and stress will guide
practitioners in their efforts towards creating frameworks of aid that are directly informed by
those they are supporting. This study extends the literature by shifting the emphasis of impact
from the importance of personal financial literacy and formal financial inclusion for individuals
to contextual-level predictors. This is important because as tuition prices rise and financial
assistance levels fall, the average college student borrows a considerable amount of their full
educational expenditures. As a result, for students and their families, remaining in school and
graduating on time becomes a critical financial factor (Joo et al., 2008).
By investigating the influence of structural and institutional financial factors on students’
experiences, practitioners can improve the financial well-being of low-income 1st year students
navigating the complicated campus financial landscape. Based on the outcomes of this study,
institutions interested in enhancing financial well-being and reducing student financial stress
could consider utilizing the model to tailor their aid initiatives.
11

Limitations and Delimitations
There are two primary limitations of the study. First, although the data collected by
participants at the three University of Nebraska campuses is replete with financial well-being
indicators, we were not authorized to study the students’ financial aid packages. Despite this
limitation, the study turned attention onto students with similarly demonstrated financial need by
setting $10,000 and below expected family contribution (EFC) as a selection criterion.
The 2nd limitation is the study’s small sample and highly selective sampling procedure
that does not allow for the generalizability of findings. The objective, rather, is to provide a deep,
contextualized comprehension of a certain aspect of the human experience by examining specific
cases in depth (Polit & Beck, 2010). The research examined the experiences of a particular
student population: undergraduate, low-income, first generation college, immigrant, or racially
minoritized students enrolled at the University of Nebraska, many of whom came from rural
backgrounds. Accordingly, the results may be transferred to other public postsecondary
institutions and studies to further the theory and practice of analyzing the financial well-being of
similar students. Despite these limitations, the research is significant because it fills a gap in the
literature and highlights undergraduate at-promise students’ financial stress and well-being
experiences.
There are two delimitations to this research. One constraint is that I did not disaggregate
the effects of other intersecting identities (such as gender, ethnicity, and family structure) on the
financial well-being of at-promise college students. I would have further disaggregated the
students’ intersecting identities if time and resources were not a constraint to examine deeper
meaning-making levels. As such, I could only analyze the students’ most salient financial
identities that influence their experience of the college financial marketplace, such as low-
12

income, first generation college student, or immigrant status. Campuses enable interactions
between individuals who need money and those who have the capital, meeting the U.S. Office of
the Comptroller of the Currency’s (2023) definition. Often campuses like other financial
markets, enable participants to transfer risk (such as donors’ tax liability reduction) and raise
capital (university advancement offices) in addition to making it feasible to obtain funds
(students).
Lastly, the data for this dissertation research were acquired as part of the wider PASS II
project and not specifically for this dissertation study so the interview questions were not
informed by this study’s research question. Despite the limitations and delimitations, the work is
poised to make a valuable addition to the field. There is a shortage of longitudinal research
analyzing the development of a student’s financial acculturation at the crucial postsecondary
stage. Program administrators may benefit by monitoring participants’ financial well-being
during the 1st-year and consequently improving the quality of their programs to support
students’ financial needs and well-being over time systemically. There are three main
assumptions undergirding the study:
1. Exposure to services and programs at higher education institutions improves the
financial well-being of 1st year students, supposing that improved financial well-
being is a desirable result.
2. Exposure to services and programs at higher education institutions will be valuable in
improving student financial capability.
3. Lastly, that institutions can provide programming and services to strengthen students’
financial education at higher education institutions. These assumptions are grounded
in the research of the U.S. Financial Literacy and Education Commission (2019).
13

Organization of the Study
This study is divided into five chapters. The first chapter introduces the PASS project and
presents an overview of the study’s goals, significance, limits, and terminology. The second
chapter examines the academic literature pertinent to the topic and describes the conceptual and
theoretical frameworks that underpin the investigation. Chapter Three outlines the qualitative
methodology and methods used in the study, including sample, data collection processes, and
data analysis procedures. The results of the analysis are presented thematically in the fourth
chapter, and the fifth chapter concludes with data findings and recommendations for further
study, practice, and policy.
Definition of Terms
The following terms are used throughout the dissertation:
• Access and financial inclusion refer to involvement in financial society. It is the
ability and knowledge to act and exercise choice within financial markets, the
financial services sector, and all facets of financial life (Fu, 2020; Sherraden &
Grinstein–Weiss, 2015).
• At-promise are low-income students who are first generation or racially minoritized
(Bettencourt et al., 2023; Kezar et al., 2021).
• Financial capability refers to the combination of attitude, knowledge, skills, and self-
efficacy needed to make and exercise money management decisions that best fit the
circumstances of one’s life, within an enabling environment that includes, but is not
limited to, access to appropriate financial services (Stuart, 2013).
• Financial education refers to a process in which an individual gets financial
information and becomes financially competent to make informed, logical decisions
14

about their economic participation and consumer habits (Hogarth, 2006). I further this
definition to include the informal financial education derived from various support
systems and social influences. A comprehensive financial aid curriculum incorporates
some economics and how economic conditions influence decisions. It can be limited,
focusing on consumer concerns like budgeting, saving, credit, and investing (Hogarth,
2006).
• Financial knowledge refers to the mastery of financial terminology, concepts, and
principles. Financial skills determine a person’s capacity to formulate judgments
based on financial knowledge capita (Danes & Hira, 1987; Gerrans et al., 2013;
Jorgensen & Savla, 2010; Robb, 2011).
• Financial literacy refers to the knowledge, awareness, and capacity to grasp financial
data, processes, and operations, to use financial products and systems, and to think
critically for oneself and one’s family (Kim et al., 2017; Xiao et al., 2008). It is a
taught capacity as well as a disposition to perform well in a developed economy
complicated by socio-political obstructions (McKenzie, 2020), imparting the skill and
temperament needed to navigate complex financial systems and act prudently as a
consumer (Danes & Yang, 2014; Kim et al., 2011; Kim & Chatterjee, 2013; Lueg et
al., 2006).
• Financial shame/shaming refers to the psychological effects of messages that blame
those who are socioeconomically harmed and financially abused for their own
impoverished conditions (McKenzie, 2020).
• Financial stress is the inability to meet financial obligations resulting in adverse
emotional and psychological effects (Northern et al., 2010).
15

• Financial trauma refers to the response a person has to the cumulative harming of
their wealth-building capability caused by events, actions, policies, and cultural
messages that inevitably reinforce the condition that impair our relationships with
money, value, wealth, and worth (McKenzie, 2020). It is the effect of being required
to experience economic violence, financial abuse, financial shaming, and/or chronic
financial stress to attain or sustain material safety.
• Financial well-being is described as a collection of circumstances that allow people to
meet their current and ongoing financial responsibilities, make purchases without
feeling stress, be ready to deal with unforeseen economic events, and pursue their
long-term financial goals (García-Mata & Zerón-Félix, 2022).
• first generation college students refers to students whose parents never attended
college or did not attain a four–year college degree (Bui, 2002; Ishitani & Reid, 2015;
Martinez et al., 2009; Rice et al., 2017).
• Material safety refers to an understanding – an inner knowing – that one is assured
protection from financial trauma, abuse, shaming, and economic insecurity
(McKenzie, 2021, in press).
• Racially minoritized refers to Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC)
backgrounds and recognizes the historical legacy of white supremacy and colonialism
on how identities are racialized.
• Rural for this study is used synonymously with non-metropolitan (Isserman, 2005).
• Social class refers to an individual’s standing in the economic and social hierarchy
determined by a combination of yearly income, academic attainment, and vocational
16

prestige (Kraus et al., 2017). This includes the habits, signaling, and information
available within each stratum.

17

Chapter Two: Review of the Literature
The following literature review synthesizes theoretical and empirical data regarding the
impact of financial stress on higher education students. Examining financial stress to better
understand the experiences of financial well-being among college students, it is important to
incorporate background information about how students find themselves under such stress and
the emerging financial choice structures. This chapter outlines literature that informs the
exploration of the research question guiding this study, how do low SES students experience
financial well-being and financial stress during their 1st-year at the University of Nebraska? I
start by discussing financial aid as it is one of the most significant investments made by
institutions to support low-income students’ financial well-being. Next, I examine literature
about student identities affecting financial stress and financial well-being, and the effects of
social class. Then I discuss literature relate to the behaviors influencing financial stress and well-
being of college students. Lastly, this chapter discusses the theoretical and conceptual framework
of the study as well as the significance as it relates to the literature reviewed.
Financial Aid
Historically, society understood higher education as a public good. In today’s highly
competitive, global information economy, most people consider higher education crucial for
class mobility, status, and career (Creusere et al., 2019; Roman et al., 2021; Turner et al., 2017).
Attending college is the most common path to socioeconomic progress in the United States, and
few investments produce a better return. It generates more than double the income of equivalent
investments in equities, bonds, gold, or housing over a lifetime (Greenstone et al., 2013). Many
people struggle to afford this luxury since the cost of attendance at many universities (including
18

tuition, fees, lodging, and food) has skyrocketed in the past few decades (Peltz et al., 2021; Meza
et al., 2019; Hicks, 2021).
Many college students have turned to financial aid to limit financial stress. According to
the National Center for Educational Statistics (2021), 77% of first-time, full-time undergraduate
students enrolled in 2-year degree-granting colleges received financial aid in 2010. This figure
climbed when considering 4-year college or university students solely; 86% of college and
university students received financial aid in 2019 (U.S. Department of Education, 2021).
Financial aid has evolved into an essential requirement for students and institutions alike. More
than three-quarters of college and university students in the United States receive financial aid,
necessitating additional examination by researchers and practitioners to ensure that the system
meets the needs of students. The FAFSA Simplification Act, which is scheduled to go into effect
during the 2024–2025 award year and will overhaul the application form, need analysis, and
numerous policies and procedures for colleges that participate in federal student aid programs,
presents an opportunity to examine the current programmatic structures and outcomes
qualitatively.
Historical Perspectives
To understand the roots of financial aid in the United States, one must first explore the
theological underpinnings of patronage and generosity in medieval European colleges. Through
examining financial aid history, researchers and practitioners can better understand how
institutions and policymakers have responded to political influences. Early schools, such as the
University of Bologna established in the 1100s, frequently recognized three types of financial
assistance: student-paid, church-paid, and crown- or state-paid (Thelin, 2011; Wilkinson, 2005;
Fuller, 2014). These early strategies were need-based, and they laid the groundwork for an
19

attitude of assisting students in achieving their educational goals (Long & Riley, 2007; Long,
1994). However, international students, were made responsible for the debts of their fellow
compatriots, so those from the same origin country organized themselves into an association.
Eventually, these countries consolidated their resources to support student loans and educational
needs, aiding those unable to afford an entire course of study (Fuller, 2014).
Many consider the European system as the foundation for philanthropic care of students;
however, according to Wilkinson (2005), “the beginning point [for an ethic of care to students]
was Jesus’ sympathy for the impoverished and suffering, which corresponds to the concept of
supporting pious study” (p. 65). In medieval Europe, wealthy donors would grant financial
assistance to needy pupils in exchange for acts of compassion or penance. Europe had a well-
developed student aid system, setting the framework for colonial colleges in the United States.
Universities increased underprivileged students’ aid to cover low quality lodging and food, while
wealthier students received more expensive accommodations (Cobban, 2002). The support
system also contained pre-determined courses and activities based on socioeconomic level
(Rubin, 1987).
The Financial Aid System in the United States
Continuing this ethic of care ideology, in the United States, wealthy colonists supported
and sponsored primary schools and universities of higher learning. Politically, acts such as the
Old Field School Laws, for example, encouraged a culture of benevolence and school
sponsorship among the wealthiest colonists (MacMullen, 1997; W. Urban et al., 2009). When
John Harvard died in 1639 and left New College, his whole library and half of his estate, or
$795, comparable to $2 million today, a precedent for donor funding was established. With this
20

contribution, New College could hire instructors and construct buildings (Sears, 1922; Urban et
al., 2009).
An archetype for the United States university system, the New College and Newtown
were renamed Harvard College and Cambridge after the English university where John Harvard
studied. By 1643, Harvard had secured funds for its first endowed scholarship from Lady Anne
Radcliffe Mowlson (Harvard University Archives, 1643). She requested that the interest on her
£100 bequest promote the educational pursuits of impoverished students (Fuller, 2014). The
concept of the charitable scholarship spread like wildfire from Cambridge. Early benefactors
offered the first scholarships to William and Mary, Yale, Princeton, and the University of
Pennsylvania (Harvard University Archives, 1643; Thelin, 2011).
Life in the United States underwent enormous changes between the American Revolution
and the conclusion of the War of 1812. As with the Revolution, the Louisiana Purchase of 1803
exacerbated the financial necessity for university development. According to Wilkinson (2005),
scholarship aid was just as critical to the nation symbolically, associating institutions with
republican, antiaristocratic values, as it was financially essential for students. However, support
for financial aid systems within institutions remained a matter of wealthy residents meeting the
needs of students (Thelin, 2011).
In 1838, Harvard launched a new financial support system, a private student lending firm
that provided students with 0% interest loans (Fuller, 2014). Later, government pension
programs for White military personnel and widows provided much more than compensation for
veterans’ service to the country. They fostered a popular notion that the government should pay
for the financial well-being of its residents (Katznelson, 2007; Murray, 1976; Woods II, 2013).
The growing sense of financial support and entitlement, first among veterans and then among
21

civilian residents, paved the way for financial aid in higher education (Fuller, 2014; Humes,
2006; Thelin, 2011).
The Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act of 1952 reauthorized the Servicemen’s
readjustment act of 1944. According to Thelin (2011), in contrast to the original G.I. Bill, the
1952 renewal provided educational benefits only to students enrolled in universities with
stringent quality (McMillian, 1994; Murray, 1976). The 1952 Act delegated quality
determination to accreditation agencies rather than a federal ministry of education. As a result,
the federal government established the current self-government and peer review system
(Christensen et al., 2011; Goldin & Katz, 2007; Thrash, 1979).
Recent National Trends
The trend of governmental involvement in the evolution of financial aid continued to
pace with societal and political will leading to the historic 1965 Higher Education Act, a pinnacle
of President Lyndon B. Johnson’s career. The Act was revolutionary because it guaranteed
government compensation to private lenders upon student loan default (M. A. Murray, 1976;
Simon, 1984; Smith, 2003). The Act solidified federal commitment to higher education as a
national priority. It also required that institutions receiving Title IV funds from students adhere
to nationally accepted accreditation standards (Cohen, 1998; Thelin, 2011; Zumeta & Mock,
1985).
Reauthorizations of the Higher Education Act occurred in 1968, 1971, 1972, 1976, 1980,
1986, 1992, 1998, and 2008, with the most recent expiry being in 2013 (Fuller, 2014; McCants,
2003). However, scholars believe the 1972 renewal laid the groundwork for today’s federal
student aid system (Fuller, 2014; Murray, 1976). A significant investment in the educational
prospects of low- and middle-income children, the Pell Grant, named after Senator Claiborne
22

Pell, did not have to be repaid. By 1980, about 2.7 million students with a household income of
less than $25,000 per year received Pell Grants (U.S. Department of Education, 2021).
Additionally, the Federal Guaranteed Student Loan program, named after Vermont
Senator Robert Stafford, was legislated in 1988. Since its inception, the Stafford Loan Program
has been the primary source of government credit (Mumper, 1997; Radwin & Wei, 2015). The
Pell Grant and Stafford Loan programs established the federal government’s role in student aid.
However, the divide between college access and affordability grew wider as tuition prices began
a decade-long era of triple-digit percentage hikes (Zumeta & Mock, 1985).
College Affordability Today
The complexity of the college admissions and financial aid processes and a lack of
reliable information about higher education costs are substantial impediments for many students,
particularly those from low-income households (Echelberger et al., 2017; Haveman & Smeeding,
2006). College attendance is the culmination of many steps and milestones, and the present
environment is too complex and demanding for many families to understand and traverse
(Mangan et al., 2010). Completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) was
historically complicated. It necessitated dedicated university staff’s assistance to families giving
rise to offices of financial aid on college campuses nationally.
Due to studies indicating that the previous multi-page application to assess eligibility was
a disincentive, the Department of Education now offers the streamlined FAFSA to students and
their families (Cupper et al., 2015). Additionally, according to Kane and Avery (2004), high
school students in the lowest income quintile have minimal comprehension of actual college
tuition levels. Understanding the net price of education after federal financial aid awards are
applied is crucial for determining how effectively the current system meets the needs of students.
23

Existing financial aid policies may be ineffective in eliminating the cost barrier (Kane, 2004;
Mumper, 1997; U.S. Department of Education, 2021).
Long and Riley (2007) reported that historically minoritized students, particularly those
from low-income families and BIPOC students, have substantial unmet financial needs after
applying federal aid to their need analysis. Despite billions of dollars in federal, state,
institutional, and private grants and loans, students struggle to close the gap between their
available resources (including financial assistance and family contributions) and the cost of their
education (Heckman et al., 2014; Lim et al., 2014). Institutions are solely responsible for
determining their annual total cost of attendance and thus responsible for closing this delta.
Policymakers acknowledge that something needs to be done and have supported financial
education to address economic inequality.
Students who experience more significant economic anxiety due to this lack of skill and
temperament are more likely to drop out of college, whether of their own volition or forced
dismissal (Lim et al., 2014). Policymakers, in response, have recommended financial literacy
programs assuming a positive correlation between financial education and reduction in financial
stress (Britt et al., 2015). However, empirical data has shown limitations in financial literacy’s
influence on student behavior (Robb, 2011). Further, some note that public policy affects
economic outcomes more than consumer choice (Brown, 2009; Brown, 2021; Sirota & Pedersen,
2021.
According to IRS Tax Topic 456 (2023), for instance, not only are refunds from student
loans exempt from taxation, but the interest paid on these loans is tax deductible. In contrast,
both scholarships and wages are deemed taxable income. Specifically, according to IRS Tax
Topic 421 (2023), scholarship funds used for “incidental expenses, such as room and board,
24

travel, and optional equipment” are taxable. The IRS tax code discourages low-income college
students from pursuing scholarships, fellowships, or grants as a means of self-supporting
expenses that are under COA, while in school. Unfortunately, undergraduate students are under
educated about the impact of systems on college affordability.
Student Identities Affecting Financial Stress and Well-Being
There is a large amount of research on the characteristics of at-promise students. The
federal emphasis on personal financial accountability necessitates a nuanced focus on
understanding the demographic to tailor social services, especially for those most vulnerable to
financial stress due to poverty. Intersectionality holds significant the experiences of those with
intersecting identities as a result of oppressive forces in society. The findings of this study will
detail the experience of at-promise students through the following intersectional identities: low-
income status, 1st-generation, rural, and racially minoritized. These identities are selected
because they are both meaningful and bear weight as financial identities that influence the
college financial marketplace experience of 1st year students.
First Generation Students
First generation students are students whose parents never attended college or did not
attain a four-year college degree (Billson & Terry, 1982; Ishitani & Reid, 2015). This study will
use the same term to reference both sets of students. first generation students whose families are
inexperienced with college culture may be unprepared for the changes associated with college
life (Bui, 2002; Rice et al., 2017). Even though first generation students frequently regard their
position as a motivator for success, this is not always the reality. They often have fewer financial
resources than their classmates and often require more academic and social support (Roksa et al.,
2020; Stephens et al., 2014).
25

Typically, first generation students devote more time to non-academic duties, such as
work and family responsibilities (Roksa et al., 2020). In addition, they are more likely to be
ethnic minorities and to speak a language other than English at home (Bui, 2002; Engle & Tinto,
2008). Their parents are less knowledgeable about institutional fit and financial aid, are unaware
of variations across college types, and cannot support them in making decisions regarding their
college experience (Rice et al., 2017).
Researchers have discovered that first generation students can be intimidated by their
more affluent classmates and have diminished feelings of belonging (Williams et al., 2013).
Students making a social class shift may feel compelled to adopt the clothes and language of the
new culture’s students and minimize their class background (Granfield, 1991). Rice et al. (2017)
explored the specific obstacles and benefits that first generation college students face. One
obstacle Rice et al. (2017) identified was the lack of awareness about the campus environment.
However, the advantage he outlined was students’ ability to locate where institutional support
and aid were located. Additionally, students were aware of their restricted financial and
opportunity resources compared to peers, which resulted in various issues (Rice et al., 2017).
They felt uneasy socializing with students from a higher social class and were concerned about
returning to a lower socioeconomic group after graduation.
At college, respondents also made a conscious effort to adapt to a new economic culture.
These experiences are comparable to those investigated in racial identity development studies.
Some of these experiences are described by Liu et al. (2010) as internalized classism. Engle and
Tinto (2008) echo these findings, noting that low-income and first generation students are less
likely to engage in academic and social activities promoting college achievement, such as
studying in teams, engaging with teachers and peers, participating in extracurricular activities,
26

and utilizing supportive services. Lower levels of social and educational integration are
intricately connected to finances and financial aid among this demographic.
Racially Minoritized Students
Although this study will broadly focus on the experience of at-promise students at the
University of Nebraska, it is essential to continue with an intersectional lens (Haynes et al.,
2020). Specific to the experiences of Black and Latin* at-promise students, I will highlight a few
historical circumstances that assisted in creating the university environment encountered by these
students today. Systemic racism is embedded within the United States education system and
contributes to negative psychological well-being (Projects & Kapp, 2010) and student stress.
These factors should impact administrators’ delivery of learning models since they impede
students’ perception of material safety. Schunk (2020) determined, based on the extent to which
internal and external factors influence learning processes, racist policies continued to impede
students’ ability to acquire knowledge even after they became eligible to participate.
Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory of human development (1979; 1994) notes that
learning does not occur in a vacuum; instead, internal, and external factors promote or inhibit
knowledge acquisition. Internal feelings of belonging are influenced by external factors such as
the physical environment, cultural and peer models, the absence of structured feedback (D’Lima
et al., 2014; Saunders et al., 2009), and psychological well-being (Projects & Kapp, 2010; Ryff,
2015). In addition, researchers cite emotional well-being, previous experiences, futurity, personal
motivation, and self-efficacy as internal factors influencing learning outcomes of academic or
financial education curricula (Schunk, 1995).
Further bolstered by a virtuous cycle of mattering and belonging, non-minoritized
students have historically experienced social and career benefits from institutions endowed with
27

generational wealth, family networks, and resources (Brown, 2021; Spring, 2016; Stein, 2018;
Wilder, 2014). The theory of cumulative advantage (Ferraro & Shippee, 2009; Gladwell, 2008),
coined the Matthew Effect (Merton, 1968), supports this phenomenon. In contrast, at-promise
students attending Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU), or minority-serving
institutions, are not economically catapulted into adulthood by similar benefits (Lee & Keys,
2013). They instead experience cumulative disadvantage (Ferraro & Shippee, 2009).
Despite substantial financial gains over the past 57 years, Black and Latin* households,
which will make up 13.4% and 18.5% of the U.S. population in 2020, respectively, continue to
earn significantly less than White families (United State Census Bureau, 2021). If students attain
a debt-laden degree, students within the wealth divide find themselves in their parents’ shoes a
generation later when faced with funding their children’s education. For this cause, some have
targeted the reduction of the wealth divide in the United States as a critical long-term solution
(Darity et al., 2018; Noel et al., 2019; OECD Framework for Statistics on the Distribution of
Household Income, Consumption & Wealth Economic Well-Being, 2013).
Examining the persistence of the U.S. education debt today, Dumas and Ross (2016)
explore how systems for racially marginalized people begin well before college graduates enter
the working world. Federal data affirms these promising graduates’ average student loan debt to
be nearly $25,000 more than the average compared to their counterparts (Scott-Clayton & Li,
2016), widening the wealth gap before secondary education completes. While excluding them
from realizing the durable earnings on good debt (e.g., lower home appraisals; Brown, 2021;
Katznelson, 2007), they are exposed to problematic student loan debt at a disproportionately
higher frequency than their non-marginalized peers (Alsemgeest, 2015; Cornelius & Frank,
2015; Norvilitis et al., 2003).
28

Low-Income Status
According to a report published by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES,
2021) in 2020, for the 2015-2016 academic year, approximately 20.2 million students were
enrolled in degree-granting postsecondary institutions in the United States. Among those
students, about 42% (or 8.5 million students) received federal Pell Grants, which are awarded to
undergraduate students with exceptional financial need. In this study, the income level was
limited to $25,000 since that was the level where undergraduate students lost Pell and Trio
Program eligibility at the time. My study defines low-income status as an annual expected family
contribution (EFC) towards college costs of $10,000 or less as it the population available for my
research from PASS II.
The unmet financial need of low-income students is often three times that of middle and
upper-income students (Soria et al., 2014). The additional financial responsibilities placed on
low-income students may cause them to make choices that could impair their academic progress.
Many low-income and working-class college students make financial choices that compromise
their capacity to stay closely linked to their institutions.
In a major national survey, King (2002) revealed that low-income 1st year students were
less likely to study full-time than middle- and upper-income 1st year students at all institutions.
She also found that low-income students are more likely to incur and accumulate more debt than
their middle- and upper-income counterparts (King, 2002). Increased debt loads are troublesome
since low-income students are much less likely to graduate than their middle- and upper-income
peers (King, 2002). Further, according to Engle and Tinto (2008), low-income, first generation
college students are more likely than their affluent friends to: “Delay entry into postsecondary
29

education after high school, attend college closer to home, live off-campus, attend part-time, and
work full-time while enrolled.”
In 2004, those with a college degree earned 75 % more than those with just a high school
diploma (Carnevale et al., 2021). Professionals have begun referring to the choice to attend
college as the “Million Dollar Question” based on the earning potential of a college degree. On
average, persons with a master’s degree make $3.2 million more over their careers, outpacing
those with a high school diploma (Carnevale et al., 2021). Completing college provides various
non-monetary benefits for low-income students, including reduced reliance on government aid
and decreased incarceration rates, healthier lifestyles, higher tolerance, and future engagement in
charity giving (Baum & Payea, 2004).
Social Class
Social class, unlike low-income, is a term that identifies more than family income as it
includes the psycho- socio- cultural experiences associated with income levels. This makes
social class identification important in understanding financial stress. Social class’s material
dimensions include the family’s income and wealth, consumption patterns, vocational factors,
and overall financial capital. The level of education and employment of family members and the
social networks all impact how much money a family has at its disposal (Jorgensen & Savla,
2010; Thomson, 1994).
Beyond these socioeconomic factors, we frequently view social class as a culture,
complete with belonging to a group with norms and socialization patterns (Bourdieu, 1986).
Social class is “inherited” from parents during childhood in the United States. Studies link social
class to student achievement and attainment (Engle & Tinto, 2008; Silver, 2020; Snyder &
Dillow, 2013). Happiness and health are generally greater for higher social classes, while lower
30

social classes report increased stress levels (Mammen et al., 2009; Wilkinson & Pickett, 2006;
Xiao et al., 2008).
Stress research confirms the significant impact that personal financial difficulties have
on the lives of college students (Northern et al., 2010; Ross, 1999). According to the National
Center for Education Statistics, undergraduate tuition, housing, and board costs grew by 42% at
public colleges and 31% at private institutions between 2000 and 2010 (Snyder & Dillow, 2013).
Since socioeconomic status is positively correlated with financial stress and impacts students’
physical and mental well-being (Illing & Liu, 2003), it is critical to explore the concept of social
class.
According to some experts, the United States no longer has different social class cultures
because social classes have no more common shared experiences (Grossmann & Huynh, 2013).
Others point out that despite our unwillingness to discuss social class, it still significantly
impacts people’s lives (Deutsch et al., 2017). Unfortunately, many people consistently adhere to
their social class identity even though their socioeconomic status may evolve over time
(Bettencourt, 2020; Bourdieu, 1986; Kraus et al., 2017; Kraus & Tan, 2015). The distribution of
people by socioeconomic level in the United States differs between demographic groupings.
Whereas overall rates of poverty in the United States were at 11.4% in the 2020 Census, poverty
rates differed by racial group, with the highest rates for Blacks (30%) and Hispanics (22.7%),
and the lowest rates for Asians (8.2%) and non-Hispanic Whites (8.9%).
Official poverty levels do not consider the impact of tax credits, housing assistance, and
regional adjustments. Despite varying poverty rates, similar numbers of Blacks and Whites (33%
and 31%) self-identify as lower class, with Hispanics (40%) self-identifying as a lower class
(Shrider et al., 2021; Deutsch, 2017). From this data, we can conclude that social class
31

categorizing occurs inside and outside the classroom. In addition to self-identifying social class,
social class signaling experiments show that perceivers may adequately identify the social status
of others based on limited information (Kraus et al., 2017). Notably, the classification of people
based on social class has a long-term impact on their life, either by limiting or increasing access
to economic resources or by molding behavior via cultural and psychological variables (Markus
& Kitayama, 2003; Snibbe & Markus, 2005).
Further, complicating the teaching dynamic, social class identities can change over time.
(Deutsch, 2017; Bourdieu, 1986). For instance, an individual with lower educational attainment
and low income can return to school to obtain an advanced degree and a high-wage position.
Perhaps, as a result of economic violence (McKenzie, 2020), the individual who climbed the
socioeconomic ladder by increasing their education, income, or career may have less
sociocultural capital to share with their now college students than others in a similar position
(Deutsch, 2017; Fiske & Markus, 2014).
Similarly, an individual in an upper-class family may experience job or sector changes
that reduce their financial wealth. While this family may lose their job for a short time, its
preexisting social and cultural capital is likely to benefit their experience. Both individuals may
see changes in their “objectified cultural capital,” such as material goods, and their “institutional
cultural capital,” such as credentials. The families do not undergo considerable changes in what
Pierre Bourdieu (1986) referred to as their “embodied cultural capital,” the intangible individual
practices, dispositions, abilities, knowledge, and accent (Bourdieu, 1986) that belong to their
social class. However, Bourdieu stated that individuals with comparable social positions, having
more capital, confront similar social difficulties.
32

Researchers have sought to understand what would happen if they eliminated class
signals from the environment. It may, for example, increase individuals’ empathy for other social
groups by convincing them that they share a lot in common with lower-class people (Oveis et al.,
2009). Hence, emphasizing empathy as a means of reducing people’s propensity to consider
ecological disparity. Individuals from a higher social class group frequently see members of the
lower social class as outsiders who are less human, less capable, and less sociable than members
of their class (Kraus et al., 2017).
Deutsch’s (2017) research showed that more young individuals (ages 18–29) self-
identified as lower-income than had done so in 2008 (39% vs. 25%). During the same period, the
percentage of college graduates classified as lower class rose from 12% to 17%. In recent
decades, one can see parallels between the United States’ wealth concentration in housing
patterns and social class segregation (Pettigrew, 2009). These patterns are critical to examine
because low-income communities are more likely to have inadequate schools, poor housing
conditions, limited access to health care, and a more significant lack of financial well-being
(Deutsch et al., 2017; Hall, 2018; Kezar et al., 2021).
Rurality
Additionally significant to the context of at-promise students at the University of
Nebraska are geographical variables that affect social class. Class segregation, regardless of race,
impairs economic mobility, increasing the risk that adolescents raised in poorer, separated urban
settings would remain poor (Barrera et al., 2001; Mallach, 2015). Sociologist William Julius
Wilson (2003) documented in the 1980s how a lack of steady work exacerbated poverty and
associated challenges in the United States’ inner cities. Researchers see the same difficulties in
other impoverished regions, with the South having the highest poverty rates, followed by the
33

west, mid-west, and northeast. Poverty rates are more significant in nonurban areas than in urban
ones, with the south seeing the most significant disparity (Hall, 2018; Keller & Owens, 2020;
Wiborg, 2001).
Researchers found that the poverty that exists in rural United States connected to a
constrained opportunity structure created by prior social and economic development policies and
contemporary economic transition (Kraus & Tan, 2015; Wiborg, 2001). Many rural areas lack
permanent jobs, public transportation, community investment, and economic and social variety.
They are more socially and geographically isolated and sensitive to structural ecological change
as experienced when these students enter college (Hall, 2018; Wiborg, 2001). As rural low-
income students navigate these personal stressors, financial difficulties are worth additional
investigation because they contribute to the growing burden of student debt (Joo et al., 2008;
Robb, 2011).
The institutional framework in which college students make educational decisions has
evolved significantly—grants and other forms of financial aid have not kept pace with tuition
increases (Echelberger et al., 2017; Soria et al., 2014). Additionally, research shows social class
and race’s significant influence on the increasingly litigious environment related to college
access (Echelberger et al., 2017; Engle & Tinto, 2008; Hall, 2018; Long & Riley, 2007;
Mumper, 1997).
Factors Influencing Financial Stress and Well-Being
Undergraduate Stress
As the gap between the affluent and the poor expands, researchers’ implications show
ramifications for society, economies, and the natural environment showing the negative
consequences of this widespread social trend linked to declining health and well-being (Kraus et
34

al., 2017; Wilkinson & Pickett, 2006). Students’ physical health, emotional well-being, and
academic performance are impacted by their inability to manage stress. College students are
stressed by changes in lifestyle, schoolwork, duties, and relationships. Stress may diminish work
performance, academic achievement, and retention. Students under stress reported diminished
health and quality of life (Ross, 1999).
While financial status shapes the experience of social class, the construct’s actual
influence on psychosocial experiences is broad and multifaceted. Aside from the apparent
relationship to well-being, the impact of economic disparity on individuals’ psychological health
is a rising area of research in the social and economic sciences, with academics investigating
how people interpret or rationalize income inequality (Kraus & Tan, 2015). Approximately 70%
of studies examining the health effects of economic inequality also conclude that societal health
deteriorates as economic inequality increases (Wilkinson & Pickett, 2006). When economic
disparity increases, society suffers (Kraus & Tan, 2015). Further, according to Kraus and Tan
(2015), whether or not federal fiscal policy changes take root depends on several variables,
including the degree to which individuals in the United States acknowledge and are aware of the
actual levels of social class mobility in society.
Universities may aid in preventing mental health issues among students by reaching out
to them and providing adequate interventions. Workshops, psychoeducational programs, and
individual or group therapy are typical components of campus counseling services. A growing
body of evidence indicates that these programs can assist college students in improving their
mental health (Brunner et al., 2014; Francis & Horn, 2017; Hunt & Eisenberg, 2010). Since
finding information about programs on a specific campus that assist students with mitigating
35

financial stressors is constrained (Heller & Callender, 2013), perhaps these strategies can be used
in financial literacy programming.
Social Class Acculturation
In addition, Bourdieu (1986) finds the effect of social class on intrinsic motivation when
discussing money to be culturally linked. For example, he indicates that people’s views and
values are socialized, and how these beliefs influence their preferences for music and dress
connotes a cultural phenomenon. His research also connects social class with disparate points of
view (for example, the relative importance of flexibility vs. control) and social or cultural
preferences (e.g., speech patterns and aesthetic tastes). These characteristics, which ultimately
shape an individual’s habitus, or way of life, are implanted in children during their development
(Kraus et al., 2017). People are more likely to form relationships with those in comparable
situations and with similar interests. As a result, individuals of similar socioeconomic levels
develop collective identities (Bourdieu, 1986; Fiske & Markus, 2014; Kraus et al., 2017).
Further, social class impacts behavior through cultural learning processes; financial
literacy is no exception. For example, those within a family with members of a similar
socioeconomic background and through social-cognitive mechanisms, such as habitual reaction
patterns to a particular social class experience (Fiske & Markus, 2014). Prestige and historical
classifying can also sway social class rank. For example, while a contractor may earn more
money than a teacher, the teacher is likely to have more education leading to a higher social class
ranking.
As such, social class differs from one’s socioeconomic position. It is not defined simply
by a family’s financial, educational, or occupational standing, as some scholars would have us
think (Deutsch, 2017). Practitioners cannot exclude the classroom from this phenomenon.
36

Finally, students looking to transcend their social class of origin may be taught financial
education by practitioners who may not have traveled the same journey (Bettencourt, 2020;
Kraus & Tan, 2015; Spencer et al., 2022).
Financial Help-Seeking Among College Students
Scholars have extensively studied financial help-seeking behavior in medical,
psychological, and social studies (Grable & Joo, 1999). Dating back to 1978, research supports
that help-seeking behavior and values are associated with sex and social class differences (Asser,
1978). Recent research indicates that this trend holds true as males and those with low income
were considerably less likely to inquire about professional assistance for their retirement
investment decisions, while those who had healthier fiscal habits, positive retirement attitudes,
and greater degrees of risk tolerance were considerably more likely to seek professional
financial assistance (Lim et al, 2014; Meza et al, 2019). According to the Grable and Joo (1999)
study, financial self-efficacy may move students experiencing financial stress toward financial
aid. Further, the study highlights that financial aid officers are the primary source of guidance for
funding college, rather than other sources (e.g., family members or friends).
The student’s financial knowledge, level of financial stress, risk tolerance, and money
habits influences their willingness to seek assistance (el Zein et al., 2018; Lim et al., 2014).
According to the discriminant analysis results, younger students who did not own a home and
had significant financial stress levels were more likely to seek help (Grable & Joo, 1999). The
study identifies financial self-efficacy as a theoretical framework for their finding.
In the recent decade, researchers of college students have adopted a more holistic quality
of life approach (Xiao, 2008). They examined not just academic accomplishment but also social
37

and psychological growth, including anxiety, decision making, culture, temperament, health, and
stress (Aydin & Vera, 2020; Benjamin, 1994; Pilcher, 1998; Schmuck et al., 2000; Xiao, 2008).
Suppose students who participate in financial counseling improve their financial knowledge,
change their economic perceptions, and increase their positive financial behaviors due to
financial education. In that case, it is reasonable to speculate that something about the social
interaction of the counseling experience triggered the change (Britt et al., 2015).
Additionally, ecological circumstances and experiences shape youth’s development
(Kitchen et al., 2019), such as gender or ethnicity (Deutsch, 2017; Kraus et al., 2017). On-
campus peer-to-peer financial counseling can be beneficial for students, according to Britt and
colleagues (2011), but economic position persistently affects people’s ideas and socialization
(Bourdieu, 1986; Fiske, 2012; Kraus et al., 2017). Although peer-to-peer counseling may be an
effective programmatic element, additional infrastructure is required. As a result, Bruner’s
scaffolding theory partners the learner with an expert in a comparable position to facilitate
learning (Shunk, 2020).
Joo and Grable (2004) perceived financial knowledge as having a generally favorable
effect and reduced levels of financial stress in college students correlating it to a student’s ability
to handle financially tricky situations based on how much they believe they know. The link
between perceived capacity and actions is called self-efficacy in social cognition theory, a
critical principle of this framework. According to this theory, a person’s belief in achieving
desired outcomes (e.g., low stress) is a component of efficacy expectations shaped by previous
achievement, observational learning, and social reinforcement.
Lastly, social status significantly and frequently impacts student engagement in
extracurricular activities, including financial education (Barratt, 2012; Bradley, 2014; Silver,
38

2020). Student-created extracurricular activities are contingent upon students affiliating and
socializing; student social class strongly influences student affinities and critical consciousness
(Aydin & Vera, 2020). Students frequently demonstrate a sense of self-awareness, self-esteem,
and self-select to engage with school community members who share their cultural, ethnic,
gender, and class identities (Barratt, 2012). Additionally, according to the classification and
regression tree results of Britt et al. (2011), persons with lower purported net worth, higher
anxiety, older, lower perceived financial education, and lower estimated income satisfaction
were more likely to seek on-campus financial counseling. The logistic regression analysis
confirmed that older students had lower net worth, less financial knowledge, and were more
likely to seek assistance (Britt et al., 2011).
Theoretical Framework
This section is an overview of Osvaldo Garcìa-Mata and Mariana Zerón-Felix’s (2022)
theory of financial well-being and Jonathan Fu’s Ability, or opportunity to act: what shapes
financial well-being, as a theoretical framework guiding the study. Garcìa-Mata and Zerón-Fèlix,
(2022) begin by defining financial well-being as a set of characteristics that can be either internal
to individuals (i.e., financial literacy) or extrinsic (i.e., financial markets). The uniqueness of
these variables suggests that financial well-being should be evaluated individually, even though
others share the same characteristics. The theory outlines the use of the conditions that allow
individuals to pursue or complete a specific action (e.g., choosing a college based on merit
scholarships). According to García-Mata and Zerón-Félix’s (2022), some scholars have
discussed financial well-being as if it were a time-bound condition. However, their definition
emphasizes that financial literacy does not always affect the formation of routines or long-term
39

commitments. They posit that others have interpreted it as an expanding continuity throughout
life, emphasizing its changeable nature.
Notably, since feelings of financial satisfaction can fluctuate over time and may be
substantially influenced by an individual’s current circumstances, the model uses a longitudinal
approach instead of considering financial well-being as a snapshot in time. Their suggested use
of multiple measurements is significant and influenced my decision to analyze qualitative data
that spans a period, deemphasizing situational differences. After analyzing the evolution of the
concept of financial well-being and seeking to develop a comprehensive definition, Garcìa-Mata
and Zerón-Fèlix (2022) established seven propositions of financial well-being.
Garcìa-Mata and Zerón-Fèlix’s (2022) provided a socially sound model for defining and
conceptualizing financial well-being but deemphasizes the direct impact of financial systems and
fiscal policy on individual experiences, such as the unemployment rate. Jonathan Fu’s (2020)
research shifts the emphasis from the importance of personal financial literacy and formal
financial inclusion for individuals to contextual-level predictors by examining structural and
institutional characteristics of specific financial sectors. He determines that current initiatives to
address socioeconomic outcomes through financial literacy and inclusion may be too narrowly
focused. Fu’s findings argue that even if individuals are financially literate and participate in
formal financial markets, structural and institutional characteristics of financial sectors may
hinder or promote their financial well-being.
Fu’s (2020) theory expands Garcìa-Mata and Zerón-Fèlix’s (2022)
seventh proposition. By integrating the two into a single theoretical framework, the
theories complement McKenzie’s (2020) theory of material safety, which emphasizes the
importance of viewing financial capability within a broader context that addresses issues that
40

contribute to financial insecurity. From the theories, I developed a conceptual framework that
classifies such features as those that enhance or inhibit decision-making when choosing or
utilizing institutional products, and structures that offer accessible alternatives or complements to
marketplace products (2020).
Conceptual Framework
As indicated by the literature review, the higher education industry can influence the
experiences of low-income students by delineating, through policy and practice, what it means to
be financially aided throughout college (Long, 2004). If the federal aid and colleges initiatives
are successful, students form an integrated self that reflects the personal financial well-being
traits believed to be needed to manage their new post-college earnings (Consumer Financial
Protection Bureau, 2015; Joo, 2008; Mandell & Klein, 2009). However, more research on the
subject is needed.
To create a framework that was contextually, sociologically, and financially sound, I
have chosen to integrate these theories to create a research-based system to analyze my data. The
framework supports the examination of the impact that exposure to institutional resources and
structures may have on 1st year students’ financial well-being and opportunities to systemically
limit their financial stress. This lens requires perceiving the student as a consumer of
commodities provided by stakeholders, such as financial education and institutional
socialization, in order to achieve a particular outcome, such as decreased financial stress and
increased financial well-being. Accordingly, the analysis evaluated whether students’ financial
well-being improved after exposure to a range of university resources.
The integrated theories used to form the conceptual framework were based on a theory-
based definition of financial well-being (García-Mata & Zerón-Félix, 2022) and a context-level
41

systemic analysis of what influences financial well-being (Fu, 2020). This study’s research
question examined the influence of the university system on the experiences of financial stress
and the acquisition of financial well-being of 1st year students. As such, the conceptual
framework examines institutional systems and structures as a socialization entity, a vehicle for
financial inclusion, and an enhancing or inhibiting contributor to students’ financial education
and financial capability (Fu, 2020). Personal support networks and the resources embedded
within them, also known as social capital (Bourdieu, 1986), impact this domain. These variables
and a student’s socioeconomic status affect their financial literacy and contribute to their
financial capability (Fu, 2020; Gerrans et al., 2013). Figure 1 depicts a graphical representation
of the conceptual framework proposed.

Figure 1
Conceptual Framework

42

Understanding a student’s personal history and experience is the first step in customizing
tools to improve their financial well-being. Institutional resources, structures, and student
socialization directly impact a student’s financial capability and well-being. According to
García-Mata and Zerón-Félix (2022), a comprehensive theory of financial well-being is guided
by seven propositions. In this study I will focus on the following five of the seven propositions in
their model. It is important to note that the environmental and cultural context of the 5th
proposition will be addressed as a part of the personal support analysis of Chapter Four,
segmenting for a thorough review of the institutional support context which aligns with Fu’s
(2020) theoretical framework. The other two propositions mentioned are not necessarily
incorrect or irrelevant to the study of financial well-being. However, there may be limitations or
challenges associated with using them as part of the primary framework for this study.
One limitation of focusing on behavioral biases or needs/wants is that these frameworks
may not fully capture the complex social, economic, and political factors that can influence
financial well-being. For example, financial well-being can be impacted by broader societal
trends such as rising income inequality, systemic racism or discrimination, or changes in the
labor market. Additionally, factors such as access to financial services, education, and resources
may be critical for promoting financial well-being, but may not be fully accounted for in a
proposition focused primarily on individual behavior or needs.
Another potential challenge with relying solely on these propositions is that they may not
fully capture the subjective experiences and perceptions of individuals regarding their own
financial well-being. For example, an individual may report feeling financially secure and
satisfied despite not meeting traditional benchmarks for financial success, such as possessing
enough income or net worth to meet basic needs. Understanding these subjective experiences and
43

perceptions may require a more nuanced and context-specific approach that considers multiple
factors beyond behavioral biases or needs/wants. As such, the five propositions I will focus on in
this study are:
• Proposition 1: People seek to maximize their financial well-being. Financial well-
being is essential for individuals to satisfy their needs and wants, as Lu-Lerner (2020)
argues that maximizing an individual’s well-being corresponds to maximizing their
self-interest. This subjective evaluation of motivations and emotions is crucial for
achieving life satisfaction and contentment.
• Proposition 2: Financial knowledge equips people to make better financial decisions,
thus contributing to financial well-being. The research highlights the importance of
financial education in market operations, as it contributes to competitiveness drivers
(Willis, 2009). Individuals who are financially educated evaluate risk-performance
ratios and promote innovation in financial services. However, Willis (2009) highlights
the fragility of the rational behavior model due to information asymmetry, consumer-
state burden, excessive optimism, and cognitive constraints.
• Proposition 3: Behavioral biases influence financial well-being by misestimating
financial outcomes and risk. Financial well-being stresses the emotional connection
between financial satisfaction and well-being. Nyström and Romberg (2017)
discovered that regardless of financial knowledge, perseverance and avoidance of risk
are directly related to financial well-being. According to Rutledge and Sokol-Hessner
(2019), loss aversion is related to expected feelings and direct experiences of gains
and losses, but not their long-term psychological effects. This limitation impacts
44

consumers’ financial well-being by limiting their capacity to predict all potential
outcomes.
• Proposition 4: Consumption decisions and financial behavior ultimately determine
financial well-being. Modigliani and Brumberg (1954) said that the study of the
benefit and motivation to save could be used to define financial well-being. They
believed that people choose how much they spend and why they save for four main
reasons:
• to leave a legacy for their children and grandchildren,
• to reach goals when their current and future incomes don’t match how much
they want to spend,
• as a precaution, to be ready for an emergency,
• and out of fear of the unknown, which drives them to build up a reserve.
• These explanations explain the idea of and ways to measure a person’s
financial well-being, with a focus on desires, spending limits, and time
constraints.
• Proposition 7: Environmental, cultural, and institutional contexts influence an indi-
vidual’s financial well-being. The concept of financial well-being is influenced by
cultural, institutional, and household variables. Salignac et al. (2020) utilized an
ecological life course perspective to define financial well-being, taking into account
the influence of the household (i.e., family, parenthood), community (i.e., financial
institutions, cost of living), and society (financial markets, public policy). Financial
capability, which includes knowledge, skills, attitudes, and motivations, motivates
consumers to act rationally and make informed choices. Culture and institutions also
45

play an important role in ensuring that individuals can appreciate their resources and
meet their financial obligations.
Summary
This study aims to add to the literature on student financial stress by examining financial
well-being at a large, public, 4-year higher education institution. In addition, the study will
contribute to the existing literature on undergraduate stress, student loans, and financial aid by
emphasizing five propositions of financial well-being. The following chapter will describe the
qualitative methodology that guided the research as well as the data collection and analysis
procedures.

46

Chapter Three: Methodology
In order to better understand how students’ experience financial well-being and financial
stress during their 1st-year at the University of Nebraska, this study takes a qualitative approach
informed by the narrative inquiry. Narrative inquiry “uses stories to comprehend the meaning
of behaviors and experiences, the shifting circumstances and challenges of events, and the
variances and complexities that surround people’s actions” (Kim, 2016, p. 6, 11). The problem
and purpose of this study are discussed below, along with the research design and methods.
Research Methodology
This study was concerned with the subjective experiences of the participants and how
they related to other influences, such as social class and other individuals who had experienced a
similar phenomenon (Matua & Van Der Wal, 2015). As such, I employed a qualitative approach
to understanding their postsecondary financial stress and well-being (Creswell & Creswell, 2018;
Lochmiller & Lester, 2017; Merriam & Tisdell, 2016) as it enabled me to identify both themes
within narratives and across narratives to shed light on students’ experiences and provide
evidence upon which to extend our understanding of their experiences in order to inform
practices and policies to support at promise students’ well-being and mitigate their stress. The
sensitive nature of the realities of growing up in poverty and how it affected a person in and out
of school required an interview format where participants felt secure and comfortable relating
stories that could help someone else in the future.
As such, I used a narrative inquiry method. Narrative inquiry is a research methodology
that aims to understand people’s experiences, such as their experience of financial well-being or
stress by narratively examining them in-depth over time and in context (Clandinin & Caine,
2008). This approach considers the place, temporality, and sociality of individuals’ experiences
47

within larger cultural, social, and institutional narratives (Clandinin & Caine, 2008). The study
aimed to convey the perspectives of 1st year college students who grew up in poverty. They
discussed their educational experiences and the social class factors that influenced their financial
well-being or financial stress, if any. This study allowed participants to reflect on their lived
experiences and provided readers with insight into those experiences. In Chapter Four, I briefly
retell stories about each participant and then discuss themes that emerged across students.
Overall Design
Data were drawn from a more extensive study employing a longitudinal, mixed-methods
design approach. Using quantitative and qualitative data, the PASS research team examined
granular, longitudinal moments, relationships, and programmatic and institutional elements that
enhance students’ psychosocial and academic outcomes (Kitchen et al., 2019). The study had
broader research questions that examined relationships between educational and psychosocial
outcomes. Quantitative and qualitative sub-teams organized and gathered quantitative and
qualitative data for the PASS I team (Hallett et al., 2020). Each sub-team team’s meetings, data
collecting, and data analysis were headed by a co-principal investigator (Hallett et al., 2020). The
quantitative and qualitative sub-teams met twice each month to guarantee consistency in data
collection, analysis, and conclusions (Hallett et al., 2020). This paper used the qualitative data
from the 2021-2022 cohort of the PASS II project.
This qualitative dissertation used a descriptive approach rooted in a narrative nonfiction
design to complement the larger PASS II study focusing on how students’ financial well-being is
experienced over their 1st-year of college. This study focused on interview data collected at
multiple points during a select group of 1st-year student’s 1st-year in college. The complexities
of help-seeking behavior of at-promise students as outlined in the literature review (Grable &
48

Joo, 1999), highlights how understanding the ways in which students experience financial stress
and financial well-being necessitates an analysis of the sources to which students may turn for
advice and subsequent experiences. Specifically, I sought to understand students’ negotiation of
financial well-being and financial stress during their 1st-year. Although scholarship funding is a
notable resource for a group of students who participated in the study, financial stress was still a
factor as students navigated basic needs (e.g., food, housing, technology) and financial security
for themselves and their families.
Participant Selection and Setting
The study took place at three University of Nebraska campuses. The University of
Nebraska Kearney (UNK) is located in a rural area with an enrollment of approximately 4,000
undergraduate students (Kezar et al., 2022). The UNK campus mainly attracts students from
rural towns. The 2nd site is the UNL campus, a sizable land-grant research institution that enrolls
students from around the United States and Nebraska. University of Nebraska Lincoln (UNL)
serves over 20,000 undergraduate students. The University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) is a
metropolitan area, four-year institution (University of Nebraska System, 2022). Students at
UNO’s program come from various racial, cultural, and linguistic backgrounds. UNO enrolls
approximately 15,000 students, the majority of whom commute (University of Nebraska System,
2022). The university was initially open-access and intended to serve community college transfer
students, which explains why 90% of its students are commuters (Hallett et al., 2022).
Additionally, the sample for this study included some of the students who participate in a
program called Thompson Scholars Learning Communities (TSLC). The TSLC program, which
assists 200–600 at-promise students during their first two years of college, is a multifaceted
initiative with the goal of easing the transition to college and encouraging a path to degree
49

completion. Although the majority of participants identify as first generation college students,
this is not a requirement for participation. A 5-year scholarship covering approximately the cost
of tuition and fees is awarded to program participants (Kezar et al., 2022). Every pupil comes
from a low-income family with a maximum anticipated family contribution (EFC) of $10,000.
The curriculum consists of both in-class and extracurricular components and is supported
by staff, peers, instructors, and other support personnel. The curriculum consists of in-class and
out-of-class components designed to improve student achievement. The goal of the TSLC
program is to maintain year-round connections between educators and students through
programming and classroom activities. The investigation includes students enrolled in the TSLC
program and at-promise students who could participate in alternative campus programs. Due to
its open application process and substantial financial resources, the program is attractive to a
diverse spectrum of students, including those from low-income families and those who identify
as racial minorities.
The larger longitudinal research questions guiding the PASS study required a mixed
methods approach, with the qualitative team providing sense-making of the quantitative findings.
My research solely involved qualitative interview data supporting the study’s narrative inquiry
method. In qualitative research, purposeful sampling is often favored over random sampling to
find and pick the most information-rich examples to use available resources effectively.
Purposive sampling entails the purposeful selection of a participant based on the traits the subject
has. It is a nonrandom or intentional sampling approach that does not need underlying theories or
a predetermined number of participants (Etikan, 2016). According to Creswell (2009), choosing
the appropriate individuals and situations for qualitative data collection is critical since they are
central to the researcher’s grasp of the themes under investigation.
50

Selecting the study sample entailed a multi-step process. First the larger PASS team
administered a survey to all University of Nebraska students who had an EFC of $10,000 or less.
Then researchers purposefully selected a group of 49 students to interview by oversampling traits
of interest, such as students who were undecided and those who identified as BIPOC, first
generation, and/or male (Hallett et al., 2020). Of the 49 participants interviewed in the larger
PASS II study, students identified in the following ways:
• 29 women, 17 men, and three gender queer/non-binary
• 24 TSLC students, 25 non-TSLC students
• 31 first generation and 18 continuing generation
• 14 Hispanic, 14 White, 10 Black, six Asian, four mixed races, and one as other
• 35 with a declared major in their first semester, 14 with an undeclared major
For this study, I analyzed a selection of 10 participant interviews to understand how
students navigate financial stress, practiced financial wellness, and garnered support from the
institution. Researchers from the larger PASS II team suggested the students to include in this
sample who have shared information about their mitigation of financial stress. Half of student
participants in my sample are from the Thompson Scholars Learning Community, a program that
offers students a robust financial aid scholarship and wraparound services. High school seniors
applied for the award and as a requirement for earning a 5-year scholarship, candidates must
enroll at one of the University of Nebraska campuses and engage in a 2-year support program
that includes shared academic courses, college success seminars, peer mentors, and specialized
professional counseling. Other student characteristics are described in Chapter Four.
51

Data Collection Procedures
This dissertation research used individual interviews with PASS II students. The USC
Pullias research team collected this data as part of the wider PASS II study in Year 1 of the
project (2021–2022). The inclusion of these two distinct data sources increases the research’s
credibility via data and methods triangulation (Flick, 2007; Lochmiller & Lester, 2017). The
PASS II team conducted a pretest and interval surveys at the start of the 1st-year (Fall of 2021).
PASS II researchers then conducted a series of semi-structured interviews with a subset of
students from the initial survey sample given to both TSLC and non-TSLC students. Interviews
were collected over a year in the fall of 2021, spring, summer, and fall of 2022. In accordance
the research of García-Mata and Zerón-Félix (2022) that found financial well-being to be a time-
bound condition, data for this study derive from those longitudinal interviews.
Students were interviewed in November and December 2021. Once students responded to
the email invitation and indicated their willingness to participate, researchers scheduled one-hour
appointments with each student. Students for the sample were drawn from those who participated
in the quantitative questionnaires, so they had previously consent to participate in the study.
Before completing the first interviews, researchers had access to student survey data. The PASS
II researchers studied the survey responses and tailored the student interviews accordingly, while
also relying on an established protocol (see Appendix A).
For instance, if a student indicated on their pre-test that they had a poor sense of
belonging, they were able to inquire about this explicitly when discussing their experiences with
sense of belonging on campus. Belonging, validation, mattering, academic self-efficacy, and
social class were the primary constructs explored in the Fall 2021 interviews. The constructs for
the spring interviews in 2022 added constructs about financial stress to the aforementioned
52

constructs. The PASS II team developed the protocols and conducted the one-on-one interviews
virtually, and students received an incentive for doing the interviews as well as the surveys. The
protocols for that interview are in Appendix B.
Data Analysis Procedures and Presentation of Result
To help answer the research question, “information-rich examples” (Patton 2002, p. 40)
were chosen for me by the PASS II team for my dissertation explicitly because of the wealth of
information they provided. In Patton’s (2002) article, “the phrase intentional sampling refers to
the selection of examples that are rich in information regarding topics that are of primary
relevance to a research project.” (p. 46). Qualitative research design is emergent; therefore,
the analysis process is iterative, not linear (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). In qualitative research,
data analysis starts with the initial data collection and continues throughout the inquiry (Merriam
& Tisdell, 2016). The team analyzed the data using a codebook with definitions, including
financial stress, that was used to code data in Dedoose according to an iterative approach of
qualitative data analysis: (a) preparation, (b) familiarity, (c) transcription, (d) memoing data, (e)
coding, (f) theming, and (g) creation of a coding map (Lochmiller & Lester, 2017).
I employed a multi-step coding technique that included data-driven codes and theory-
driven coding using both descriptive and a priori codes. A descriptive code describes a central
theme derived from the data, and an a priori code is tied to literature or research frameworks
(Lochmiller & Lester, 2017). The first phase was to organize the data for analysis into a
comprehensive repository of all the study’s data (Creswell & Creswell, 2018; Patton, 1999).
I first established a database to arrange the interview transcripts for analysis. I
safeguarded the database on a P-drive with a password. Next, I started with the analysis of
participant survey questions and interview data line-by-line and into a code list to identify
53

emergent themes. My data analysis focused on the commonality of first-hand experiences inside
a particular group to describe the nature of the experience (Creswell et al., 2007) rather than an
explanation of the phenomenon. Additionally, I adhered to qualitative parameters concerning
personal knowledge and subjectivity, centering the individual perspectives and understandings.
The initial phase of coding focused on sections of the data that matched the first draft
code list I created after reviewing the selected data excerpts pulled by the PASS II team from
Dedoose related to financial stress. Realizing that my initial code list was insufficient to
represent the students’ experiences, I adjusted each of the three succeeding coding phases to be
increasingly detailed and nuanced, which lead to the identification of categories and ultimately
themes (Braun & Clarke, 2006). In the second and thirrd analytic review, I downloaded excerpts
into Excel for memoing while studying the Dedoose interviews alongside the excerpts for each
proposition to further nuance or collapse codes, chronicle emergent themes, and linkages to the
conceptual and theoretical frameworks.
Writing memos served to facilitate my analysis of the data and included reflections on the
research process and the emergence of themes (Maxwell, 2013; Saldaña, 2013). Lastly, through
coding and theme development, the qualitative content analysis also allowed for the detection of
contextual significance (Bruan & Clarke, 2006). The recurrence of patterns and trends illustrated
the importance of key findings (Bruan & Clarke, 2006; Lochmiller & Lester, 2017). Lastly, I
chronicled instances where the themes overlapped or differed to ensure that the themes presented
were displayed numerically to show their significance to the students’ personal stories.
I present the case study findings systematically and thematically in Chapter Four as
suggested by Creswell and Creswell (2018). As such, each theme is outlined and presented in
54

terms of qualitative narrative to provide its associated to both the theories and the conceptual
framework.
Trustworthiness and Role of the Researcher
Denzin (1978) suggested a variety of methods to ensure trustworthiness. This study made
use of data triangulation and methods triangulation to ensure trustworthiness of findings (Flick,
2007). Data was triangulated through analysis of interviews collected from 10 students at various
timepoints. This technique ensured that different perspectives were considered when determining
research findings. Methods triangulation is accomplished through the review of a variety of data
sources including surveys and in-depth interviews.
To further enhance trustworthiness of findings, the research entailed sustained
participation in the field collecting data through a variety of methods including observations,
interviews, and a variety surveys. Over the course of eight years, the PASS team worked across
all three University of Nebraska campuses to establish and maintain meaningful connections
with students and practitioners. Since the researchers were able to establish rapport with the
study’s participants and track their progress over time, the results have a higher likelihood of
trustworthiness (Lincoln & Guba, 1986).
Additionally, I also engaged in peer debriefing with my chair, the primary investigator of
the project. Collaboration with a peer who provided questions and contributed to a conversation
about the process and its interpretations are required for peer debriefing (Creswell & Creswell,
2018; Lochmiller & Lester, 2017). To improve credibility even further, I also participated in peer
debriefing with other members of the research team, given their availability. Participating with
the research team in the first round of coding for the larger PASS II study on financial stress was
key. This allowed me to begin making sense of the data prior to beginning the data analysis for
55

my own research. Multiple researchers discussed the codes and the developed a codebook,
engaging in investigator triangulation (Flick, 2007) and increasing the credibility of the research.
Lastly, as indicated in the analysis section, I used “thick descriptions” while reporting my
findings. Transferability denotes the applicability of qualitative research findings in diverse
contexts (Braun & Clarke, 2013) and is increased by providing a “thick description” of the
study’s setting, participants, and contexts (Braun and Clarke, 2013; Merriam and Tisdell, 2016).
I use rich narrative descriptions containing direct quotes and survey information to provide the
reader with further information on how the study’s findings might be used in other contexts.
Transferability is achievable because the reader can grasp the specific context and findings and
draw reasonable parallels (Lincoln & Guba, 1985).
Positionality
My personal and professional experiences contributed to my interest in this topic. As a
first generation Black student and researcher, I understand how access to higher education affects
economic development. Despite being raised in a household that emphasized the need for a
college degree, my parents—who selected careers in ministry and community service—were
limited in their exposure to wealth-building networks due to our familial social class.
Consequently, although I was a high performing student in high school, I lacked financial aid
guidance. Two of my closest friends, both from upper middle-class families, applied and were
accepted to Stanford University. We were reluctant to discuss money with family friends, so I
was ignorant of Stanford’s comprehensive affordability structure. Due to sticker shock, I avoided
applying to Stanford or any other prestigious institutions. I did not want to embarrass my family
by declining acceptance because of money.
56

Instead, I attended an under-resourced college for my undergraduate degree since their
advertised tuition rates were considerably less expensive. I was the first to attend college, so my
family was proud without regard of the institution I selected. At the time, I do not believe any of
us understood the differing opportunities or the networking gap associated with college selection.
As a student from a lower middle-class family pursuing a bachelor’s degree, I worked through
school and relied on student loans. Inspired by my efforts, both of my parents and all my four
siblings are now college graduates, several with advanced degrees. All of us have student loan
debt.
Through this study, I add my voice to the body of student financial well-being research
using an asset-based inquiry lens. I add my voice to the field as a Black female scholar at a
prominent institution that contributes $8 billion annually to the Los Angeles region and beyond
and serves as a significant economic engine for California. I add my voice as a current upper-
class mother concerned with the economic fate of her grandchildren yet to be born. Lastly, I add
my voice as a granddaughter whose ancestors from rural America marched and sang toward
racial and economic justice. I make this choice because I believe in the power of education. As a
former financial aid professional, I witnessed firsthand how education transforms lives and
empowers communities.
Ethics
This study drew upon collected data by researchers who strictly adhered to institutional
review board (IRB) requirements. The research team was trained to meet high ethical standards
when collecting data, including ensuring that participants understood their voluntary
participation and that their identity would remain confidential. I worked with de-identified data
57

to ensure participant privacy as I analyzed data (Glesne, 2011). I worked closely with the PASS
II research team to ensure that the data was managed according to strict ethical standards.
Summary
This chapter summarizes the research’s methodology and relevant components, including
a description of participants, data gathering techniques, and analytic processes. Chapter 4 will
focus on the research’s detailed data and results. The findings and implications of the study for
practitioners in the sector are continued in Chapter Five. Recommendations for future research
are then explored as a strategy to assist educators in working more successfully with low-
income, racially minoritized, and first generation student populations to bolster their financial
well-being.

58

Chapter Four: Findings
There is a gap in our understanding of the relationship among social class identification,
affordability, and student financial well-being. The present study uses data from the USC Pullias
Center for Higher Education’s Promoting At-Promise Student Success Project (PASS) to explore
the relationship between student social class identification, college affordability, and financial
well-being at-promise students attending the University of Nebraska. I used the research of
Garcìa-Mata and Zerón-Félix (2022) and Fu (2020) to guide my analysis. In turn, I respond to
their call for research that identifies the conditions under which a student can fulfill financial
obligations without experiencing stress.
The objective of this study was to understand the impact of systems on the financial well-
being of 1st year college students in order to improve the higher education experience of
economically disadvantaged students. The primary research question guiding this study is: How
do low SES students experience financial well-being and financial stress during their 1st-year at
the University of Nebraska?
This study aims to provide institutions, administrators, and students with information that
can shape policy, theory, and practical actions. In this chapter, I share stories of financial stress
and financial well-being drawn from the interview transcripts of 10 at-promise students. I then
offer thematic synopses of themes across students then discuss the themes within each story and
how themes relate across all stories. The stories and related thematic descriptions of data are
intended to respond to the study’s research question and illuminate how students experience
financial stress and well-being. Furthermore, the stories and thematic descriptions highlight
systemic concerns facing higher education. Before discussing the results, the demographic
information of the 10 participants is provided. I then share a profile story of each participant in
59

order to provide the reader with a nuanced portrayal of how low-income students are currently
experiencing financial stress and financial well-being. In Chapter Five, the discussion of the
findings will discuss study findings and put the results of this study in conversation with the
broader literature.
Participant Profiles
There were 10 participants in the study. To safeguard the identity of each participant, I
deidentified each participant and assigned them a number. The sample included seven
participants who identified as female, two as male and one as non-binary. Three participants
identified as Hispanic: three as White, two as Black, one as Asian, and one as multiracial. Five
participants attended UNK, five attended UNO, and one attended UNL. Six participants were
first generation college students, and seven had a high school GPA of over 3.0. All participants
were from Nebraska. One participant was from an immigrant family, and one was from a refugee
background.
I derived the following profiles from the 10 participants’ responses to questions about
their social class, education, and the relationship between them. To best understand the students’
experiences in relation to the research question, these profiles serve as introductions to each
participant’s psychosocial experiences and personal financial narratives. Each profile discusses
the participant’s definition of social class, their family’s social class identification, and its impact
on their education experience, if any. As outlined in the literature review, social class identity,
unlike low-income identity, is a term that identifies more than family income as it includes the
psycho- socio- cultural experiences associated with income levels. This makes social class
identification important in understanding financial stress. Researchers can get insight into how
60

individuals construct meaning, make decisions, and navigate the world around them by analyzing
the complexities of the tales students share about their experiences.
Participant 1
Participant 1 identifies as a Hispanic female, a first generation college student whose
GPA is above 3.0. She is from a small town in Nebraska and is Pell-eligible. She states:
My mom had a really low-paying job. Right now … she’s back to working, but over her
pregnancy, when I was in high school, I would work my part-time job and then I would
buy stuff for her and for me. Or like, if my dad couldn’t pay something, I’d be like,
“Okay, I’ll help you.” … And like, we just kinda split responsibilities up.
According to Participant 1, “poverty is poverty,” and its many levels cannot be fully
understood unless experienced. In this context, Participant 1 characterizes her family as typical
and her mother’s profession as “low-paying” but steady, except for her pregnancy with
Participant 1’s sibling. When she was in high school, Participant 1 would work part-time and
“make purchases for herself and her mother.” The participant would assist with family bills when
her father couldn’t pay them. She describes this occurrence as her family dividing up
responsibilities. Considering her mother’s perspective on this matter, she believes contributing to
the family is more akin to “paying it forward” than paying your parents back.
Participant 1 characterizes social class as a “totem pole” that rate “how much money you
have” and imagines that there are checkmarks on each level of the totem pole. Participant 1
would classify herself as “lower-middle class” despite her lengthy explanations of her connection
to the realities of poverty. She explains that she lives in a “very rural area.” She views that her
family owns a house and cars and her capacity to assist her parents in affording their
possessions as evidence that her family would be classified as lower middle class. Participant 1
61

describes her mother’s employment as a “housekeeper” and her father as a construction
professional. She says that her father works long hours by choice, while her mother works part-
time so that she can care for her brother and other household matters. She believes this job
schedule was limiting and that when they first purchased their home, they felt “low-income”
while renovating. To illustrate her low income status, she remembers a time when she asked her
mother, “Mom, after church, we should go [get Chinese food],” and her mother responded, “We
don’t have money.”
Participant 1 claims that throughout her first few weeks of college she “struggled” with
the notion that she did not “deserve” to be there. Compared to her peers, she viewed herself as
“broke,” whereas “maybe nobody else” seemed to be. Participant 1 received need-based
scholarships to fund her college tuition, which interestingly made her “very stressed out.” The
participant revealed that her family’s lower SES reduced her perception of her intelligence.
However, as the fall semester continued, she discovered that her initial thoughts of not being
smart enough needed to be corrected. She now realizes that everyone comes from various
backgrounds and that she should be grateful for the assistance she has received.
Narrative Themes
Three qualitative analysis themes presented in Participant 1’s profile were the impact of
poverty on personal and family experiences, the subjective nature of social class and its effects
on self-perception, and the influence of financial status on access to education and opportunities.
Participant 1 believes that poverty cannot be fully understood unless experienced. She
characterizes her family as typical of those experiencing poverty, with her mother’s profession
being “low paying” but steady and her family dividing up responsibilities to pay bills. Participant
62

1 also views poverty as a totem pole that rate “how much money you have” and imagines that
there are checkmarks on each level of the totem pole.
Participant 1 sees social class as a subjective concept, with her own family being
classified as a lower-middle class despite her connection to the realities of poverty. She attributes
this classification to her family owning a house and cars and her capacity to assist her parents in
affording their possessions. However, Participant 1 also acknowledges that her family felt “low-
income” when they first purchased their home and that her mother’s part-time employment as a
housekeeper is limiting.
Participant 1 acknowledges that her family’s lower SES affected her perception of her
intelligence and struggled with the notion that she did not “deserve” to be in college. However,
she received need-based scholarships to fund her tuition and realized that everyone comes from
various backgrounds and that she should be grateful for the assistance she has received. Overall,
Participant 1’s experiences illustrate the impact of financial status on access to education and
opportunities.
Participant 2
Participant 2 identifies as a White female, a first generation college student whose GPA is
above 3.0. She is from a small town in Nebraska and is Pell-eligible. When asked how social
class has impacted her, she states:
Probably just the whole hierarchy of socioeconomic statuses, and in my life, the fact that
I’m at the bottom in my town, and I like to say this – we were reading a piece in English
about a person being broke, but my first question was are you broke? Are you city broke
or are you 500-town population broke? Because there’s a difference. People who are
bankrupt in places like Kearney, move to my town because obviously the cost of living is
63

different. All of the things are different. And so, my first question is always what kind of
broke are you though? Let’s be real. Is the electricity still on? Let’s talk about that.
Participant 2 defined social class as the ranking of SES levels. She believes it is essential
to delineate location as part of SES identification. According to her, the cost of living in a region
influences how low-income people live; in fact, the rurality of an area defines SES situations.
Participant 2 recalls disputing an author’s characterization of a character as “broke” in an English
class text. She inquired whether the character was “city-broke” or “population-of-500-town
broke?” She describes how insolvent individuals in areas like Kearney relocate to her hometown
of in rural Nebraska, where the cost of living is cheaper.
In addition, when Participant 2 went to Omaha to attend college, she expected to live off
campus and recalls that the typical monthly apartment rent was between $1,000 and $1,500. In
contrast, renting a “whole house” for $200 per month was possible in her town. In addition, she
acknowledges that while the emotions connected with poverty may be similar for her and a low-
income individual in San Diego or Omaha, she feels the actual conditions are distinct. She
extrapolates that local context matters to the experiences of poverty around the world.
Participant 2 considers her family “quite poor,” both economically and “socially,”
indicating that they are “at the bottom in her town.” She claims three to four families in her town
are the most socially vulnerable, with her family ranking last. Her mother has multiple “mental
disabilities and learning disabilities,” and her father has been “sick” and [frequently
hospitalized], leaving her “take control in the household.” She stated that it has always been this
way; therefore, she “[doesn’t] have any resentment.” Being at the bottom creates a scenario
where she can only move upward. In this sense, she feels that her socioeconomic status has not
influenced her ability to get into college because she was always a “smart kid.” As a result, she
64

has “worked hard” to achieve her academic goals. She considers herself “smarter than the
[typical] person” because she has had to find out many things independently.
Narrative Themes
The three themes presented in Participant 2’s narrative are the experiences of poverty,
the impact of poverty on daily life, and understanding social class. Participant 2 discusses her
family’s challenges due to their low socioeconomic status. She talks about her mother’s
disabilities, her father’s illnesses, and hospitalizations, and how these have left her in charge of
the family. She also talks about how being at the bottom creates a scenario where she can only
move upward.
Despite these challenges, she has worked hard to achieve her academic goals and
considers herself brighter than the typical person because she has had to find out many things on
her own. Participant 2 defines social class as the ordering of socioeconomic levels depending on
income level. She also acknowledges that location is essential to SES identification and that the
cost of living in a region influences how low-income people live. She disputes an author’s
characterization of a character as “broke” in an English class text and explains how insolvent
individuals in areas like Kearney relocate to her hometown of Stuart, Nebraska, where living
costs are cheaper.
Participant 2 describes how the rurality of an area defines SES situations and how the
emotions connected with poverty may be similar for her and a low-income individual in San
Diego or Omaha, but the actual conditions are distinct. She talks about the cost of living in
different areas and how it affects the daily lives of low-income individuals. She also extrapolates
this situation to the world’s poor, highlighting how poverty affects people differently depending
on their location.
65

Participant 3
Participant 3 identifies as a Hispanic non-binary female, a first generation college student
whose GPA is below 3.0. She is from Nebraska and is Pell-eligible. She states:
We never really have had, not that I can remember … like, money troubles. But we
also—if we’re gonna go somewhere—we have to save. We can’t, like, go spending willy-
nilly … when my oldest brother graduated … high school, he was originally gonna come
here. But it was, like, we didn’t have enough money to pay for him to go to college, and I
think that if he did go to college, I would have been able to get a lot more help with
FAFSA and understanding how dorms work.
Participant 3 streamlined the notion of social class to “wealthy, middle, and poor.” She
considered her family to be “middle-class” because both her parents are employed and own a
home and pets. Although Participant 3 cannot recall having severe financial issues in the past,
she acknowledged that if they chose to take a vacation, they must save and not live a high
consumption lifestyle. She worked to have what she called “pocket money.” Participant 3 is a
“first generation” college student. Her family lacked the funds to “pay for her brother to go to
college” ahead of her, so she had “no help with [the] FAFSA.”
When comparing her family to others at her institution, Participant 3 said she is “on par”
with her friends. Nevertheless, she could not recall any instances in which a peer, professor, or
administrator referenced social class or income since she began college. Participant 3 claimed
that she is unaware of “interact[ing] with any [students who had] wealth” at her college and feels
that television creates the false impression “that social class is a big thing in education.”
Participant 3 said various socioeconomic groups have distinct strengths that they bring to class or
college, but she needs to [learn for sure] and appears unwilling to ponder. She subsequently
66

admits that, although living on campus, she has spent most of her time at college in her dorm
“play[ing] video games, attending classes, or working.” Participant 3 believes that her
“coworkers” are the closest representation of her peer group. Participant 3 opted to move from
her original Nebraska institution to the current one after her 1st–year since it was “cheaper,” she
knew more classmates, and she wanted to alter her major.
Narrative Themes
The three major themes presented in Participant 3’s narrative are the definition of social
class, her family’s financial situation, and the experiences of first generation college students.
Participant 3’s understanding of social class is based on three categories: wealthy, middle, and
poor. She believes her family falls into the middle class because her parents are employed and
own a home and pets, but they have to save money for vacations and cannot live a high
consumption lifestyle. She is a first generation college student, and her eldest brother relied on
federal financial aid to pay for his studies.
Participant 3 is unaware of any instances where peers, professors, or administrators have
mentioned social class or income in college. She does not believe that socioeconomic status is a
significant factor in education. Participant 3 has limited engagement with college life beyond
academics, spending most of her time in her dorm playing video games, attending classes, or
working. She decided to transfer from UNK to UNO after her 1st–year because it was less
expensive, she knew more classmates, and she wanted to change her major. This decision
suggests that financial considerations play a significant role in her decision making process.
Participant 4
Participant 4 identifies as a White male whose GPA is above 3.0. He is from a large city
in Nebraska and is Pell eligible. When describing his family’s social class, he states:
67

My dad, he has a bachelor’s. He used to work at. … But then, it was my sophomore year
of high school, so three years ago, he got laid off from there. That was definitely a big
breaking point since then. He hasn’t been able to find any work similar. So, he’s doing
contracting, like construction kind of work, like decks and bathrooms and kitchens and
stuff. That was a big income hit. They went from living pretty all right, like yeah, we’re
doing good, to ooh, not good.
Participant 4’s perception of social class was influenced by race, family wealth, and
location [whether you live in a large or small city]. Participant 4 is from a large city in Nebraska
and considers his family “middle lower class” because his “bachelor’s” degree holding father is
the primary earner. While his father did not make “much income,” Participant 4’s parents
prioritized sending him to “private elementary and middle school,” leaving little money for other
expenses. Participant 4’s mother, a master’s degree holder, remains at home to “care for [him]
and [his] sister.” The loss of Participant 4’s father’s office position caused a financial dilemma
for the family. His family’s “breaking point” was reached when he entered the building and
contracting industry.
Participant 4 contends, however, that it is typical for family financial assistance to cease
once a student reaches college. Being “an adult in charge of his own life,” he makes his own
money and considers it normal to cover his educational expenses. As a delivery driver, he relies
on federal aid and scholarships. Participant 4 drove over the summer before school to earn
enough money to “purchase a laptop” and other supplies. Participant 4’s weekends on campus
are “lonely” since his classmates frequently depart home for the weekend. He often opts out of
the “3–hour drive” home to save money on gas. Participant 4 recalls that the “happiest thing”
68

that occurred to him during his 1st–year at university was when Chipotle provided him and a
friend complimentary meals during the grand opening of its small college location.
Narrative Themes
Participant 4’s narrative presents three major themes: social class, education, and college
social life experiences. Participant 4’s perception of social class is influenced by race, family
wealth, and location. He considers his family to be middle lower class because of his father’s
limited income, although his parents prioritized sending him to private elementary and middle
school. Participant 4’s mother has a master’s degree but stays at home to care for him and his
sister. The loss of his father’s office position at a billing company caused a financial dilemma for
the family.
Participant 4 contends that it is typical for family financial assistance to cease once a
student reaches college. He makes his own money and relies on federal aid and scholarships to
cover his educational expenses. Participant 4 worked as a delivery driver over the summer to
collect enough money to purchase a laptop and other supplies. Participant 4’s weekends on
campus are lonely since his classmates frequently depart home for the weekend. He is often
lonely and looks forward to working over the summertime for “pocket money” to ensure he has
things like a laptop and supplies. He works while at home with his family during the summer
months.
Participant 5
Participant 5 identifies as a Hispanic male, a first generation college student whose GPA is
above 3.0. He is from a small town in Nebraska and is Pell eligible. When asked about his social
class he states:
69

I feel like [social class] is kind of a motivation. Obviously, no offense to them, but I feel
like I just don’t want to be in [my parents] position. I love my parents so much, but I just
feel like personally for me I have some goals that I want to achieve, and I feel like that
doesn’t really reflect on where I came out of… I want to be more financially stable, just
have more income, a lot of different assets that I can hold, and just overall have a goal for
life for me personally. Don’t get me wrong, it was a nice life. I had nothing to worry
about. But I feel like I have more goals that are persuading me to keep going.
Social class or financial capacity to pay for college was the most critical factor for
Participant 5 when deciding which institution to attend. Participant 5 is the first of his six-
member family to attend college. He came from “very diverse city” in rural Nebraska that he
declared has only “one social class.” Participant 5’s mother, like Participant 4’s, is a homemaker,
and his stepfather is the sole provider. Participant 5 thinks he should not burden his family
financially with his decision to attend college. He was “fortunate” enough to earn two
scholarships, but because of the rules, he could not accept both. If he attended his preferred
school, he would have to pay for some of his expenditures, so he selected a smaller Nebraska
university to [save money]. Participant 5 considers himself “lucky to accept this scholarship” that
supports his education.
Participant 5 classifies social class as working class, middle class, upper class, and lower
class. He argues that a person’s categorization is influenced by race and ethnicity. Because his
father earns “enough money to sustain [their] large family,” the participant said his family is
“lower middle class.” While they did not have much money, he never felt anxious because they
owned a house and a car. Prioritizing earning money, Participant 5’s father “drop[ped] out” of
70

high school. After having Participant 5, his mother returned to “finish high school” after having
her children. Neither parent “went to college.”
Participant 5 did not believe he could concede a correlation between his academic
experience and social class. Although he believes that social class might inspire a student to
perform well in school, he advises against judging people based on their social class. Participant
5 expressed his wish to be “financially stable” and to have more than a well-paying career. As a
finance major, he desires to acquire “[several revenue-generating] assets” in addition to his
income, and he feels that setting such ambitious “goals for life” pushes him to continue attaining
success.
The first five participants’ introductions and social class identifications are diverse.
Knowing each student’s profile helped me comprehend their experiences within their
circumstances when interpreting the findings. The last set of profiles below comprises people
who contribute to the sample’s variety and bring nuances that race, SES, and location alone
cannot supply.
Narrative Themes
The three major themes presented in Participant 5’s narrative are the significance of
social class or financial capacity when choosing a college, the impact of social class on academic
performance, and achieving personal financial stability. Participant 5’s perception of social class
is that it’s the most critical factor for selecting which college to attend. He considers his family to
be lower middle class because his father earns enough money to support their large family, and
they own a house and a car.
Participant 5 believes that social class is influenced by race and ethnicity. He thinks that
social class may inspire a student to perform well in school, but he advises against judging
71

people based on their social class. Participant 5 wishes to be financially stable and aims to have
several revenue-generating assets in addition to his income as a finance major. He considers
himself lucky to have received scholarships to support his education and chose UNK to save
money.
Participant six
Participant 6 identifies as an Asian female whose GPA is above 3.0. She is from a large
city in Nebraska and is Pell-eligible.
So, for me, I think [middle class] is having a roof over your – over your head, not having
to worry about food and if you’re gonna eat on certain days, having clothes, and then just
your daily necessities, so even hygienic stuff and personal stuff. Yeah, like a car, even—
I mean, a car is a luxury … we’re comfortable.
The three major themes presented in Participant 6’s narrative are the impact of social
class on college experiences, financial aid, and societal responses toward social class. Participant
6’s perception of social class is that it is divided into three levels: upper class, middle class, and
lower class. She considers her family “middle-class” due to their stable housing, food security,
clothing, and car. She recognizes that she is “privileged” to “live comfortably” and have all she
requires given to her. Participant 6 was initially afraid of her socioeconomic status’s influence on
her college experience, mainly because of the need to take out student loans.
She is thankful that she “had a lot of opportunity” and believes her “social class”
qualified her for need-based aid, but she warns that the requirements are stringent, and even a
slight increase in income may disqualify a student. She suggests that students learn how the
FAFSA works and how it can create access opportunities even though “you’re still middle
class.” Participant 6 believes in being “open-minded and empathetic” towards people from
72

different social classes and understanding how social class affects people’s transition into
college.
Narrative Themes
Fear was the primary emotion Participant 6 had while contemplating her socioeconomic
status’ influence on her college experience, especially since it meant taking out student loans.
Later, Participant 6 intends to attend graduate school, where she anticipates utilizing loans to
finance her degree. Participant 6 was concerned that she would also need to borrow throughout
her undergraduate studies. She expressed thankfulness that her social class qualified her for
need-based aid. Instead of considering one’s socioeconomic status as a hindrance, Participant 6
suggests learning how the FAFSA works and how it links to one’s expected family contributions.
According to this viewpoint, a socioeconomic position can create access opportunities. But she
warns that the requirements are stringent, and even a slight increase in income may disqualify a
student.
Participant 6 divided social class into three levels: “upper class, middle class, and lower
class.” Participant 6 considers her family to be middle-class since they have stable housing, food
security, clothing, and a car which she deems a “luxury.” Although she concedes that her family
does not have an “excessive amount of money,” Participant 6 considers herself “very privileged”
to enjoy a comfortable lifestyle and have all she requires given to her. Like her classmates from
the region, Participant 6’s mother is a stay-at-home mom. At the same time, her father, who has a
bachelor’s degree, supports the family by working in information technology in Nebraska.
Participant 7
Participant 7 identifies as a Black male whose GPA is above 3.0. He is a refugee student
and is Pell-eligible. He states:
73

I was born [an immigrant]. I came here to the United States in 2016, never spoke English
before … in high school I took personal finance. So, I definitely know how to get myself
around and I always try to use the refund as an emergency fund. Yeah, but I already
know that I have a couple of dollars that are in my savings that I know I would have for
this, and this is what’s been given to me to use it for school materials and stuff. Because
trust me … the books are very expensive for no reason, you know. Just like … last
semester I bought a $250.00 book. Yeah, so my English composition wanted. We only
got to read a couple of pages in that book, and I was like you just spent $200.00 and
some, and we have not even read even 20.
According to Participant 7, social class is a relative term. Participant 7, immigrated to the
United States in 2016 under duress and did not grow up in what he would consider “a
community.” African culture heavily impacted his perspective, so he was unaware of class
stratus principles. Being an immigrant child, Participant 7’s family had “few possessions” during
his boyhood. Since then, they have acquired their first house in the United States and have a son
in college. This sort of drastic social class transition overshadows traditional concepts related to
social class’s influence on college access. Participant 7 asserts, “Whenever you label individuals
based on their money, education level, or anything else, you are attempting to divide and
discriminate against them [based on] their income or education level.” Participant 7 spends his
Friday mornings participating in a community organization transcending SES, age, and race.
He states that “if Jeff Bezos or Elon Musk wanted to [spend time] in his social class,” he would
welcome him and could also learn a great deal from them.
Participant 7 asserts that, in general, African parents had high aspirations for their
children and wanted them to pursue professions like physicians and judges. He desires to become
74

“a physician” and understands that the journey will be [long and expensive]. He’s calculated the
total cost to be several hundred thousand dollars, which he intends to cover using scholarships if
he “maintains perfect grades.” Participant 7 has clear occupational goals for now but is still
trying to decide whether he will be successful once he reaches them. He indicated that this
[anxiety] is based on not feeling successful after receiving his achievements in high school,
whether it was a notable award or a scholarship. He “took personal finance” in high school and
“[maintained] an emergency fund.” The “motivation” that some of his peers associate with social
class and education has created a disconnect for Participant 7. Although he has heard that lower
SES students feel motivated to excel, he has not personally experienced this connection.
Narrative Themes
The major themes presented in Participant 7’s narrative are social class, refugee
experiences, and aspirational goal attainment. Participant 7 believes that social class is a relative
term and labels individuals based on their income or education level, which divides and
discriminates against them. He also believes that African parents have “high aspirations for their
children” to pursue professions like “physicians and judges.” Participant 7 desires to become a
physician and understands that the journey will be long and expensive. He has clear occupational
goals for now but is still trying to decide whether he will be successful once he reaches them.
Participant 7 experiences anxiety due to not feeling successful after receiving his
achievements in high school. The motivation that some of his peers associate with social class
creates a disconnect for him. He also participates in a community organization that transcends
SES, age, and race and believes that he could teach something to even Jeff Bezos or Elon Musk
if they spent time in his social class.
Participant 8
75

Participant 8 identifies as a female with two or more races whose GPA is below 3.0. She
is from a large city in Nebraska and is Pell-eligible. When describing a typical day at school, she
states:
A regular day, depending on if I work eight hours or a double shift, I wake up at 5:00
a.m., get ready, leave for work if I work at my job that’s 20 minutes away, I leave the
house by 5:30 a.m. If I work at my job that’s close, I kind of procrastinate in bed and then
leave by like 5:50. I get to work at 6:00 a.m. and clock in. I work until 2:00. If I’m
working a double, I work until 10:00 p.m. Then if I get off at 2:00, I probably—what do I
do when I get off at 2:00? I always say I’ll take a nap, but I never have time to take a nap.
“The rich, the poor, the average, the average, and the prestigious,” Participant 8 said. She
considers her family to be working class or lower middle class, despite her confusion with the
phrase. Participant 8 spends a significant portion of her spare time working and feels that her
grandmother’s retirement significantly impacted her family’s financial security. Participant 8
grew up in a nontraditional home, between residences with her biological mother, grandmother,
and with other “family friends.” She labeled these family friends, who helped raise her, as “upper
middle class.” She referred to them as her “other parents” and characterized them as “healthy and
stable” because they were both college graduates with successful occupations. Participant 8
spoke with pride about the lake house they had just finished constructing and found them a
[source of inspiration for her goals.]
Although her other parents’ socioeconomic status thrills Participant 8, it also depresses
her as she contemplates her biological father’s SES accomplishments. She was perplexed that her
father “worked so hard that [she] could cry,” but “he didn’t get anything … he deserved.”
Participant 8 finds social class outcomes to be, at best, perplexing. To her, people who worked
76

the most are the most financially stressed because it seems hard labor is disassociated with
monetary outcomes. Participant 8 recognized a correlation between socioeconomic status and
career paths. College attendance and a dual-income lifestyle distinguished her “other parents”
from her biological parents. She argued that substantial unseen impediments frequently impeded
persons who wished to transition social classes. Understanding how they may attend college
without high GPAs or family wealth is an obstacle.
Narrative Themes
Participant 8’s narrative presents three major themes: social class, family and home,
education, and work. Participant 8 reflects on the different social classes, how income levels
determine it, and how her family belongs to the working class or lower middle class. Participant
8’s perspectives on social class are complex and multifaceted. She recognizes that income levels
place people into different social classes but struggles to define her own family’s social class
status. Despite her confusion with the phrase, she feels that her family is working-class or lower-
middle-class.
Participant 8 is inspired by her other parents, who are college graduates with successful
occupations, and she sees them as a source of stability and health. At the same time, she is
frustrated and confused by the lack of social mobility, she observes, noting that the hardest-
working individuals are often the most financially stressed. Participant 8 recognizes that
attending college and having a dual-income lifestyle are significant factors that distinguish her
other parents from her biological parents. However, she notes that unseen obstacles can prevent
people from transitioning to social classes. Participant 8’s decision to attend college and her
willingness to work two jobs demonstrate her commitment to improving her financial situation
and achieving her goals.
77

Participant 9
Participant 9 identifies as a Black female, a first generation college student whose GPA is
below 3.0. She is from an immigrant family, lives in a large city in Nebraska, and is Pell-eligible.
She asked to discuss social class, she recalls:
There was like a Black organization in my school that was helping people fill out FAFSA
so I had a White friend and, I don’t know, she was really nice and I love her, but her dad
is in the military so I didn’t know that but I asked her, “Hey, are you going to this
FAFSA event?” and she goes, “What’s that?” and after her I realized that there’s so many
people that don’t know what FAFSA is because they don’t need it and she told me that
her college is paid for because her dad is in the military, which I think that’s fair, but
there’s also people who don’t have to worry about FAFSA because their parents can just
afford it … to me just like with my other friends when we think of FAFSA we think of it
as like a big deal to us … but for someone who’s not worrying about FAFSA they have it
a little bit easier than someone who has to worry about FAFSA because now they have to
go find another way to pay for school.
As an immigrant, Participant 9 identified her family’s socioeconomic status as “lower
class.” Participant 9’s understanding of social class ranking, and transitions are devoid of
entitlement. She feels that when immigrants who “live off government assistance” arrive in the
United States, they automatically fall into this SES. Participant 9, like Participant 7, sees
socioeconomic class as a [transitory state]. An emphasis on success and effort to move oneself
ahead must be vital in determining someone’s worth. Someone may have to work harder than
others to “achieve the same thing,” but this is not a deterrent to progress.
78

Despite Participant 9’s conviction that suffering makes one strong, she also asserted that
attending college is “about money.” Participant 9 recalled feeling anxious and overwhelmed
about completing the FAFSA after being accepted to university despite all odds. Students who
socialize across [racial, gender, and socioeconomic] lines could feel alone throughout the
financial aid application process. Participant 9 recalled inviting a friend to accompany her to a
FAFSA event, but her companion, who was white and a military child, had never heard of the
FAFSA application. Participant 9, unfamiliar with VA benefits, assumed their family could “just
afford it.” The absence of financial burden involved with affording college made it appear to her
that individuals from a better socioeconomic status had it easier. However, she still believed that
with determination on her side, she could attain the same goal.
Narrative Themes
The three major themes in Participant 9’s narrative are social class, education, and
financial aid. Participant 9 identifies her family’s socioeconomic status as lower class. She
comes from a family of immigrants who came to the northern United States in 2014 before
relocating to Nebraska three years later. She believes that immigrants who rely on government
assistance fall into this SES automatically. Her parents did not speak English well but found
occupations as factory workers. Participant 9 sees socioeconomic class as a transitory state and
emphasizes that success and effort are vital in determining someone’s worth. She also feels that
social class is influenced by race and gender. She comes from a culture rooted in the belief that
women should not go to college and feels that, in the United States, her race is looked down
upon.
The participant indicated that she did not have any personal or family networks who
could assist with applying to college or financial aid, so she relied heavily on educational support
79

programs. She indicated that as a first generation college student who did not meet all of the
qualifications to attend her university, she was able to receive information from this academy
about pathways that would strengthen access for students like her. Participant 9 said that
attending college is “all about money.” She recalls feeling anxious and overwhelmed about
completing the FAFSA after being accepted to university despite all odds. Students who
socialize across racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic lines could feel alone throughout the financial
aid application process. She recognizes that substantial unseen impediments frequently impede
persons who wish to transition social classes, and she believes that understanding how they may
attend college without high GPAs or family wealth is an obstacle.
Participant 10
Participant 10 identifies as a White female, a first generation college student whose GPA
is above 3.0. She is from a large city in Nebraska. She describes her social class:
My dad has a blue-collar job, obviously. He works at a fast-food restaurant. We’ve
always been kind of like … just scraping by. We have a little bit of money to … buy nice
things every once in a while, but I’ve never had enough money to go on vacation. The
one vacation I can remember, my dad and I did a day trip to [a theme park] and came
back the same day. … I never really lived really lavishly or anything of that nature. … I
always tried to dress up, I guess. I was the kid that would always wear jeans that—in high
school, because I didn’t wanna look like I was poor. I didn’t wanna look like I had the
luxury to wear sweatpants. … I didn’t have enough money to buy nice jeans. So, I bought
two pairs of nice jeans and then wore them all the time. So, it’s definitely something that
I’m very aware of, I guess.
80

Participant 10 believes that socioeconomic status is “very important.” Originally from
Omaha, Participant 10 believes her family is blue-collar or lower-middle-class. Her father, now
divorced from her mother, works as a fast-food restaurant employee, giving her a secure life.
Participant 10 remembered having a small amount of extra money, despite being accustomed to
working and having occasionally helped her father with the mortgage. She recalled fondly eating
out and enjoying their favorite family activity, going to the movies. Since it was only the two of
them, her father was quite “open about discussing his financial situation.” Participant 10 believed
that many individuals’ reluctance to discuss money stems from the negative connotations
associated with social standing.
Participant 10 recalls not feeling psychologically safe among her high school peers. She
knows people make “snap judgments” about socioeconomic status and has never desired to
“appear lower middle class her entire life.” She purchased and routinely wore two pairs of good
jeans to avoid seeming impoverished. Participant 10’s experience benefitted her; she always
learned to get to know someone before judging them based on their appearance. Participant 10
has observed a disparity between her SES and that of her three roommates since starting college.
All her roommates were local, so she noted that this wealthier suburb in Nebraska is “a touch
pricier” than where she lives.
Although they have not had any social troubles because of their different socioeconomic
status, the participant noticed that they spent money much more freely. Participant 10 works, has
an emergency fund and considers herself “stingy” since she is conscientious about eating from
her meal plan rather than dining out. Participant 10 is no longer avoiding looking poor but rather
avoiding feeling poor.
81

The 10 participants’ introductions and social class identifications helped me better
understand their experiences within their circumstances when interpreting the findings and
isolating related themes. The next section will introduce the overlapping themes related to the
research question.
Narrative Themes
The major themes presented in Participant 10’s narrative are socioeconomic status, peer
experiential disparities, and poverty. Participant 10 believes that socioeconomic status is very
important, and that people make snap judgments about it. She is aware of the negative
connotations associated with social standing and has always been conscious of not appearing
lower middle class. She believes that her father’s openness about their financial situation has
helped her understand the importance of money. Participant 10 has observed a disparity between
her SES and her roommates since starting college. She has noticed that her roommates spend
money much more freely than she does, and she attributes this to their different SES.
Although they have not had any social troubles because of their different socioeconomic
status, she is aware that her friends’ neighborhood in Nebraska is a touch pricier than where she
lives. Participant 10 is no longer avoiding looking poor but rather avoiding feeling poor. She
works, has an emergency fund, and considers herself stingy since she is conscientious about
eating from her meal plan rather than dining out. She is aware that people make snap judgments
about socioeconomic status and has learned to get to know someone before judging them based
on their appearance.
82

Key Findings
The section below moves away from focusing on individual students’ stories and presents
findings thematically across student experiences. The findings in Table 1 will be explored and
compared to the existing literature in Chapter Five.

83

Table 1
Thematic Presentation of Findings for Financial Well-Being for 1st Year Students
Theme Key findings
Financial challenges
The most notable element of their
financial challenge is its
relationship to their nuanced
experiences
Students experienced a lack of funds for basic
needs, socializing, transportation, ancillary
school related expenses, and a reliance on
student loans resulted in financial stress. They
experienced significant time management
issues related to working. They had significant
emotional stress associated with student loan
debt.
Social capital challenges
The participants’ social capital
experiences varied widely, even
among individuals with similar
ses backgrounds, due to
differences in cultural values,
geographic location, and personal
experiences.

Students experienced social isolation related to
being left alone on the weekends, feeling out of
place or like an outsider. They also felt
pressure to conform based on a lack of
representation, cultural understanding, or a
sense of inferiority. Students dealt with
adversity by working, progressing, toughening
up, or observing what was deemed successful.
Frequently, a friend aided in their ability to
cope.
Personal support
Family and friend support is vital for
optimizing financial well-being
and reducing stress related to
financial matters.
Although students understood the limitations of
their family’s finances and did not wish to
burden their families with the cost of their
college education; they acknowledged the
importance of their support. Participants
generally viewed their family’s hard work to
support them as a privilege that made their
lives more comfortable and relieved them of
anxieties.
Educational support system
At-promise students experienced
financial stress needing more
resources, funding, and timely
financial information.
When considering college affordability, the fees
and costs beyond the institutional COA were
unknown and unconsidered in the college
selection process. The students sought support
from teachers, advisors, church, and counseling
but not necessarily from campus financial
professionals.

84

Findings Related to Students’ Financial Well-Being
The five financial well-being propositions provide structure for addressing the study’s
research question: How do low SES students experience financial well-being and financial stress
during their 1st-year at the University of Nebraska? Below are the five propositions from the
theoretical framework through which I will examine the findings:
People seek to maximize their financial well-being.
1. Financial knowledge equips people to make better financial decisions, thus
contributing to financial well-being.
2. Financial well-being stresses the emotional connection between financial satisfaction
and well-being.
3. Consumption decisions and financial behavior ultimately determine financial well-
being.
4. Personal and institutional contexts influence an individual’s financial well-being.
(García-Mata & Zerón-Félix, 2022, p. 160)
To illustrate the complexity of propositions, I describe the challenges students faced and
how they capitalized on their personal and educational support frameworks. Each of the
following sections that explore the propositions’ findings will do so from these asset-based
support frameworks. All participants identified individuals from their personal lives external to
school, such as family or friends, who they felt supported their financial well-being and college
pursuits. Proposition 5 of the theoretical framework states that personal and institutional contexts
influence financial well-being. As such, I chose to include personal and educational support
findings for each of the five propositions and to explore institutional context as its own finding to
ensure each area of this proposition was presented thoroughly for differing stakeholders.
85

Maximization of Financial Well-Being
This section addresses the first proposition of financial well-being (García-Mata &
Zerón-Félix, 2022), namely how students seek to maximize their financial well-being. Themes
included the importance of budgeting and managing finances while pursuing higher education,
experiences, particularly in terms of social engagement and participation, their parents’ values
and aspirations shape the participants’ desire for SES advancement, and finally, the text
emphasizes how working during college is a critical component of financial well-being for many
students. However, it can create time management challenges.
Challenges
Budgeting, transitioning socioeconomic status, and working throughout college were
three critical indications of the pursuit to maximize financial well-being. Based on their
socioeconomic status, six of the 10 participants felt they missed social opportunities their peers
enjoyed. The feelings of disparity stemmed from a decline in social engagement (due to having
no money to engage), a lack of time to participate due to employment, and a lack of budget for
spontaneous social activities. Participant 4 explained how the high price of gas affected his
ability to socialize and his overall state of well-being:
Gas recently has just been going ridiculously expensive. So, I’ve been trying to stay here
when I can, and it’s pretty—like, it’s really lonely on the weekends. There’s, like, both
my main, probably, two best friends, they leave. One of my, one of them, has left almost
every weekend, like, both semesters. And the other one got a girlfriend this semester [out
of town]. So, he leaves now every weekend.
In addition, it was noted that it was difficult for him to deal with his isolation due to
having to limit his spending to continue working for a delivery service. Two participants did not
86

want to go out with friends if it meant spending money and admitted they “lost out on some
experiences because [they were] kind of cheap.” Decreasing time spent with peers in favor of
work was a simple decision.
Participant 2, who received financial help, observed that her peers who did not receive
financial aid were relieved of the pressure of comprehending, applying for, and managing this
process. Other educational costs, such as equipment and supplies, could be prohibitively
expensive for college students, preventing them from completing the required experiences.
All 10 participants sought SES advancement. Three of the 10 participants said their
immigrant parents instilled their desire in them, whose goals shifted from reaching the United
States to ensuring their children’s success. In this sense, their success in the future was not just
their own but also intimately tied to their parents. Three participants did not want to look
ungrateful or disrespectful to their parents by expressing their want for more. Participant 9 stated,
“In the future, I would want something better, but for my parents, this is the best they can do, and
given the fact of where they came from, how much they had to sacrifice, it’s understandable, so
I’m thankful.”
Participant 7’s desire to become a physician was not a result of cultural pressure but
rather his desire to “help out” his parents. Three participants sought to guarantee that their desire
to leave their SES position did not appear to be motivated by avarice. Two respondents desired a
“comfortable life” or “financial stability.” Participant 6 believed her SES change was required to
“make everyone feel included, and not let voices go unheard” and to ensure that people’s voices
were not overwhelmed by their “place in the world.” Improving one’s circumstances required
overcoming the social stigmas connected with a lower socioeconomic status and exerting effort.
87

Three participants wanted to be financially secure and prosperous or increase their pay
after graduation but were currently trying to meet their basic needs. All 10 participants
mentioned work as a component of their financial well-being strategy. When attempting to
juggle employment, school, and peers, the participants discovered they had time management
issues. Participant 7 remarked that he lost his late-summer job due to schedule difficulties with
his summer classes. He consequently decided not to work because he had sufficient scholarship
funding to meet his expenditures. Nine of the 10 individuals sought employment during the
academic year or the summer to improve their financial well-being. Working helped to provide
sufficient funds for transportation, groceries, meals, books, and school supplies.
Two participants held numerous jobs throughout the academic year to either support their
primary career ambition [PRN nursing experience] or to discover the optimal employment mix.
Yet, the increase in work output [38 hours in four days] necessitated a reduction in course credit
hours or left less time for extra homework support when required, both of which slow the
students’ process toward degree attainment. To avoid this, two participants opted for summer
employment over employment during the school year. Six participants were open to year-round
work. Two participants felt that employment is equivalent to financial independence and “adult
life.”
Personal Support
Although several participants stated that they do not wish to burden their families with
the cost of their college education, they cited the importance of family or friend support in
optimizing their financial well-being. One participant was less stressed because they did not have
to “worry” about their family’s financial situation. Four participants thought they had the
backing of their families to reduce housing costs by living at home if necessary.
88

Three participants received or were regularly offered support from extended family or
friends, reducing stress for the participants and their parents. Participant 5 noted that his uncle’s
financial expertise and “different experiences” with money encouraged him to follow his advice
regarding money management. As a result of his time spent with this relative, he is less
susceptible to credit card misuse, he says.
Family members could be depended upon to provide employment prospects in their
sector, alleviating job-searching anxiety. Two participants discovered that parental
interdependence [bill calculation, grocery shopping, government document transfer] increased
confidence in personal self-esteem and financial competence. One participant viewed their
family’s hard work as a “privilege” because it made their life more “comfortable” and relieved
them of anxieties about food, shelter, and everyday necessities.
In addition, individuals thought that receiving advice from their parents, family, or
friends helped [lower stress and increase concentration]. As early as 7th or 8th grade, parents
evaluated their child’s employment possibilities and were not satisfied that academics were the
best route to financial security. Nonetheless, their commitment to their child drove them to attend
“parent-teacher conferences,” where they obtained a greater understanding of how employment
and academics intersected. Participant 1 recognized the significance of her parents’ support for
her future endeavors.
Educational System Support
The researchers posed access and social class-related questions to participants (Appendix
A–C). Scholarships and financial aid were the primary resources for optimizing the participants’
economic well-being. All participants viewed institutional support as an excellent means of
supporting students in overcoming social class obstacles and covering school-related expenses.
89

When questioned about the factors that influenced their decision to enroll at one of the
University of Nebraska campuses, several participants mentioned cost or affordability. The
financial aid obtained by three participants alleviated stress because they “didn’t have to worry
about buying books and paying tuition.” Participant 6 continues, “I knew people who were
worried about paying—when they would … [apply] for multiple jobs and [apply] for even more
scholarships to get things paid off.”
Although these praises recognize the generosity of the Buffet Foundation and the
University of Nebraska, additional gift aid was required to decrease student loan debt. Federal
loan refunds are an alternative if scholarship options (flight training scholarship) do not
materialize (Participant 9). Obtaining scholarships is not always simple; she felt she had to
“battle for a [lot of] scholarships.”
Financial Knowledge Equips People to Make Better Financial Decisions, Thus
Contributing to Financial Well-Being
This section will discuss students’ financial knowledge acquisition and correlated
increases in financial well-being. The section addresses the primary themes of financial
challenges encountered by college students, namely low-wage employment, single-earner
families, and first generation status. It also discusses the role of personal support in money
management, as well as financial resilience in overcoming financial obstacles. Additionally, the
section underscores the need for educational system support in navigating the complexities of the
campus financial marketplace and understanding institutional finance requirements. Drawing on
qualitative data from participant interviews, the study highlights the experiences and perspectives
of students regarding their financial management practices and the hurdles they face in striving
for financial stability while pursuing higher education.
90

Challenges
Low-wage employment (parents worked long hours or more than one job, students
worked, no parental contribution to college expenditures), single-earner families, and first
generation status were the three primary obstacles to financial acquisition identified by the
participants. In this study, the maximum income level was $10,000. The 1st-year of college
might provide individuals with new financial obligations. Two individuals said they needed more
direct financial experience as a resource (parents did not attend college, no personal financial
mentor network).
Participant 10 felt that “it is hard to get people to talk about money.” One participant
who drives a car to work faced financial stress due to the price of on-campus parking (Participant
8). To accommodate, the participant parks a distance from class but “procrastinate[s] getting out
of [the] car … it’s cold and then its flu season.” One participant noted that books are “expensive
for no reason” and told how his professor required a $250 textbook for which the course used
less than 20 pages for coursework.
The respondents often mentioned the theme of financial resilience. Even though they are
working, three participants felt “broke” and relied on budgeting to meet their obligations. Three
participants felt reservation or guilt regarding splurge purchases like “new [Bath & Body Works]
lotion,” “special face cream,” “money at Target,” or “a suit for this one class,” attributing these
wants to “bad habits.”
Personal Support
Eight participants felt that they had “good” or were “confident” concerning their money
management skills. Two participants employed technology to aid with basic money
management, while three others-controlled spending by distinguishing needs from wants. Two
91

respondents cited understanding delayed gratification as a method for better financial
management. Four individuals studied personal finance in high school.
One person who used a credit card to purchase a suit for class afterward regretted his
decision, recognizing he could have waited until his next paycheck. He acknowledged his growth
in this area. Two participants recall talking to the women in their families about their “love [of]
shopping” and felt encouraged to begin balancing their needs and wants.
Educational System Support
Two of the 10 participants experienced financial anxiety while navigating the campus
financial marketplace. Participant 8 worked as a nurse at three regional medical facilities and
believed driving was necessary to maximize commute time. She preferred to augment her
income by working “12-hour shifts” and has lowered her school load to match the increase in job
responsibilities.
When on campus, she mentioned that parking is “expensive” at $20 per day and that she
frequently received parking tickets when “[trying] to sneak in [to] the actual parking lot.” She
also “[paid] for a class” in the spring semester and contacted the financial aid office to inquire
why she owed. This participant did not fully comprehend the financial aid qualifying process or
the relationship between her cost of attendance (COA) and course load.
Likewise, Participant 9 reported a need for more information on institutional finance
requirements, mainly scholarship application submission dates for flight training. According to
UNO policy and FAA guidelines, all enrolled students must complete ground and flight training
at UNO and UNO-supervised flight training providers or transfer credits from an R-ATP-
certified collegiate aviation program (UNO, 2022). While enrolled in a program involving
92

additional fees, the participant gets a scholarship that solely covers direct course-related
expenses.
The total cost for the flight training is an additional $50,000. She states, “I didn’t have a
choice to kind [of] quit and move on because I paid so much money. And I was already halfway
done.” The participant did not mention who told her about the funding opportunity (UNO
Aviation Institute, flight training providers, financial aid, etc.). Even if she met the deadline, the
flight training scholarship was awarded through a competitive process and thus required
approval. The participant indicated that flight training is expensive. She mentioned applying for
loans to help with her cost shortfall.
Financial Well-Being Stresses the Emotional Connection Between Financial Satisfaction
and Well-Being
This section will address the 3rd proposition of financial well-being, the presence of an
emotional connection between financial satisfaction and well-being. The main themes of this
section are challenges faced by college students due to financial constraints, personal support for
coping with financial demands, breaking through boundaries, and gratitude. The findings
highlight the financial discontent, self-control, and anxiety experienced by college students, as
well as their satisfaction with learning to meet new financial demands. The importance of
personal financial narratives, sacrifice, and family values are also mentioned.
Challenges
All 10 individuals expressed financial discontent due to attending college and coping
with personal and family financial constraints. Two individuals said they had to exercise self-
control continually. Participant 1 indicated that she felt unsuccessful at times since she feels
better when she engages in “retail therapy” Participant 8 also noted this. Furthermore, Participant
93

6 and Participant 8 reported experiencing anxiety due to financial concerns. One participant said
she struggled socially, feeling like “you’re at the bottom.” Upon arriving on campus, a
participant said they felt they were viewed as less intelligent because their family was struggling
financially.
Personal Support
All 10 participants were satisfied with their ability to [learn] to meet new financial
demands. Participant 6 stated that her overall financial satisfaction comes from a desire to live
comfortably later, so sacrificing while attending school did not hinder her experience of well-
being. Working was viewed positively by six of the participants, who associated it with feelings
of independence, control over their circumstances, and a demonstration of their resourcefulness.
Three participants stated that they felt as though they were upholding family values regarding
money by being hard-working and thrifty. Two participants mentioned that sacrificing toward a
goal was empowering. Three participants had a positive personal financial narrative.
Educational System Support
Five individuals cited a desire for financial empathy as the most component of an
institution’s culture. Three individuals expected recognition for breaking through boundaries.
Recognizing that not every SES-limited student had the same financial experiences, four
participants used adjectives like “gratitude,” “[feelings of] privilege,” “lucky,” and “thankful” to
characterize their emotions. According to one participant, the amount of institutional support
received “puts [things into] perspective.” In Participant 5’s experience, the support he
received was holistic, revealing that “they’re not just giving me the scholarship, which I’m very
grateful for, but they also want me to succeed.” Participant 1 echoed, “Like, they want to see you
prosper. And the campus overall obviously also wants to see you prosper.”
94

Consumption Decisions and Financial Behavior Ultimately Determine Financial Well-
Being
This section will discuss the fourth proposition of financial well-being, consumption
decisions and financial behavior. It will discuss the spending habits of participants in relation to
personal and educational support. The main themes of the section are money management
strategies and behaviors among college students, personal and educational system support for
financial security, and the impact of income on financial aid eligibility. Specific subthemes
include budgeting and spending habits, consumption behavior, personal support, educational
system support, and stress related to financial aid processes.
Challenges
Although nine participants mentioned budgeting or spending wisely was the basis for
their money management decisions, one participant did not mention using this strategy because
her expenses were much larger than her income. Three participants consider spending on clothes,
furniture, and shoes as “blowing” money. One participant was concerned because she spent
money earned from working on gifts, bills, and family-related events (Participant 8). This
participant was also concurrently enrolled at a community college to lessen their tuition expenses
and expressed guilt regarding asking for the [temporary] lifting of holds on her school account
because it was a repeat request. Two participants stated that their consumption behavior is
related to how they feel. Participant 2 spends “small amounts of money at Target often” but is
“careful about” [spending] large amounts.
Personal Support
Six participants used a spending strategy to decide whether to purchase an off-campus
apartment, travel, or car. Participant 10 and Participant 7 mentioned saving or using their
95

financial aid refunds as emergency funds. Three students identified increased money
management skills from the early fall semester through the summer semester. Two participants
used software like Google Sheets or Excel to monitor their spending habits. Four participants
wanted a plan or structure to do well financially. Participant 5 mentioned that he used credit
cards but paid off the balances monthly.
Educational System Support
Six participants mentioned that their spending is school-related (books, flight training,
suit for business course, gas, and groceries). Participant 6 looks for educational discounts to save
money. The participant also prioritized that she allocates her finances for “school [expenses]
first,” then to savings, and lastly to any personal purchases. Four individuals reported having
food and housing security through campus-provided services. If necessary, according to one
participant, program policies permit students to withdraw from courses to “save” their GPA and
preserve their scholarship.
Three respondents believed their financial aid disbursements filled up financial gaps
when their scholarships fell short. These funds could cover car payments, gas, groceries, course
materials, and books. One participant mentioned gratitude for the institutional support he
received [two weeks to acquire a textbook without academic penalty], while a second student
explained that his advisor assisted in his major choice [management versus finance] by focusing
on anticipated income earnings in each field.
Lastly, one participant said she felt stress when navigating the financial aid process. She
received the federal Pell Grant based on income calculations from the prior/prior year (2 years
before the award year), per standard federal aid policy. However, the participant decided to
increase her work hours after she began college. If the student was on the margin of eligibility
96

[she had to pay for a course], the increase in income from current employment (38 hours in 4
days, regular 12-hour shifts) this year will affect her eligibility for need-based aid her junior
year. Her tuition scholarship eligibility may also be affected (income less than $10,000
qualifying threshold). The participant does not refer to the financial aid office or any program
support personnel who have educated her on these financial behavior choices.
Institutional Contexts Influence an Individual’s Financial Well-Being
This study examined the impact of institutional support on the financial well-being of
participants, the fifth proposition of financial well-being. In an analysis of the enhancers and
inhibitors of the educational system support on student financial well-being, this section will
summarize whom students engaged in the institutional context and their experiences navigating
the campus financial marketplace. Since proposition five affects each of the first propositions, all
the specific institutional contexts emerge in the educational system support sections of each of
the first four propositions. This section will summarize proposition five, institutional context’s
findings by outlining the enhancers or inhibitors of student financial well-being as opposed to
challenges and support systems as outlined in the institutional context in the conceptual
framework (Figure 1).
Enhancers
The participants reported that financial aid and scholarships were critical resources for
optimizing their economic well-being, and all of them viewed institutional support as an
excellent means of supporting students in overcoming social class obstacles and covering school-
related expenses. Two themes that emerged from the study were the positive impact of campus
services on food and housing security and the simplicity of scholarship retention processes
related to academics. Four individuals reported having food and housing security through
97

campus-provided services. According to one participant, program policies that permit students to
withdraw from courses to “save” their GPA to preserve their scholarship were simple to
navigate. Although unable to quit their jobs, two respondents believed their financial aid
disbursements filled up financial gaps when their scholarships fell short, and these funds could
cover car payments, gas, groceries, course materials, and books. Students considered student
loans a last resort.
Another theme that emerged from the study was the impact of professor and advisor
support related to present and future financial stress. One participant mentioned gratitude for the
institutional flexibility she received from a teacher to reduce penalties associated with purchasing
her book late due to a lack of money, while a second student explained that his advisor assisted
in his major choice by focusing on anticipated income earnings in each field. These findings
suggest that institutional support can have a positive impact on reducing financial stress related
to the classroom experience and career development.
Inhibitors
The first theme that emerged as in inhibitor of financial well-being from the study was
the impact of cost and affordability on enrollment decisions. Several participants mentioned that
cost was a significant factor in their decision to enroll at one of the University of Nebraska
campuses. The financial aid obtained by some participants alleviated stress because they did not
have to worry about buying books and paying tuition. However, participants experienced
financial anxiety while navigating the campus financial marketplace, and a need for more
information on financial aid and scholarship requirements.
Another inhibiting theme that emerged from the study was the need for second round gift
aid to decrease student loan debt and work hours. Although the participants praised the
98

generosity of their scholarship donors and the University of Nebraska, they also noted that
obtaining scholarships was not always simple. Some participants felt they had to “battle for
scholarships,” and two others experienced financial anxiety while navigating the financial aid
process.
Lastly, one participant expressed the need for scholarships to have more flexible
deadlines, specifically the scholarship application submission dates for mandatory flight training.
It is worth noting that flight training costs the participant an additional $50,000 over general
COA. The scholarship awarded is competitive and requires approval. Six participants mentioned
that the majority of their spending is related to school expenses such as books, program
expenses, business course clothing, gas, and groceries. One participant searched for educational
discounts to save money, and another prioritized allocating finances to school expenses first,
then savings, and lastly, personal purchases.
Summary
In conclusion, that finding indicated that socioeconomic status is a complex concept
influenced by various factors, including income, occupation, education, and cultural background.
The experience of a social class varies widely among individuals, and their understanding and
perception of social class can change over time. Immigrants and first generation college students
often face unique challenges related to social class, including navigating financial aid processes
and feeling isolated from their peers. Family background and socioeconomic status significantly
impacted opportunities, access to resources, and life outcomes. Lastly, the findings emphasized
the significance of institutional support for students’ financial well-being. All participants
regarded institutional support as an excellent means of assisting students to overcome social
class obstacles and pay for school-related expenses. Student loans were viewed as a last resort by
99

most students. Navigating the campus financial marketplace, obtaining gift aid for required
supplementary programming, and managing income to maintain financial aid eligibility
presented obstacles. Managing work, schoolwork, and a social life presented the most
challenging obstacle.

100

Chapter Five: Discussion
Financial stress is prevalent among college students, but there is no universal paradigm
for measuring the institutional support of their financial well-being during these transitional
years. This qualitative study used a qualitative approach to complement the more extensive
PASS II study focusing on how students’ financial well-being changes over their 1st-year of
college. Interviews with 10 at-promise University of Nebraska students from low-income
backgrounds illuminated the interrelationships between social class, personal support systems,
institutional enhancers or inhibitors, and financial capability that led students’ toward
experiencing either financial well-being or financial stress. This chapter presents a summary of
the study, a discussion of the findings, implications for practice, policy, research, connection to
theory, and an overview of the limitations.
Discussion of Findings
This section will discuss the study’s key findings. The research question in this
dissertation study examined how at-promise students experienced financial stress and well-being
during their 1st-year of studies. To investigate this question, I analyzed data from three
University of Nebraska campuses including 10 participant interviews from diverse populations at
three separate times of their academic year. The major findings were presented in five sections in
Chapter Four and will be discussed in the same five sections in this chapter: (a) challenges, (b)
financial, (c) social capital, (d) personal support, and (e) institutional support.
Challenges
Current models for financial well-being support are centered either on reducing student
debt or strengthening student financial literacy focusing on personal accountability (U.S.
Financial Literacy and Education Commission, 2020). Academic research suggests that the
101

traditional approach to financial literacy education needs to be revised, and a more
comprehensive approach is required (Alsemgeest, 2015; Robb, 2019; Lusardi, 2019; Mandell &
Klein, 2009). According to recent scholarship, there is a need for a new framework tailored to
“at-promise” students, as traditional financial literacy approaches neglect psychosocial and
socio-political factors that impede financial well-being (Robb, 2019).
Examining institutional factors influencing financial well-being is a new concept, and
examining whether policies enhance or inhibit financial well-being can benefit institutions and
leaders. Rather than aiming for an unattainable financial literacy ideal, this study centered on
institutional support for low-income 1st year students’ financial well-being, as they navigate the
complexities of the campus financial marketplace. Further, the study demonstrated that student
narratives could aid institutions in identifying strategies to enhance the financial well-being of
low-income students, despite the challenges of evaluating financial support programs since many
fundamentally emphasize individual accountability.
Student Financial Challenges
One of the first findings to emerge was that students face significant financial challenges.
The most notable element of their financial challenges is their relationship to students’ identities.
Immigrants and first generation college students often face unique challenges related to social
class, including navigating financial aid processes, and feeling isolated from their peers. Social
class can impact an individual’s sense of identity, belonging, and access to opportunities and
resources. Some financial and economic challenges faced were belonging to low-income
families, assisting parents with basic needs, insufficient funds for clothing or essentials, financial
instability, single-parent households (only one income provider), and working not to burden
others.
102

The participants coped by recognizing that their parents were doing the best they could,
by beginning work at a young age, and by feeling compelled to assume the parental role at home.
Participants talked about the emotional stress of dealing with financial insecurity and the
pressure to succeed academically despite these challenges. Many participants felt anxious and
overwhelmed by the demands of college and their financial burdens. These participants faced
difficulties paying for necessities, the cost of higher education, anxiety and stress associated with
FAFSA, and the pressure to work multiple jobs. They had significant emotional stress associated
with student loan debt. These issues impacted all the participants in different ways, whether it
was struggling to afford basic needs or feeling the stress of affording their education and the
associated expenses.
Social Capital Challenges
Overall, the social challenges of socioeconomic status are varied and complex and can
significantly impact individuals’ educational experiences and outcomes. Students initially
experienced being out of place or feeling like they do not belong in specific academic or social
settings due to their lower socioeconomic status [feeling like an outsider among their more
affluent peers in college, out of place in a PWI]. Furthermore, students felt they would be
belittled and stereotyped by peers based on their social class, leading to feelings of stigmatization
and shame. These students felt inadequate and unworthy due to being identified as first
generation college students, coming from a low-income background, or using an iPad instead of
the latest computer. However, these feelings gradually subsided for most participants as they
acclimated to their new environment.
Moreover, social class identification in relation to the heterogeneity of the experiences of
those around profoundly affects financial stress [pet ownership, housing ownership, and car
103

ownership as indicators of social class]. Students experienced pressure to conform to certain
expectations or behaviors due to their social class [needing to work harder to achieve more than
their more affluent peers to prove themselves, upgrading spending on clothing to avoid seeming
poor]. Some of the social capital challenges were isolation, limitations in terms of social
networks because of the high cost of social activities or having little in common with wealthier
peers. These demonstrate how social class created social barriers and made it difficult for them to
connect with their peers and led to feelings of isolation and alienation.
The participants social capital experiences varied widely, even among individuals with
similar socioeconomic backgrounds, due to differences in cultural values, geographic location,
and personal experiences. Social capital is not necessarily fixed or predetermined, and one’s
efforts and opportunities can affect how social capital is experienced. The ethnic and racial
challenges participants experienced centered on a lack of representation, cultural understanding,
a sense of inferiority, and a sense of being an outsider while growing up. Students dealt with
adversity by progressing, toughening up, or observing what was deemed a success. Frequently, a
friend aided in their ability to cope. These findings highlight the complexity and nuance of social
class and its impact on individuals’ lives. They also underscore the importance of considering
social class as a critical factor in addressing inequality and social justice issues. Participant 4 and
Participant 5 similarly feel that they are at a disadvantage because of their family’s low
socioeconomic status and the lack of financial resources.
Personal Support
Family and friend support is vital for optimizing financial well-being and reducing stress
related to financial matters. Although students understood the limitations of their family’s
finances and did not wish to burden their families with the cost of their college education, they
104

acknowledged the importance of their support. Family members provided employment prospects
in their sector, alleviating job-searching anxiety for some participants, and some participants
received financial advice and support from extended family or friends. Parents also helped
evaluate their child’s employment possibilities and provided advice on money management,
which helped to lower stress and increase concentration.
However, the student’s difficulties in their neighborhood included lacking psychological
safety, being ashamed, being trapped, or feeling like an outsider. The students frequently
overcame neighborhood obstacles by gravitating toward alternative environments and
embellishing their circumstances. Positive friendships and nearby family members frequently
assisted these children in overcoming neighborhood obstacles. Participants generally viewed
their family’s hard work to support them as a privilege that made their lives more comfortable
and relieved them of anxieties about food, shelter, and everyday necessities. They felt confident
in their money management skills and employed various strategies to control spending, such as
distinguishing needs from wants, understanding delayed gratification, and sacrificing toward a
goal. They also used spending strategies to make decisions and monitored their spending habits
using software like Google Sheets or Excel.
Furthermore, parental financial interdependence for household necessities increased
students’ self-esteem and financial competence. However, I did not find that students included
their parents in their financial marketplace navigation, presumably to avoid family stress or
because they assumed their parents could not assist. It is intriguing because several students
mentioned home ownership as necessary in their social class experience but failed to associate
purchasing a home with their parent’s ability to support their navigation of the campus financial
marketplace. Overall, the participants were satisfied with their plans to meet the new financial
105

demands college offered and viewed working positively, associating it with feelings of
independence, control, and resourcefulness.
Educational Support Systems
At-promise students struggled with academic gaps, needed more
resources/funding/information, and experienced isolation from campus or social activities. The
students adapted inwardly, with the aid of community support and counseling. They believed
teachers, counselors, faith, and the church were most helpful in coping. The primary support
mechanisms identified were care, compassion, and commitment they showed the students. The
education system adapted to meet the student’s needs by becoming purposeful in its support
plans, providing specific/meaningful religious engagement, and ensuring accessibility. The
community assisted by raising awareness of these students’ educational requirements. The
participants viewed this institutional assistance as a means of overcoming class-based barriers,
adjusting to new pressures, and covering school-related expenses. Cost and affordability
significantly influenced their decision to enroll at the University of Nebraska campuses.
However, students perceived scholarship acquisition to be challenging. When navigating
the financial marketplace on campus, first generation students experienced anxiety. They needed
more information on institutional financial aid requirements, scholarship deadlines, and the
financial aid qualification process, and they needed help fully comprehending it. Although their
information needed to be completed, the cost or affordability of the campuses played a
significant role in the enrollment decisions of the participants. However, it was determined that
the additional fees and costs beyond the disclosed COA were not a factor in the decision-making
processes of prospective students.
106

They believed that their scholarships and employment would cover any additional
expenses. Although scholarships and financial aid provided substantial relief for some
participants, additional gift aid is necessary to reduce employment loads and student loan debt.
Students who received large refunds from financial aid and scholarships experienced less
financial stress and could implement financial education tools they learned in high school
[creating savings or emergency funds]. All participants viewed institutional support, such as
scholarships and financial aid, as essential for optimizing their economic well-being and
covering school-related expenses.
Relationship of Findings to Prior Research
In analyzing the data and reflecting on García-Mata and Zerón-Félix’s (2022) and Fu’s
(2020) framework, I found that experiential parity, socioeconomic status transition, and
employment throughout college are crucial indicators of a student’s desire to maximize their
financial well-being. However, due to a lack of social engagement, time, and money, students
lost opportunities and experienced disparity. Financial aid relieves tuition and fee stress, but the
application process is stressful because it requires comprehension, application, and management.
Students desire to improve their socioeconomic standing, are motivated by their parents’
sacrifices, seek financial security and prosperity, and hope to increase their post-graduation
incomes. Work was identified as a crucial element of the participants’ financial well-being
strategies, with the majority seeking employment during the academic year or summer to
improve their financial situation. However, time management issues were pervasive, resulting in
reduced course credit hours or less homework support time. Although students viewed
employment as a necessary burden, they equated it with financial independence and “adult life.”
107

This study’s findings are consistent with previous research studies that showed that at-
promise students face undergraduate stress (difficulty affording basic needs and feeling pressure
to work; Kraus et al., 2017; Ross, 1999), social isolation (Kraus & Tan, 2015; Brown, 2021;
Ladson-Billings, 2006), financial challenges (Northern et al., 2010; Ross, 1999), access to
resources (Ladson-Billings, 2006), affordability of housing (Snyder & Dillow, 2013), and an
impact on academic achievement (Engle & Tinto, 2008; Silver, 2020; Snyder & Dillow, 2013).
Like existing literature, this study found that many of these students’ in-school challenges
were affected by their out-of-school challenges (Brown, 2021; Ladson-Billings, 2006; Northern
et al., 2010; Ross, 1999). Similar to Rice’s (2017) research, this study found that first generation
college students and found that they face unique challenges related to their socioeconomic
backgrounds. In alignment with the literature review, this study also found that first generation
participants have challenges that include financial struggles, a lack of family understanding of
the college experience, and feelings of isolation (Bui, 2002; Ross et al., 1999; Adams et al.,
2016; Lee & Keys, 2013).
Connection of Findings to the Conceptual Framework
The first component of the conceptual framework entailed understanding the student. The
findings support this segment of the model in that not only is the individual the focus of the
research, but their personal support systems contribute to their experiences of financial well-
being or stress, thereby providing a foundation for a nuanced analysis of the data. Additionally,
the study’s findings related to social class aligns with research on financial stress experienced by
low-income students (lack of funds for college tuition and fees, limited access to resources, and
the need to balance work and academics) and are consistent with research findings that indicate
financial stress is a significant barrier to academic success for students from low-income
108

backgrounds (J. Murray & Farrington, 2010; Youth.gov). The research also aligns with Baker
and Montalto (2019) on student loan debt and financial stress. Specifically, the participants who
have taken out loans to finance their education experienced financial stress and the potential
negative impact on academic performance that the study discusses.
Supporting the conceptual framework model, the study found the personal context relates
to including social class identification related to home (financial instability and social capital),
SES identification related to school access (expenses outside of the cost of attendance and a lack
of ability to pay), social class related to the neighborhood (feeling on the bottom, feeling like an
outsider, and feeling trapped), challenges related to peers (feeling poor and feeling socially
awkward). If an individual had financial limitations at home, they would likely experience
financial stress at school. For example, low-income students from rural areas who attended
school in urban areas could not travel home and their families did not visit them at school (home,
school, and locale interrelation).
Institutional Context
The findings of this research provided additional support for the conceptual framework
model, which supports institutional context as a factor that shapes financial well-being, namely:
1. Institutional instruments that enhance or inhibit financial decision-making.
2. Structures that provide accessible alternatives or supplements to campus financial
marketplace products, such as inexpensive parking, student loans, and additional
scholarship opportunities. (Fu, 2020)
Institutional resources, structures, and student socialization shape the student’s financial
capability, directly impacting financial well-being.
109

The application of the study’s conceptual framework model to this study found that social
factors (feelings of inferiority, social awkwardness, and being an outsider), SES identity factors
(ranking on the totem pole based on income, geography, and norms), financial education (high
school courses or program support), financial inclusion (applying for financial aid, scholarship
deadlines), and contexts (personal, institutional) either enhance or inhibit individual financial
capability. The findings also showed students faced academic (learning difficulties, home
instability, and a lack of technology), psychological (feeling unsettled and inferior), and
behavioral (withdrawal, attention-seeking behaviors, and defensive behaviors) challenges.
Financial Capability
Financial satisfaction is a dynamic and fluid determinant of financial capability for
instance, participants viewed employment simultaneously as positive and negative. It fluctuates
over time and is contingent on present conditions. 1st year college students are adjusting to the
cost of living on their own for the first time and may still need to develop sound financial habits.
The study’s findings confirmed the dynamic nature of financial satisfaction and validated the
framework methodology for measuring financial capability by collecting data at three distinct
time intervals. The research revealed that social financial factors also fluctuated throughout the
year. This fluidity in experiencing financial capability explains why students experienced
financial stress (saving money to furnish an off-campus apartment) and well-being (self-
sufficiency and goal attainment), depending on which aspect of their objectives they chose to
prioritize.
The Impact of Social Class
Rice et al. (2017) studied first generation college students’ experiences with imposter
syndrome. They found that many students struggled with feelings of not belonging and doubting
110

their abilities due to their social class background. This finding aligns with the participants’
experiences of feeling like outsiders in their academic environments and struggling with self-
doubt and anxiety related to their social class status. Rice et al. (2017) also found that supportive
relationships, such as with mentors and peers, were crucial in helping students overcome
imposter syndrome. This finding supports the participants’ experiences of the positive impact of
family and community support on their academic success.
The findings also align with Bettencourt’s (2020) research on social class which explored
how students from lower social classes face multiple barriers that can impact their college
experiences. These barriers include financial stress, culture shock, lack of academic preparation,
and social isolation. The participants in the current study reported similar challenges. Aligned
with previous research, lower social classes report higher levels of stress (Mammen et al., 2009;
Wilkinson & Pickett, 2006; Xiao et al., 2008). Like Kraus et al. (2017), the participants in lower
social classes tended to have more financial challenges and limited access to resources that could
help them succeed academically. One critical limited resource was time itself, which aligns with
the findings of Roksa et al. (2020).
Like the literature, this study found that a lack of social networks impacts students
significantly (Jorgensen & Savla, 2010; Thomson, 1994). Further, the study found that social
class is viewed as a culture with norms and socialized patterns (owning a house is middle-class)
and is “inherited” from parents during childhood, aligning with Bourdieu (1986). The study also
aligned literature finding that students adhere to social class identity (Bettencourt, 2020;
Bourdieu, 1986; Kraus et al., 2017; Kraus & Tan, 2015). The study discovered that the level of
education and employment of family members, as well as social networks, affect a family’s
disposable income (Jorgensen & Savla, 2010; Thomson, 1994).
111

Rurality
Pew Research Center reports that the median income of middle-class households in 2020
was $90,131. Comparatively, all participants in this research fall under the low-income bracket.
Nonetheless, many of the individuals from rural Nebraska characterized themselves differently.
Although all participants had comparable family incomes, students from more rural regions of
Nebraska described their socioeconomic position differently from those from Omaha. Participant
1 is from a small town in Nebraska. This finding aligns with the research by Manly, Wells, and
Kommers (2019), highlights the importance of accurately defining rurality in studies on college
completion, and highlights the need for more nuanced and context-specific definitions of rurality
to capture the unique experiences of rural students. This aligns with the importance of contextual
factors highlighted in the participants’ experiences, such as the impact of geographical variables
on social class and access to resources.
The findings align with the research in that social capital is a significant factor in these
rural students’ well-being. Mammen et al. (2009) found that for one rural demographic (rural,
low-income mothers), health and social capital were the strongest predictors of life satisfaction,
with personal capital also having a significant effect. Mammen et al.’s (2009) research, social
capital is defined as the “resources available through an individual’s network of relationships”
(p. 364). These resources can include emotional support, information, and access to opportunities
and can be derived from relationships with family members, friends, neighbors, and community
organizations. The findings further align, showing that social capital is essential in promoting
satisfaction, particularly in low-income rural contexts where resources and opportunities may be
limited (Mammen et al., 2009).
112

Similar to the literature Wiborg (2001) found that rural students face the challenge of
adjusting to a new urban environment while also trying to maintain their connections to their
home communities. The study by Wiborg (2001) also highlighted the importance of social class
in rural students’ experiences, with lower-income students facing more significant challenges in
accessing higher education and navigating the transition to an urban environment. These findings
align with the participants’ experiences, many of whom come from low-income backgrounds and
have faced financial and cultural barriers in pursuing higher education.
Implications for Policy and Practice
This study aims to inform postsecondary policymakers, University leadership,
advancement staff, and varied practitioners by suggesting a financial well-being framework to
improve at-promise student outcomes. The following section provides implications for policy,
practice and future research.
Implications for Policy
All 10 participants said they experienced stress due to work and educational pursuits due
to time management issues. Although federal guidelines limit student employment to 20 hours
per week, Nebraska students are encouraged to work at most 10–15 hours per week during their
1st-year (UNL, 2023). This study’s participants did not understand this recommendation. The
study found that participants did not have equal access to high-wage employment opportunities
and schools did not provide enough aid to eliminate the need to work for most low-income
students. Participants in the study felt that if they had aid above tuition and fees that generated
refunds from gift aid, it should be saved or used as an emergency fund, not to supplement wages.
The study highlights that students willingly accepted the idea of employment while in college, as
a necessary means to financial well-being.
113

For students, hard work through employment was the best means of being debt-conscious
and thus financially literate. According to the literature review, students should limit their
student loan debt, but this study demonstrates that policies influence students’ consumption
behaviors. According to IRS Tax Topic 456 (2023), for instance, not only is student loan debt
exempt from taxation, but the interest paid on these loans is also tax deductible. In contrast, both
scholarships and wages are deemed taxable income.
Specifically, according to IRS Tax Topic 421 (2023), scholarship funds used for
“incidental expenses, such as room and board, travel, and optional equipment” are considered
taxable income. The IRS tax code discourages low-income college students from pursuing
scholarships, fellowships, or grants as a means of self-supporting expenses that are under COA,
while in school. Additionally, this study showed no evidence that students are saving for gift aid-
related taxes. They were not aware of the need to do so. The expectation for students to save for
taxes further reduces the funds available to cover basic needs and increases the pressure on them
to work.
The current governmental policy concerning low-income students may impose a
disproportionate burden on this population, suggesting a need for its revision. To address this
issue, policymakers could deliberate on the inclusion of tax-exempt status for all forms of gift aid
and direct financial assistance provided to universities for the purpose of covering student
expenses related to the cost of attendance. This revision may alleviate the financial strain on low-
income students and contribute to a more equitable system of financial support.
Further, the study suggests a need to expand the opportunities for low-income students to
work less hours. Perhaps by expanding access to higher-wage jobs, students can mitigate the
need for excessive work hours. To achieve this, I recommend an increase in federal hourly
114

appropriations specifically allocated for work-study students. This adjustment could enable
students to work fewer hours while earning a more substantial income reducing their financial
burdens.
Implications for Practitioners
In addition to the implications above, the findings reveal that an important issue for
practitioners to address is the personalization of student’s acclimation to campus to meet
financial and psychosocial needs. I suggest that the programs and services be centered on ways
that enhance financial well-being as they transition from home to campus. The study’s findings
indicate that shaping financial well-being from an institutional context requires personalizing
tools, which necessitates a practitioner’s understanding of the student’s personal history and
financial experiences. Initially, collecting student data to personalize their financial acclimation
onto campus can seem to be an administrative burden. However, similar types of
individualization regularly take place in university administrative offices in both quantitative
(FAFSA and CSS Profile financial data collection) and qualitative (admission application letters)
ways each academic cycle. Ideally, this should include well-being as they pursue their degrees
and future financial goals. I recommend that an update of the tools used for professional
judgment be augmented to collect qualitative financial data.
In addition, the participants were unaware of the impact of earnings on their future
financial aid or scholarship eligibility. While minors, students who worked during high school
still spent many hours in the classroom. Considering their low-income status, the findings
suggest that students’ prior earnings were marginal and did not affect their scholarship eligibility.
Those who worked prior to enrolling in college increased their job hours after arriving on
campus. The guidelines for awarding the Pell Grant, federal, state, and many institutional
115

scholarships require an annual evaluation of need as a criterion of eligibility for gift aid that
students may not be aware of.
The students did not connect their earnings to their eligibility for scholarships and
financial aid. To ensure that students accurately understand the correlation between their
earnings and eligibility for funding, I recommend that practitioners provide more transparent
information. Students should recognize that need-based aid is directly proportional to their
parents’ financial resources. The IRS policy that requires taxation of scholarships and grants can
be amended to better support student loan debt reduction. In the interim, I propose that 1st- and
3rd-year Pell-eligible students be required to complete scenario-based training on the impacts of
earned income on future financial aid.
Institutional and programmatic ancillary costs [expensive books, unread books, parking
costs, flight training] created financial stress for participants. As a practitioner, it is important to
note that federal financial aid procedures allow students to request professional judgments to
adjust their cost of attendance. While this adjustment can cover expenses paid to the university’s
auxiliary services department, it can often result in additional loan allocations for the student. To
address this issue, targeted channels for donors and alumni could be established to support the
financial needs of students better.
I recommend the creation of opportunities for low income students to cover non-
mandatory university fees and social engagement as a part of their cost of attendance if funded
by donor funds or public subsidies, thus providing additional financial support for students in
need. This approach can significantly alleviate the financial burden on students and increase their
chances of academic success through a reduction in hours at work. Collaboration with local
transportation departments could offer supplementary alternatives to aid the participants. In
116

terms of supplementary expenses mandatory for degree programs, I recommend that academic
institutions consider guidelines that enable students to combine their program applications with
scholarship applications for those with financial constraints. This recommendation has the
potential to reduce student stress associated with looking for funding as well as limit the
administrative burden of dual application review.
In order to acquire a deeper comprehension of students’ perceptions of their current
financial condition and to accurately assess their financial well-being, I recommend practitioners
administer a financial stress measurement prior to the distribution of aid each semester of the 1st-
year. This approach allows for a comparative assessment of a student’s financial well-being
before and after leaving their home environment and receiving financial aid and support from the
university. This recommendation will assist practitioners in determining the effectiveness of the
financial aid provided as the student adapts to their new financial circumstances.
Implications for Future Research
According to Kitchen et al. (2019), the prevalence of poverty among children in both
urban and rural areas of the United States necessitates ongoing research on the challenges they
face and how the incorporation of validating relationships within campus financial systems can
improve their financial well-being. Replicating this study with a different sample or in another
state could determine the generalizability of these findings. It would also be interesting to
explore governing themes emerging from this replication research. Future educators developing
financial well-being programs could employ this model to study other specific groups of low-
income students, such as student-athletes or medical students.
Incorporating a wider range of stakeholders into the research process would yield
valuable insights and contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of the challenges faced
117

by low-income students. Consideration could be given to interviewing additional participants,
such as the parents of low-income students or coordinators of new student programs. These
perspectives may shed light on the unique circumstances and needs of this student population,
thereby enriching the overall findings.
Moreover, conducting a study focused on enhancing the onboarding process for low-
income students, specifically from the standpoint of on-campus financial aid support, would
provide valuable insights into the evolving needs of these students throughout their college
journey. By identifying and addressing these needs on an annual basis, institutions can optimize
their support mechanisms and facilitate a more inclusive and supportive environment.
Further investigation into the changing needs of students as they progress through their
academic years would greatly contribute to the field. This longitudinal approach would enable
researchers to examine whether students’ needs evolve as they advance in their educational
journey, potentially uncovering nuances and trends that can inform targeted interventions and
support strategies.
Additionally, researchers can explore the influence of family structure on students’
likelihood of employment. Investigating how factors such as family dynamics, parental support,
and financial responsibilities impact students’ employment opportunities can provide valuable
insights into the interplay between family context and student outcomes. This research can
contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of the multifaceted factors influencing low-
income students’ financial well-being and inform policies and practices aimed at fostering their
success. Lastly, additional research that considers the financial well-being and financial stress of
middle-income and high-net-worth students by examining the themes would assist with
118

expanding this study’s transferability. If the same issue is identified throughout the need profiles,
these themes may have policy implications.
In summary, engaging a broader range of stakeholders, investigating evolving student
needs, and exploring the influence of family structure on student employment are crucial avenues
for further research. By expanding the scope of inquiry and delving into these areas, researchers
can enhance the knowledge base and contribute to the development of more effective support
mechanisms and policies for low-income students in higher education.
Conclusion
In the pursuit of supporting students’ financial well-being and reducing their financial
stress, it is crucial to adopt a comprehensive approach that acknowledges their individual
narratives and experiences. This study delves into the importance of understanding students’
financial stress and proposes a shift towards greater institutional responsibility in promoting
financial literacy and well-being. By recognizing the unique challenges students face and
tailoring support mechanisms accordingly, universities can create a more equitable environment
that fosters student success.
Understanding Student Narratives
For stakeholders, it is imperative that administrative efforts aimed at comprehending
students’ stories and experiences be deemed burdensome. As an established practice, students are
annually surveyed through the financial aid process, enabling the collection of nuanced and
personalized data that includes their financial information. This data serves as a basis for issuing
tailored packages that empower students to partner with practitioners to right size their cost of
attendance through the exercise of professional judgments and make informed aid decisions. By
119

incorporating a focus on students’ financial stress and well-being into this process, universities
can better meet their needs while simultaneously fulfilling their own institutional objectives.
Shifting Accountability to Institutions
A fundamental aspect of enhancing financial literacy and well-being in higher education
involves transitioning away from solely holding students accountable for their financial
situations. This shift necessitates placing most of the responsibility on the financial aid industry,
universities, and policy frameworks. Considering that students are relatively new to managing
their finances, burdening them with the entire onus of financial well-being during their initial
foray into higher education is inequitable. Instead, stakeholders must assume a greater role in
supporting students through comprehensive institutional initiatives.
The Power of Institutional Context
In order to facilitate this transition, institutions should comprehensively reevaluate their
existing systems and policies to accommodate a more student-centric approach. By critically
examining the structures in place, universities can identify areas for improvement and develop
strategies that align with the needs of their diverse student populations. It is crucial to emphasize
the importance of contextualizing financial well-being within the institutional framework, as this
can empower students to navigate their financial journey more successfully. The aid industry and
universities are the experts scaffolding the novice student through acclimation and acquisition of
financial well-being during their college tenure.
The Benefits of Tailored Support
A significant advantage of embracing a tailored approach is the ability to adapt support
mechanisms to the evolving needs of students throughout their academic journey (Kitchen,
2022). Recognizing that students undergo personal growth and transformation, universities must
120

continuously assess and reassess the financial literacy programming and services they provide.
By drawing upon their extensive experience in higher education, institutions can offer guidance
and interventions that cater to the specific requirements of students at different stages of their
educational progression.
In conclusion, prioritizing students’ financial well-being in higher education necessitates
a shift towards institutional responsibility and a comprehensive understanding of student
narratives. By alleviating the burden on individual students and placing a greater onus on
institutions, universities can establish an equitable environment that fosters student success.
Adopting a tailored approach that considers the evolving needs of students throughout their
academic journey is key to enhancing financial literacy and promoting long-term financial well-
being. By continually adapting institutional practices, universities can empower students to
become more financially literate, ensuring their success both during and after their college
experience.
121

References
Adams, D. R., Meyers, S. A., & Beidas, R. S. (2016). The relationship between financial strain,
perceived stress, psychological symptoms, and academic and social integration in
undergraduate students. Journal of American College Health, 64(5), 362–370.
https://doi.org/10.1080/07448481.2016.1154559
Adams, M., Bell, L., & Griffin, P. (2007). Teaching for Diversity and Social Justice (T. & F.
Group, Ed.; 2nd ed.).
Ali, S., Bahar, O. S., Gopalan, P., Lukasiewicz, K., Parker, G., McKay, M., & Walker, R. (2018).
“Feeling less than a second-class citizen”: Examining the emotional consequences of
poverty in New York City. Journal of Family Issues, 39(10), 2781–2805.
https://doi.org/10:1177/0192513x18760348
Alsemgeest, L. (2015). Arguments for and against financial literacy education: where to go from
here? International Journal of Consumer Studies, 39(2), 155–161.
https://doi.org/10.1111/IJCS.12163
Alvarado, L. A. (2010). Dispelling the Meritocracy Myth: Lessons for Higher Education and
Student Affairs Educators. The Vermont Connection, 31(1), 10–20.
Aries, E., & Seider, M. (2005). The interactive relationship between class identity and the
college experience: The case of lower income students. Qualitative Sociology, 28(4),
419-443.
Asser, E. S. (1978). Social class and help‐seeking behavior [Article]. American Journal of
Community Psychology, 6(5), 465–475. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00941422
122

Aydin, F., & Vera, E. (2020). Subjective social class and subjective well-being among college
students: The mitigating roles of self-esteem and critical consciousness. Review of Higher
Education, 43(4), 1099–1123.
Baker, A. R., & Montalto, C. P. (2019). Student Loan Debt and Financial Stress: Implications for
Academic Performance. Journal of College Student Development, 60(1), 115–120.
https://doi.org/10.1353/csd.2019.0008
Bandura, A. (1977). Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavioral change.
Psychological Review, 84(2), 191–215.
Baranov, D. (2012). Conceptual foundations of social research methods (2nd ed.). Paradigm.
Barratt, W. (2012). Social Class and the Extracurriculum. Journal of College and Character,
Barratt, W(3). https://doi.org/10.1515/jcc-2012-1906
Barrera, M., Caples, H., & Tein, J. Y. (2001). The Psychological Sense of Economic Hardship:
Measurement Models, Validity, and Cross-Ethnic Equivalence for Urban Families.
American Journal of Community Psychology, 29(3), 493–517.
https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1010328115110
Bassuk, E. L., & Geller, S. (2006). The role of housing and services in ending family
homelessness. Housing Policy Debate, 17(4), 781–806.
https://doi.org/10.1080/10511482.2006.9521590
Baum, S., & Payea, K. (2004). Education pays. New York: College Board.
Bettencourt, G. M. (2020). “You Can’t Be a Class Ally If You’re An Upper-Class Person
Because You Don’t Understand”: Working-Class Students’ Definitions and Perceptions
of Social Class Allyship. Review of Higher Education, 44(2), 265–291.
https://doi.org/10.1353/rhe.2020.0041
123

Bergeron, A. P., & Zanna, M. P. (1973). Group membership and belief similarity as determinants
of interpersonal attraction in Peru. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 4, 397–411.
Billson, J. M., & Terry, M. B. (1982). In search of the silken purse: factors in attrition among
first generation students. College and University, 58(1), 57-75.
Blanden, Jo; Gregg, Paul; Machin, S. (2005). Intergenerational Mobility in Europe and North
America. Centre for Economic Performance, 14(1), 17–30.
https://doi.org/10.1016/s0272-2712(18)30391-3
Bourdieu, P. (1986). The forms of capital. In J. Richardson (Ed.), Handbook of theory and
research for the sociology of education (pp. 241–258). Greenwood Press.
Bradley, K. (2014). Degrees of inequity: culture, class, and gender in higher education.
Braun, V. & Clarke, V. (2013). Successful qualitative research: A practical guide for beginners.
SAGE Publications.
Braun, V. & Clarke, V. (2009). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in
Psychology, 3(2), p. 77–101.
Britt, S. L., Canale, A., Fernatt, F., Stutz, K., & Tibbetts, R. (2015). Financial stress and financial
counseling: Helping college students. Journal of Financial Counseling and Planning,
26(2), 172–186. https://doi.org/10.1891/1052-3073.26.2.172
Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). The ecology of human development. Cambridge, MA: Harvard
University Press.
Bronfenbrenner, U. (1994). Ecological models of human development. In International
Encyclopedia of Education, Vol. 3 (2nd ed.). Elsevier.
124

Broton, K., & Goldrick-Rab, S. (2016). The Dark Side of College (Un)Affordability: Food and
Housing Insecurity in Higher Education. Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning,
48(1), 16–25. https://doi.org/10.1080/00091383.2016.1121081
Broton, K. M. (2019). A review of estimates of housing insecurity and homelessness among
students in U.S. higher education. Journal of Social Distress and the Homeless.
https://doi.org/10.1080/10530789.2020.1677009
Brown, D. A. (2021). The whiteness of wealth: how the tax system impoverishes Black
Americans - and how we can fix it [Book]. Crown.
Brunner, R., Kaess, M., Parzer, P., Fischer, G., Carli, V., Hoven, C., Wasserman, C.,
Sarchiapone, M., Resch, F., Apter, A., Balazs, J., Barzilay, S., Bobes, J., Corcoran, P.,
Cosmanm, D., Haring, C., Iosuec, M., Kahn, J., Keeley, H., … Wasserman, D. (2014).
Life‐time prevalence and psychosocial correlates of adolescent direct self-injurious
behavior: A comparative study of findings in 11 European countries. Journal of Child
Psychology and Psychiatry, 55(4), 337–348.
Byrd, C., & Tabbye, C. (2011). Racial Identity, School Racial Climate, and School Intrinsic
Motivation Among African American Youth: The Importance of Person–Context
Congruence. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 849–860.
Bui, K. V. T. (2002). first generation college students at a four-year university: background
characteristics, reasons for pursuing higher education, and 1st year experiences [Article].
College Student Journal, 36(1), 3.
Byrd, C. M., & Chavous, T. (2011). Racial Identity, School Racial Climate, and School Intrinsic
Motivation Among African American Youth: The Importance of Person-Context
125

Congruence. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 21(4), 849–860.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1532-7795.2011.00743.x
Cady, C. L. (2014). Food Insecurity as a Student Issue. Journal of College and Character, 15(4).
https://doi.org/10.1515/jcc-2014-0031
Callender, C., & Jackson, J. (2008). Does the fear of debt constrain choice of university and
subject of study? Studies in Higher Education, 33(4), 405–429.
https://doi.org/10.1080/03075070802211802
Carnevale, A., Cheah, B., & Wenzinger, E. (2021). The College Payoff: More Education Doesn’t
Always Mean More Earnings. https://cew.georgetown.edu/ collegepayoff2021
Chemero, A., & Kaufer, S. (2015). Phenomenology: An introduction.
https://ebookcentral.proquest.com
Chetty, R., Hendren, N., Kline, P., & Saez, E. (2014). Where is the land of opportunity? The
geography of intergenerational mobility in the United States. Quarterly Journal of
Economics, 129(4), 1553–1623. https://doi.org/10.1093/qje/qju022
Christensen, C. M., Eyring, H. J., & Bucknell, B. (2011). the dna of Higher Education from the
Inside Out (Vol. 475). Jossey-Bass.
Clandinin, D., & Caine, V . (2008). Narrative Inquiry. The Sage Encyclopedia of Qualitative
Research Methods. (pp. 542-545). SAGE Publications, Inc.
http://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781412963909.n275
Clark, R. L. (Robert L., Craig, L. A. (Lee A., & Wilson, J. W. (2003). A history of public sector
pensions in the United States. University of Pennsylvania Press.
Cobban. (2002). English University Life in the Middle Ages. [Book]. Routledge.
126

Cohen, A. M. (1998). The shaping of American higher education : emergence and growth of the
contemporary system (1st ed.) [Book]. Jossey-Bass Publishers.
Coleman-Jensen, A., Rabbitt, M. P., Gregory, C. A., & Singh, A. (2018). Household Food
Security in the United States in 2017. In U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic
Research Service. www.ers.usda.gov
Congress House of Representatives. (1821). Benefits for children of certain Korea service
veterans born with spina bifida, (1821) (testimony).
https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/USCODE-2010-title38/USCODE-2010-title38-
partII-chap18-subchapIII-sec1821
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. (2015). Financial Well Being: The Goal of Financial
Education. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, January, 48.
http://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/201501_cfpb_report_financial-well-being.pdf
Cornelius, L. M., & Frank, S. A. (2015). Perspectives on Student Loan Debt Levels: Student
Loan Debt Levels and Their Implications for Borrowers, Society, and the Economy.
Educational Considerations, 42(2), 35–38. https://doi.org/10.4148/0146-9282.1052
Creusere, M., Zhao, H., Bond Huie, S., & Troutman, D. R. (2019). Postsecondary Education
Impact on Intergenerational Income Mobility: Differences by Completion Status, Gender,
Race/Ethnicity, and Type of Major. Journal of Higher Education, 90(6), 915–939.
https://doi.org/10.1080/00221546.2019.1565882
Creswell, J.W. (2014). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods
approaches (4th ed.). SAGE Publications.
Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2018). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed
methods approaches. Sage.
127

Cross, J. R., Frazier, A. D., Kim, M., & Cross, T. L. (2018). A comparison of perceptions of
barriers to academic success among high-ability students from high- and low- income
groups: Exposing poverty of a different kind. Gifted Child Quarterly, 62(1), 111–129.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0016986217738050
Crutchfield, R. M., Chambers, R. M., & Duffield, B. (2016). Jumping through the hoops to get
financial aid for college students who are homeless: Policy analysis of the college cost
reduction and access act of 2007. Families in Society, 97(3), 191–199.
https://doi.org/10.1606/1044-3894.2016.97.25
Cupper, V., Gelinas, D., Holt, G., Hurley, P., Lindenmeyer, M., & Madzelan, D. (2015).
NASFAA FAFSA Working Group Report - FAFSA Simplification. In National.
Danes, S. M., & Hira, T. K. (1987). Money Management Knowledge of College Students.
Journal of Student Financial Aid, 17(1), 3–16. file:///C:/Users/user/Downloads/Money
Management Knowledge of College Students.pdf
Danes, S. M., & Yang, Y. (2014). Assessment of the Use of Theories within the Journal of
Financial Counseling and Planning and the Contribution of the Family Financial
Socialization Conceptual Model. In Journal of Financial Counseling and Planning (Vol.
25, Issue 1).
Danns, D. E. (2016). Financial Education in U.S. State Colleges and Universities: Establishing
and Building Programs. SpringerBriefs in Psychology.
http://www.springer.com/series/10143
Darity, W., Hamilton, D., Paul, M., Aja, A., Price, A., Moore, A., & Chiopris, C. (2018). What
We Get Wrong About Closing the Racial Wealth Gap. Samuel DuBois Cook Center on
Social Equity, April.
128

Denzin, N. K. (1978). The research act: A theoretical introduction to sociological methods (2nd
ed.). New York, NY: McGraw Hill.
Department of Housing & Urban Development. (2022). Barriers to Success: Housing Insecurity
for U.S. College Students.
https://www.huduser.gov/portal/pdredge/pdr_edge_featd_article_030915.html
Deutsch, N., Reitz-Krueger, C., Henneberger, A., Ehrlich, V., & Lawrence, E. (2017). “It gave
me ways to solve problems and talk to people”: Outcomes from a combined group and
one-on-one mentoring program for early adolescent girls. Journal of Adolescent
Research, 32(3), 291–322. https://doi.org/10.1177/0743558416630813
D’Lima, G., Winsler, A., & Kitsantas, A. (2014). Ethnic and Gender Differences in 1st year
College Students’ Goal Orientation, Self-Efficacy, and Extrinsic and Intrinsic Motivation.
The Journal of Educational Research, 341–356.
Doehring, C. (2018). In over Our Heads with Financial Anxiety from Student Debt. Pastoral
Psychol, 67, 115–124. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11089-017-0772-2
Dumas, M., & Ross, K. “‘Be real Black for me’ imagining BlackCrit in education.” Urban
Education 51, no. 4 (2016): 415–442.
Echelberger, B., Mattioli, H., & Foxhoven, R. (2017). Uncovering Barriers to Financial
Capability: Underrepresented Students’ Access to Financial Resources. Journal of
Student Financial Aid, 47(3), 70–84.
http://publications.nasfaa.org/jsfa%0Ahttp://publications.nasfaa.org/jsfa/vol47/iss3/5
el Zein, A., Mathews, A. E., House, L., & Shelnutt, K. P. (2018). Why Are Hungry College
Students Not Seeking Help? Predictors of and Barriers to Using an On-Campus Food
Pantry. Nutrients. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu10091163
129

Elliot, A., & McGregor, H. (2001). A 2x2 achievement goal framework. Journal of Personality
and Social Psychology, 501–519.
Engle, J. P., & Tinto, V. P. (2008). Moving Beyond Access: College Success for Low-Income,
First Generation Students. www.pellinstitute.org
Engle, P. L., & Black, M. M. (2008). The Effect of Poverty on Child Development and
Educational Outcomes. New York Academy of Sciences, 243–256.
https://doi.org/10.1196/annals.1425.023
Etikan, I. (2016). Comparison of Convenience Sampling and Purposive Sampling. American
Journal of Theoretical and Applied Statistics, 5(1), 1.
https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajtas.20160501.11
Farrell, L., Fry, T. R. L., & Risse, L. (2016). The significance of financial self-efficacy in
explaining women’s personal finance behaviour. Journal of Economic Psychology, 54,
85–99. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joep.2015.07.001
Federal Student Aid. (2021). SNAP for eligible students. https://fsapartners.ed.gov/knowledge-
center/library/electronic-announcements/2021-02-23/snap-benefits-eligible-students-
during-covid-19-pandemic-ea-id-general-21-11-updated-april-5-2021
Ferraro, K. F., & Shippee, T. P. (2009). Aging and cumulative inequality: How does inequality
get under the skin? Gerontologist, 49(3), 333–343. https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnp034
Flick, U. (2007). Managing quality in qualitative research. SAGE Publications, Ltd,
https://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781849209441
Fiske, S. T., & Markus, H. Rose. (2014). Facing social class: how societal rank influences
interaction. Contemporary Sociology, 43(3), 365–367.
130

Francis, P., & Horn, A. (2017). Mental Health Issues and Counseling Services in U.S. Higher
Education: An Overview of Recent Research and Recommended Practices. Higher
Education Policy, 30, 263–277.
Fu, J. (2020). Ability or opportunity to act: What shapes financial well-being? World
Development, 128, 104843. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2019.104843
Fuller, M. B. (2014). A History of Financial Aid to Students. Journal of Student Financial Aid,
44(1), 42–68. http://publications.nasfaa.org/jsfa/vol44/iss1/4
García-Mata, O., & Zerón-Félix, M. (2022). A review of the theoretical foundations of financial
well-being. In International Review of Economics (Vol. 69, Issue 2). Springer Berlin
Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12232-022-00389-1
Gerrans, P., Speelman, C., & Campitelli, G. (2013). The Relationship Between Personal
Financial Wellness and Financial Wellbeing: A Structural Equation Modelling Approach.
Journal of Family Economic Issues, 35, 145–160. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10834-013-
9358-z
Gladwell, M. (2008). Outliers: The Story of Success (1st ed.). Little, Brown, and Company.
Glesne, C. (2011). Becoming qualitative researchers: An introduction. Pearson.
Goldin, C., & Katz, L. (2007). Race Between Education and Technology: The Evolution of U.S.
Educational Wage Differentials, 1890–2005.
Grable, J. E., Cupples, S., Fernatt, F., & Anderson, N. (2013). Evaluating the Link Between
Perceived Income Adequacy and Financial Satisfaction: A Resource Deficit Hypothesis
Approach [Article]. Social Indicators Research, 114(3), 1109–1124.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-012-0192-8
131

Grable, J. E. & Joo, S. (1999). Financial Help-Seeking Behavior: Theory and Implications.
Financial Counseling and Planning, 10(1), 13–24.
Grady, J. S., Her, M., Moreno, G., Perez, C., & Yelinek, J. (2019). Emotions in storybooks: A
comparison of storybooks that represent ethnic and racial groups in the United States.
Psychology of Popular Media Culture, 8(3), 207–217.
https://doi.org/10.1037/ppm0000185
Granfield, R. (1991). Making it by faking it: Working-class students in an elite academic
environment. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, 20(3), 659–676.
Greenstone, M., Looney, A., Patashnik, J., & Yu, M. (2013). Thirteen Economic Facts about
Social Mobility and the Role of Education.
Grossmann, I., & Huynh, A. (2013). Where is the culture in social class. Psychological Inquiry,
24(2), 112–119. https://www.jstor.org/stable/43865624
Grusky, D., & Saez, E. (2018). Striking It Richer: The Evolution of Top Incomes in the United
States. Inequality in the 21st Century, 39–42. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429499821-8
Hall, J. A., Coats, E. J., & LeBeau, L. S. (2005). Nonverbal behavior and the vertical dimension
of social relations: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 131, 898–924.
Hall, S. (2018). The Underrepresented Minority: African American Rural Students and Their
Access to Higher Education [Dissertation]. The University of Alabama.
Hallett, R. E., & Freas, A. (2018). Community College Students’ Experiences with
Homelessness and Housing Insecurity. Community College Journal of Research and
Practice, 42(10), 724–739. https://doi.org/10.1080/10668926.2017.1356764
132

Hallett, R. E., Kezar, A., Kitchen, J. A., & Perez, R. J. (2022). Creating a culture of success for
low-income, racially minoritized, and first generation college students [Manuscript in
preparation]. Rutgers Press.
Hallett, R.E., Kezar, A., Kitchen, J., Perez, R., & Reason, R. (2020). Qualitative methods
narrative: Promoting at-promise student success (pass) project. USC Rossier Pullias
Center for Higher Education.
Hallett, R. E., Reason, R. D., Toccoli, J., Kitchen, J. A., & Perez, R. J. (2020). The Process of
Academic Validation Within a Comprehensive College Transition Program. American
Behavioral Scientist, 64(3), 253–275. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002764219869419
Hastings, J. S., Madrian, B. C., & Skimmyhorn, W. L. (2013). Financial literacy, financial
education, and economic outcomes. Annual Review of Economics, 5, 347–373.
https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-economics-082312-125807
Harvard University Archives. (1643). Bequest of Lady Mowlson. Harvard University.
Corporation. Records of Gifts and Donations, 1643-1955., 1643 May 9. UAI 15.400 Box
1, Folder 1. https://nrs.lib.harvard.edu/urn-3:hul.arch:32345038
Haveman, R., & Smeeding, T. (2006). The role of higher education in social mobility. In Future
of Children (Vol. 16, Issue 2, pp. 125–150). https://doi.org/10.1353/foc.2006.0015
Heckman, S., Lim, H., & Montalto, C. (2014). Factors Related to Financial Stress among
College Students. Journal of Financial Therapy, 5(1). https://doi.org/10.4148/1944-
9771.1063
Heller, D., & Callender, C. (2013). Student Financing of Higher Education (D. Heller & C.
Callender, Eds.). Routledge.
133

Heberle, A. E., Kaplan-Levy, S. A., Neuspiel, J. M., & Carter, A. S. (2018). Young children’s
reasoning about the effects of poverty on people experiencing it: A qualitative thematic
analysis. Children and Youth Services Review, 86, 188–199.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2018.01.036
Hicks, S. (2021). Financial Stress in Undergraduate Students Walden University.
Hogarth, J. (2006). Financial Education and Economic Development.
Humes, Edward. (2006). Over here: how the G.I. Bill transformed the American dream (1st ed.)
[Book]. Harcourt.
Hunt, J., & Eisenberg, D. (2010). Mental Health Problems and Help-Seeking Behavior Among
College Students. Journal of Adolescent Health, 46, 3–10.
Ikenberry, S., & Hartel, T. (1998). Too Little Knowledge Is a Dangerous Thing: What the Public
Thinks and Knows about Paying for College. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED450622
Illing, M., & Liu, Y. (2003). Measuring Financial Stress.
Ishitani, T. T., & Reid, A. M. (2015). First-to-Second-Year Persistence Profile of Commuter
Students. New Directions for Student Services, 2015(150), 13–26.
https://doi.org/10.1002/ss.20123
Isserman, A. M. (2005). In the national interest: Defining rural and urban correctly in research
and public policy. In International Regional Science Review (Vol. 28, Issue 4, pp. 465–
499). https://doi.org/10.1177/0160017605279000
Jackson-Leslie, L. (1995). Race, Sex, and Meritocracy. The Black Scholar, 25(3), 24–29.
https://jstor.org/stable/41069742
134

Jerrentrup, A., Mueller, T., Glowalla, U., Herder, M., Henrichs, N., Neubauer, A., & Schaefer, J.
R. (2018). Teaching medicine with the help of “Dr. House.” PLoS ONE, 13(3), Article
e0193972. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0193972
Joo, S. (2008). Personal Financial Wellness [Bookitem]. In Handbook of Consumer Finance
Research (pp. 21–33). Springer New York. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-75734-6_2
Joo, S. H., Durband, D. B., & Grable, J. (2008). The academic impact of financial stress on
college students. Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory and Practice,
10(3), 287–305. https://doi.org/10.2190/CS.10.3.c
Jorgensen, B. L., & Savla, J. (2010). Financial Literacy of Young Adults: The Importance of
Parental Socialization. Family Relations, 59, 465–478. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-
3729.2010.00616.x
Kane, T. J. (2004). College-going and inequality. Social Inequality, 319–353.
Katznelson, I. (2007). When Affirmative Action Was White. 15(2), 187.
Keller, E., & Owens, G. P. (2020). Traditional rural values and posttraumatic stress among rural
and urban undergraduates. PLoS One, 15(8).
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0237578
Kezar, A., Perez, R. J., Kitchen, J. A., & Hallett, R. E. (2021). Learning How to Tailor
Programmatic Offerings to Support Low-income, First Generation, and Racially
Minoritized Student Success. Journal of Postsecondary Student Success, 1(1), 25–57.
https://doi.org/10.33009/fsop_jpss127933
Kim, J., & Chatterjee, S. (2013). Childhood Financial Socialization and Young Adults’ Financial
Management.
135

Kim, J., Gutter, M., & Spangler, T. (2017). Family financial decision making. Journal of
Financial Counseling and Planning, 28(2), 253–267.
Kim, J. H. (2016). Understanding narrative inquiry. Sage.
Kim, J., Lataillade, J., & Kim, H. (2011). Family Processes and Adolescents’ Financial
Behaviors. Journal of Family Economics, 32, 668–679.
King, J. E. (2002). Crucial choices: How students’ financial decisions affect their academic
success.
Kitchen, J., Hallett, R., Perez, R., & Rivera, G. (2019). Advancing the Use of Ecological
Systems Theory in College Student Research: The Ecological Systems Interview Tool.
Journal of College Student Development, 60(4), 381–400.
https://doi.org/10.1353/csd.2019.0043
Kitchen, J. (2022). Proactive Outreach and Tailored Support: A Recipe for Student Success.
Pullias Center: Promoting Equity in Higher Education.
https://pullias.usc.edu/blog/proactive-outreach-and-tailored-support-a-recipe-for-student-
success/
Kraus, M. W., Park, J. W., & Tan, J. J. X. (2017). Signs of Social Class: The Experience of
Economic Inequality in Everyday Life. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 12(3),
422–435. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691616673192
Kraus, M. W., & Tan, J. J. X. (2015). Americans overestimate social class mobility. Journal of
Experimental Social Psychology, 58, 101–111. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2015.01.005
Kwate, N. &. (2012). The Myth of Meritocracy and African American Health. American Journal
of Public Health, 1831–1834.
136

Ladson-Billings, G., & Tate, W. F. (1995). Toward a critical race theory of education. Teachers
College Records, 97(1), 47–68.
Ladson-Billing, G. (2006). From the Achievement Gap to the Education Debt: Understanding
Achievement in U.S. Schools. Educational Researcher, Vol. 35, No. 7, pp. 3–12.
Lauderdale, K., George, M., Bravo, S., & Tran, H. (2020). Building a better bridge of hope.
Los Angeles: University of Southern California. Lee, J. M., & Keys, S. W. (2013). Land-grant
but unequal: State one-to-one match funding for 1890 land-grant universities. September.
Lee, J., & Keys, S. (2013). Policy Brief: Land-Grant but unequal: State one-to-one match
funding for 1890 land-grant universities. Washington, DC: Association of Public and
Land-grant Universities: APLU The Office for Access & Success publication. No. 3000-
PB1.
Lim, H. N., Heckman, S. J., Letkiewicz, J. C., & Montalto, C. P. (2014). Financial stress, self-
efficacy, and financial help-seeking behavior of college students. Journal of Financial
Counseling and Planning, 25(2), 148–160.
Liu, W. M., Corkery, J., & Thome, J. (2010). Developing competency in social class and
classism in counseling and psychotherapy. Handbook of multicultural counseling
competencies (pp. 351–378).
Lochmiller, C.R. & Lester, J. N. (2017). An introduction to educational research: Connecting
methods to practice. SAGE Publications.
López, I. (2004). Race and colorblindness after Hernandez and Brown. Race and Human
Variation: Setting an Agenda for Future Research and Education. American
Anthropological Association. University of California, Berkeley.
137

Long, B. (2004). How do financial aid policies affect colleges? The institutional impact of the
Georgia HOPE Scholarship. Journal of Human Resources, 39(4), 1045–1066.
https://doi.org/10.2307/3559038
Long, B., & Riley, E. (2007). Financial Aid: A Broken Bridge to College Access? Harvard
Educational Review, 77(1).
Long, R. (1994). A University built by the invisible hand. Formulations.
Lueg, J., Ponder, N., Beatty, S., & Capella, M. (2006). Teenagers’ use of alternative shopping
channels: A consumer socialization perspective. Journal of Retailing, 82(2), 137–153.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretai.2005.08.002
Lu-Lerner, L. (2020). How well can we measure well-being? Dissertation, Oberlin College.
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_ num= oberl in158 98138 16828 266.
MacMullen, E. (1997). American Education. History of Education Quarterly, 37(1), 78–81.
Major, B., Gramzow, R. H., McCoy, S. K., Levin, S., Schmader, T., & Sidanius, J. (2002).
Perceiving personal discrimination: The role of group status and legitimizing ideology.
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 82, 269–282.
https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.82.3.269
Mallach, A. (2015). The Uncoupling of the Economic City. Urban Affairs Review, 51(4), 443–
473. https://doi.org/10.1177/1078087414537609
Mammen, S., Bauer, J. W., Lass, D., Mammen, S., Bauer, J. W., & Lass, D. (2009). Life
Satisfaction Among Rural Low-Income Mothers: The Influence of Health, Human,
Personal, and Social Capital. Applied Research Quality Life, 4, 365–386.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11482-009-9086-6
138

Mandell, L., & Klein, L. S. (2009). Impact of Financial Literacy Education on Subsequent
Financial Behavior. In Association for Financial Counseling and Planning Education.
Markus, H. R., & Kitayama, S. (2003). Culture, Self, and the Reality of the Social. Psychological
Inquiry, 14(4), 277–283.
Martinez, J. A., Sher, K. J., Krull, J. L., & Wood, P. K. (2009). Blue-Collar Scholars? Mediators
and Moderators of University Attrition in First Generation College Students. Journal of
College Student Development, 50(1), 87–103. https://doi.org/10.1353/csd.0.0053
Martinez, S. M., Webb, K., Frongillo, E. A., & Ritchie, L. D. (2018). Food insecurity in
California’s public university system: What are the risk factors? Journal of Hunger and
Environmental Nutrition, 13(1), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/19320248.2017.1374901
Massey, K. J., Warrington, A. S., & Holmes, K. (2014). An overview of urban education: A brief
history and contemporary issues.
Matua, G. A. & Van Der Wal, D. M. (2015). Differentiating between descriptive and interpretive
phenomenological research approaches. Nurse Researcher, 22(6), 22–27.
https://doi.org/10.7748/nr.22.6.22.e1344.
Maxwell, J. A. (2013). Qualitative research design: An interactive approach (3rd ed.). Sage.
McCants, J. (2003). The Early History of the Higher Education Act of 1965. In National TRIO
Clearinghouse (Issue 2). http://www.pellinstitute.org/downloads/trio_clearinghouse-The
Early History of the Higher Education Act of 1965.pdf
McKenzie, C. (2021). The Lexicon of Wealth Justice: A Presentation. The Center for Financial
Trauma and Wealth Justice in partnership with Georgetown University Law on Poverty
and Inequality.
139

McKenzie, C. (2022). The Myth of Financial Literacy—And Why Wealth Justice Is a Better
Goal: An Interview. Forbes Media, LLC.
McMillian, J. (1994). Father of the GI Bill. Journal of Arizona History, 35(4), 357–376.
Melguizo, T., Martorell, F., Swanson, E., & Kezar, A. (n.d.). Increasing student success:
Understanding the impact of a comprehensive college transition program. Stakeholder
report for the Thompson Scholars Learning Communities. USC Rossier Pullias Center
for Higher Education.
Merriam, S. B., & Tisdell, E. J. (2016). Qualitative research: A guide to design and
implementation (4th ed.). John Wiley & Sons.
Merton, R. K. (1968). The Matthew Effect in Science. American Association for the
Advancement of Science, 159(3810), 56–63.
Meza, A., Altman, E., Martinez, S., & Leung, C. W. (2019). “It’s a Feeling That One Is Not
Worth Food”: A Qualitative Study Exploring the Psychosocial Experience and Academic
Consequences of Food Insecurity Among College Students. Journal of the Academy of
Nutrition and Dietetics, 119(10), 1713-1721.e1.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jand.2018.09.006
Modigliani F. & Brumberg, R. (1954). Utility analysis and the consumption function: An
interpretation of cross-section data. Post-Keynesian economics.
Moore, J. (2005). Collaborations of Schools and Social Service Agencies.
Mumper, M. (1997). The College Aid Quandary_ Access, Quality, and the Federal Role. Journal
of Higher Education, 68(1), 115–117.
140

Murray, J., & Farrington, D. P. (2010). Risk Factors for Conduct Disorder and Delinquency: Key
Findings from Longitudinal Studies. The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 55(10), 633–
643.
Murray, M. A. (1976). Defining the Higher Education Lobby. Source: The Journal of Higher
Education, 47(1), 79–92.
National Center for Education Statistics. (2020). Digest of Education Statistics, 2019 (NCES
2021-009), Chapter 3. https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d19/ch_3.asp
National Center on Family Homelessness. (2011). America’s Youngest Outcasts 2010: State
Report Card on Child Homelessness. www.HomelessChildrenAmerica.org
Nazmi, A., Martinez, S., Byrd, A., Robinson, D., Bianco, S., Maguire, J., Crutchfield, R. M.,
Condron, K., & Ritchie, L. (2019). A systematic review of food insecurity among U.S.
students in higher education. Journal of Hunger and Environmental Nutrition, 14(5),
725–740. https://doi.org/10.1080/19320248.2018.1484316
Newsome, J., Capur, A., & Rubinov, I. (2021). Efficacy Before Scale. Stanford Social
Innovation Review. https://doi.org/10.48558/4WWA-BN40
Noel, N., Wright, J., Pinder, D., & Stewart, I. I. I. S. (2019). The economic impact of closing the
racial wealth gap. McKinsey Insights, August.
https://search.proquest.com/docview/2375486319
Northern, J. J., O’Brien, W. H., & Goetz, P. W. (2010). The development, evaluation, and
validation of a financial stress scale for undergraduate students. Journal of College
Student Development, 51(1), 79–92. https://doi.org/10.1353/csd.0.0108
Norvilitis, J., Szablicki, P., & Wilson, S. (2003). Factors Influencing Levels of Credit-Card Debt
in College Students. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 33, 935–947.
141

Nunez, R., Zepeda, A., Pizano, A., Kannegaard, J., Ragnauth, A., Greer, K., & Ramola, M.
(2019). Student Homelessness in New York City: Disparities in Academic Achievement.
Obama, B. (2012). Remarks by the President on Economic Mobility. 1–15.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2012/06/15/remarks-president-immigration
OECD Framework for Statistics on the Distribution of Household Income, Consumption and
Wealth Economic well-being. (2013). www.welldev.org.uk
U.S. Census Bureau. (2021). The 2021 Budget Outlook. Office of the Comptroller of the
Currency. (2023). Index of Financial Markets. Retrieved June 20, 2023, from
https://www.occ.treas.gov/topics/supervision-and-examination/capital-markets/financial-
markets/index-financial-markets.html
Oveis, C., Horberg, E. J., & Keltner, D. (2009). Compassion, pride, and social intuitions of self-
other similarity. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 98, 618–630.
Palinkas, L. A., Horwitz, S. M., Green, C. A., Wisdom, J. P., Duan, N., & Hoagwood, K. (2015).
Purposeful Sampling for Qualitative Data Collection and Analysis in Mixed Method
Implementation Research. Administration and policy in mental health, 42(5), 533–544.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10488-013-0528-y
Patton, L. D. (2016). Disrupting postsecondary prose: Toward a critical race theory of higher
education. Urban Education, 51(3), 315-342.
Patton, M. Q. (1999). Enhancing the quality and credibility of qualitative analysis. Health
Services Research, 34(5 Pt 2), 1189–1208.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10591279%0Ahttp://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/
articlerender.fcgi?artid=PMC1089059
142

Peltz, J. Bodenlos, J., Kingery, J., & Rogge, D. (2021) The role of financial strain in college
students’ work hours, sleep, and mental health. Journal of American College Health,
69:6, 577–584, https://doi.org/10.1080/07448481.2019.1705306
Pettigrew, E. J. (2009). A Study of the Impact of Socioeconomic Status on Student Achievement
in a Rural East Tennessee School System. https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/1844
Polit, D., & Beck, C. (2010). Generalization in quantitative and qualitative research: myths and
strategies. International journal of nursing studies, 47(11), 1451–1458.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2010.06.004
Prawitz, A., Garman, E., Sorhaindo, B., O’Neill, B., Kim, J., & Drentea, P. (2006). Incharge
Financial Distress/Financial Well-Being Scale: Development, Administration, and Score
Interpretation. Financial Counseling and Planning, 17(1), 34–50.
Projects, H., & Kapp, A. (2010). Digital Commons @ IWU Financial Stress, Neighborhood
Stress, and Well-Being: Mediational and Moderational Models Financial Stress,
Neighborhood Stress, and Well-Being: Mediational and Moderational Models.
Radwin, D., & Wei, C. (2015). What Is the Price of College: Total, Net, and Price Out-of-Pocket
Prices by Type of Institution in 2011-12.
Rice, A., Colbow, A., Gibbons, S., Cederberg, C., Sahker, E., Liu, W., & Wurster, K. (2017).
The social class worldviews of first generation college students. Counselling Psychology
Quarterly, Barratt, W(4), 415–440. https://doi.org/10.1080/09515070.2016.1179170
Robb, C. A. (2011). Financial Knowledge and Credit Card Behavior of College Students.
Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 32(4), 690–698. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10834-
011-9259-y
143

Roksa, J., Silver, B. R., Deutschlander, D., & Whitley, S. E. (2020). Navigating the 1st-year of
College: Siblings, Parents, and First Generation Students’ Experiences 1.
https://doi.org/10.1111/socf.12617
Roman, I. L., Wood, W. C., & Niederjohn, S. (2021). Higher Education and Economic Mobility:
Who Punches Above Their Weight? Atlantic Economic Journal, 49(3), 317–319.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11293-021-09722-5
Ross, S. (1999). Sources of stress among college students [Article]. College Student Journal,
33(2), 312. https://search-ebscohost-
com.libproxy2.usc.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eue&AN=507635214&authtype=sso
&custid=s8983984
Ross, S., Niebling, B., & Heckert, T. (1999). Sources of stress among college students. College
Student Journal, 33, 6. https://web-p-ebscohost-
com.libproxy1.usc.edu/ehost/delivery?sid=31840337-9948-46c3-ae5d-
7f4f7608a328%40redis&vid=1&ReturnUrl=https%3a%2f%2fweb.p.e
Rubin, M. (1987). Charity and community in medieval Cambridge [Book]. Cambridge
University Press. https://doi-org.libproxy1.usc.edu/10.1017/CBO9780511522444
Ryff, C. (2015). Psychological Well-Being Revisited: Advances in Science and Practice.
Psychother Psychosom, 83(1), 10–28. https://doi.org/10.1159/000353263.Psychological
Saldaña, J. (2013). The coding manual for qualitative researchers. Sage.
Sapolsky, R. M. (2017). Behave: The biology of humans at our best and worst. Penguin Books.
Saunders, W., Goldenberg, C., & Gallimore, R. (2009). Increasing achievement by focusing
grade-level teams on improving classroom learning: A prospective, quasi-experimental
144

study of title I schools. American Educational Research Journal, 46(4), 1006–1033.
https://doi.org/10.3102/0002831209333185
Schraw, G., Lehman, S., & Flowerday, T. (2001). Increasing Situational Interest in the
Classroom. Educational Psychology Review, 13(3), 211–224.
Schunk, D. (1995). Learning Theories an Educational Perspective. In P. Smith (Ed.), Space
Science Reviews (6th ed., Vol. 71, Issues 1–4). Pearson Education, Inc.
https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00751323
Schunk, D. (2020). Learning theories: An educational perspective (8th ed.). Pearson Education.
Scott-Clayton, J., & Li, J. (2016, October 20). Brookings. Retrieved from Black-White disparity
in student loan debt more than triples after graduation: brookings.edu/research/Black-
White-disparity-in-student-loan-debt-more-than-triples-after-graduation/
Sears, J. (1922). Philanthropy in the history of American higher education. 26.
Shahrokni, S. (2018). The collective roots and rewards of upward educational mobility. British
Journal of Sociology, 69(4), 1175–1193. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-4446.12349
Sherraden, M., & Grinstein-Weiss, M. (2015). Creating financial capability in the next
generation: An introduction to the special issue. Journal of Consumer Affairs, 49(1), 1–
12. https://doi.org/10.1111/joca.12067
Shrider, E., Kollar, M., Chen, F., & Semega, J. (2021, September 21). U.S. Census Bureau,
Current Population Reports, P60-273, Income and Poverty in the United States: 2020.
U.S. Government Publishing Office, Washington, DC.
https://www.census.gov/library/publications/2021/demo/p60-273.html.
Silver, B. (2020). Inequity in the extracurricular: How class, race, and gender shape college
involvement. Sociological Forum, 35(4).
145

Simon, P. (1984). Congressional Response Reauthorizing Higher Ed Act 1965. Brademas
Commission. https://www.jstor.org/stable/40164303
Sirota, A., & Pedersen, L. (2021). State tax policy is not race neutral.
Sloan, A., & Bowe, B. (2014). Phenomenology and hermeneutic phenomenology: The
philosophy, the methodologies, and using hermeneutic phenomenology to investigate
lecturers’ experiences of curriculum design. Quality & quantity, 48(3), 1291-1303.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-013-9835-3
Smith, D. (2018). “Phenomenology,” The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Summer 2018
Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.).
https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2018/entries/phenomenology
Smith, M. (2003). Government Relations Higher Ed Act 1965. American Association of
University Professors, 89(5), 101.
Snibbe, A., & Markus, H. (2005). You Can’t Always Get What You Want_ Educational
Attainment, Agency, and Choice. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 88(4),
703–720.
Snyder, T., & Dillow, S. (2013). Digest of Education Statistics, 2012.
Soria, K., Weiner, B., & Lu, E. (2014). Financial Decisions among Undergraduate Students from
Low-Income and Working-Class Social Class Backgrounds. Journal of Student Financial
Aid, 44(1), 7–25. http://publications.nasfaa.org/jsfa
Spencer, R., McCormack, M., Drew, A., Gowdy, G., & Keller, T. (2022). (Not) minding the gap:
A qualitative interview study of how social class bias can influence youth mentoring
relationships. Journal of Community Psychology, 50(3), 1579–1596.
https://doi.org/10.1002/jcop.22737
146

Stein, S. (2018). Confronting the Racial-Colonial Foundations of U.S. Higher Education. Journal
for the Study of Postsecondary and Tertiary Education, 3, 077–096.
https://doi.org/10.28945/4105
Stephens, N., Hamedani, M., & Destin, M. (2014). Closing the Social-Class Achievement Gap:
A Difference-Education Intervention Improves First Generation Students’ Academic
Performance and All Students’ College Transition. Psychological Science, 25(4), 943–
953. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797613518349
Stuart, G. (2013). What Is Financial Capability? Center for Financial Inclusion. Retrieved April
30, 2023, from https://www.centerforfinancialinclusion.org/what-is-financial-capability
Svendsen, S., & Løber, L. (2020). The big picture/Academic writing: The one-hour guide (3rd
digital ed.). Hans Reitzel Forlag. https://thebigpicture-
academicwriting.digi.hansreitzel.dk/
Thelin, J. (2011). A history of American higher education (2nd ed.) [Book]. Johns Hopkins
University Press.
Thomson, W. (1994). Social class and socioeconomic status. New Zealand Medical Journal,
107(988), 439. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781483385198.n275
Thrash, P. (1979). Accreditation A Perspective. Journal of Higher Education, 50(2), 115–120.
Turner, N., Chetty, R., Saez, E., Yagan, D., & Friedman, J. (2017). Mobility Report Cards: The
Role of Colleges in Intergenerational Mobility [Book]. National Bureau of Economic
Research. https://doi.org/10.3386/w23618
United States Census Bureau. (2021). QuickFacts. 2–4.
https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/U.S./PST045221
147

United States Census Bureau. (2021). Poverty Rate of Children Higher Than National Rate,
Lower for Older Populations. https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2022/10/poverty-
rate-varies-by-age-groups.html
United States Census Bureau. (2019). American Community Survey 1-year estimate [Table
B17024].
U.S. Department of Education. (2022). College Scorecard. https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/
U.S. Department of the Treasury. (2019). Best Practices for Financial Literacy and Education at
Institutions of Higher Education.
University of Nebraska Omaha, College of Public Affairs and Community Service, Center for
Public Affairs Research. (2021). Nebraska State Data Center.
https://www.unomaha.edu/college-of-public-affairs-and-community-service/center-for-
public-affairs-research/programs/nebraska-state-data-center.php
University of Nebraska-Lincoln. (2023).
https://newsroom.unl.edu/announce/parentnews/3259/19469
Urban, R., Jennings, L., & Cipher, D. (2022). Nurse Educator.
https://doi.org/10.1097/NNE.0000000000001146
Urban, W., Wagoner, J., & Gaither, M. (2009). American education: A history (J. L. Wagoner,
Ed.; 4th ed.) [Book]. Routledge.
van Manen, M. (2007). Phenomenology of Practice. Phenomenology & practice, 1(1).
https://doi.org/10.29173/pandpr19803
Vanderbilt-Adriance, E., & Shaw, D. S. (2008). Protective factors and the development of
resilience in the context of neighborhood disadvantage. Journal of Abnormal Child
Psychology, 36(6), 887–901. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-008-9220-1
148

Weaver, R. R., Vaughn, N. A., Hendricks, S. P., McPherson-Myers, P. E., Jia, Q., Willis, S. L.,
& Rescigno, K. P. (2020). University student food insecurity and academic performance.
Journal of American College Health, 68(7), 727–733.
https://doi.org/10.1080/07448481.2019.1600522
Webster, J., Fletcher, C., Cornett, A., & Knaff, C. (2022). Student Financial Wellness Survey:
Fall 2020 Semester Results. SSRN Electronic Journal, 1–84.
https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3987501
Wiborg, A. (2001). Education, mobility, and ambivalence. Rural students in higher education.
Young, 23–40. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1177/110330880100900103
Wilder, S. (2014). Effects of parental involvement on academic achievement: A meta-synthesis.
Educational Review, 66(3), 377–397. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131911.2013.780009
Wilkinson, R., & Pickett, K. (2006). Income inequality and population health: A review and
explanation of the evidence. Journal of Social Science & Medicine, 1768–1784.
Wilkinson, Rupert. (2005). Aiding Students, Buying Students Financial Aid in America (1st ed.)
[Book]. Vanderbilt University Press.
Williams, J. M., Bryan, J., Morrison, S. & Scott, T. R. (2017). Protective factors and processes
contributing to the academic success of students living in poverty: Implications for
counselors. Multicultural Counseling and Development, 45, 183–200.
https://doi.org/10.1002/jmcd.12073
Williamson, V. (2020). Closing the racial wealth gap requires heavy, progressive taxation of
wealth. 1–17. https://www.brookings.edu/research/closing-the-racial-wealth-gap-
requires-heavy-progressive-taxation-of-wealth/
149

Wilson, W. J. (2003). Race, class and urban poverty: A rejoinder. Ethnic and Racial Studies,
26(6), 1096–1114. https://doi.org/10.1080/0141987032000132522
Woo, J. H., & Matthews, M. L. (1994). Web Tables—Trends in Debt for Bachelor’s Degree
Recipients a Year After Graduation: 1994, 2001, and 2009.
Woods II, L. L. (2013). Almost no Negro Veteran. Journal of African American History, 98(3).
Xiao, J. J., Tang, C., & Shim, S. (2008). Acting for happiness financial behavior and life
satisfaction. Social Indicators Research, 92, 53–68.
Youth.gov. (n.d.). Risk and Protective Factors.
Zumeta, W., & Mock, C. (1985). State Policy and Private Higher Education: A Preliminary
Research Report [Article]. Review of Higher Education, 9(1), 128–128.
https://doi.org/10.1353/rhe.1985.0063

150

Appendix A: Interview Questionnaire Protocol Fall 2021
The following document is the interview protocol that was used to interview student
participants in 2021 and 2022.
1. One of the things that we are interested in this study is understanding how social class
shapes the experiences of students coming into college.
2. When I say the term social class, what comes to mind for you? If the student is
uncertain, we said, social class is defined in many different ways. I will list different
social class categorizations in the chat window. Can you please read through them
and tell me which closely matches your background? Lower-Class, Working-Class,
Lower Middle-Class, Middle-Class, Upper-Middle-Class, Upper Class.
3. Could you tell me a little more about why you believe that is your social class
background?
4. Social class is often defined through factors such as parents’ or primary caregivers’
income, education, and occupation. Thinking about your social class background,
how might each apply to you?
• How would you describe your parents’ or primary caregivers’ income?
• How would you describe your parents’ or primary caregivers’ education?
• How would you describe your parents’ or primary caregivers’ occupation/job?
5. How do you think your social class has impacted your experience getting to
college? Your transition to [institution] over the past few months?
6. What are other personal experiences or identities that you hold that have impacted
you as you transitioned to [institution]?
7. When you think about coming to [institution] and transitioning in, can you think
151

of a skill set, strengths, or experiences related to your social class that has helped
you navigate that process? What was it? How did it impact your experiences?

152

Appendix B: Interview Questionnaire Protocol Spring 2022
Skim fall semester transcript for something significant they shared to follow up on with
the student.
1. What’s the best thing that has happened to you this semester?
2. What’s something that’s been really hard to navigate this semester?
3. Where on campus have you felt supported this semester?
4. Tell me something big or small you experienced this semester that made you feel
valued, understood, and respected? Like you’re capable of success in college? Be
attentive to things they personally experienced, things they witnessed happen to
others, or things they saw or encountered (e.g., poster, email message, sign). These
may be big things or small things like being noticed in class, someone remembering
their name, being invited to sit at a lunch table, etc.
5. Walk me through your day yesterday [during regular school week] from the time you
got up until you went to bed. (Take notes about the highlights and then ask for more
information about each aspect to create a narrative about their day.)
• Was that a typical day? If not, how was this different from a typical day?
• Be attentive to technology and social media use.
6. How has this semester been similar to last semester? How has it been different from
last semester?
7. Are you exploring majors currently or have you declared a major?
• [If exploring] Can you talk me through how you are going about choosing a
major? How confident do you feel about finding a major that is a good fit for
153

you? Are you connecting with any supports or individuals to guide you in
exploring and choosing a major?
• [If decided] When did you decide? How confident do you feel in your choice
of major? Are you connecting with any supports or individuals to guide you in
your plans for your major?
8. How does [knowing/exploring] your major influence your experiences in
college? Specifically consider academic confidence, well-being, and validation. The
quantitative data suggests that students with a declared major have higher levels of all
three as compared to undeclared/exploring students.
9. [If there’s time, but prioritize question 10 and 11] How prepared did you feel to
manage your finances coming to [campus]? What have your experiences been like
managing your finances so far?
10. What are your plans for this summer?
11. Is there anything I didn’t ask about in today’s interview that you think it is important
for me to know?

154

Appendix C: Interview Questionnaire Protocol Summer 2023
All students who participated in an interview in the past year should be invited to
participate in the summer interview.
Introduction: Skim previous transcript for something significant they shared to follow up
on with the student.
1. If you had to pick 2 highlights from your 1st-year of college, what would they be and
why? How about 2 low points?
2. We did some surveys asking students how confident they felt that they were going to
do well in their classes. Students said they came in with higher levels of confidence at
the start of the year, and at the end of the year they said they were less confident.
Why do you think that might be?
• Look for connections to time use/management.
• Look for connections to their well-being.
3. At our first interview, I asked you how identities that you held were shaping your
college journey (e.g., social class, race, gender). Looking back on your 1st-year, how
would you answer that question now? Probe: At our first interview, I asked you about
your social class. How did that impact your 1st-year?
4. Now that it’s summer, has where you turn for support changed since we spoke in
spring? How so? Probe for whether they stay in contact with their college peers and
educators during the summer.
5. What has been the best part of your summer so far? What has been the most
challenging part? Is this summer what you thought it would be?
155

6. We’re really interested in understanding what summer looks like for college students
these days. What has it looked like for you? What’s on your weekly to-do list? [Probe
for whether they are working, interning, volunteering, taking classes, what their living
situation is.]
• Ask how they decided to spend their time doing the things on their to-do list
and/ why they are spending their time on those things.
• Was there something that you hoped you were going to be able to do during
this summer that you weren’t able to do? Why?
• Do you think the way you spend your time during the summer is similar to or
different from other students? Why?
• Probe for how their to-do list has changed since the school year finished.
7. What is something you thought was important to do just for yourself this summer?
Why? Have you done it? (The goal of this question is to understand if and how they
approach self-care and/or wellness. Adjust question to meet the student’s
experiences.)
8. Reflecting on your college experiences so far, can you tell me about a time where you
felt like you were thriving? Why?
• What does it take for you to thrive?
• What would it take for you to thrive more often?
• Probe: May have specific probes based on post-test short-answer responses
about thriving

Abstract (if available)

Abstract This qualitative study investigates the financial stress and financial well-being of ten diverse at-promise students attending three university campuses in the midwestern United States. The study’s data included 29 individual participant interviews conducted during the fall, spring, and summer semesters of the first year of their college careers. Analysis of findings are informed by García-Mata and Zerón-Felix’s (2022) theory of financial well-being and Fu’s (2020) theory of what shapes financial well-being. The results of the study highlight obstacles individuals from challenging socioeconomic backgrounds face, including limited access to resources, unequal opportunities, and social class-based stigmatization; the importance of personal relationships, such as family, friends, and mentors, in influencing participants' financial well-being by providing emotional and practical support; and the importance of educational support systems within institutions in enhancing or inhibiting student financial well-being for tailored acclimation to the campus financial marketplace. These themes collectively provide insights into the multifaceted nature of financial well-being and the various factors that influence individuals' financial outcomes. These themes spanned five of García-Mata and Zerón-Felix’s (2022) propositions of financial well-being. Study implications offer guidance for institutions and leaders to improve support mechanisms within the education systems which can reduce financial stress.

Linked assets

University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses

Conceptually similar

PDF

Pay to play: a qualitative study on how the perception of the continued rise in college tuition impacts first-generation, loan-borrowing graduates and their financial well-being

PDF

Postsecondary students, well-being, and sources of support

PDF

A new lens to examine and increase sense of belonging of Latin* students from postsecondary institutions in the midwestern United States

PDF

Teacher well-being matters: an explorative study of early childhood teacher well-being, their experiences, and perspectives

PDF

Navigating the academy and beyond: an examination of major and career self-efficacy of Latin* first-generation college students

PDF

Increasing financial aid resources available to support low-income first-generation college students: an evaluation study

PDF

Students with disabilities in higher education: examining factors of mental health, psychological well-being, and resiliency

PDF

Enrollment and financial aid decisions of first-year students at a private institution

PDF

Well-being of school communities

PDF

Examining influences on the decision-making process of Filipino students and parents in selecting a post-secondary institution

PDF

Identifying and defining environmental stressors influencing law student wellness and well-being: an exploratory study

PDF

Well-being, sense of belonging, and persistence among commuter college students in Hawai’i

PDF

Visibly invisible: the experiences of black queer women on campus

PDF

Beyond the binary: a phenomenological study of the campus experiences and social identities of bisexual, pansexual, fluid, and queer students at a public university

PDF

Acculturative stress of Chinese international students in the United States

PDF

Frontline workers serving students: a study on the well-being of student affairs professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic

PDF

Do attitudes matter? attitudes towards debt and graduate student loan debt

PDF

Stress among undocumented Latinx students

PDF

Nourish to flourish: strengthening social emotional wellness of teachers to mitigate stress, enrich engagement, and increase efficacy: an evaluation study

PDF

Fulfillment of a regional college promise: lessons from the first year, first cohort

Asset Metadata

Creator Lauderdale, Khalilah Ranae (author)

Core Title Examining Financial Well-being and Financial Stress: Experiences of Low-income and First-generation Postsecondary Students

School Rossier School of Education

Degree Doctor of Education

Degree Program Education (Leadership)

Degree Conferral Date 2023-05

Publication Date 07/21/2023

Defense Date 05/15/2023

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag accessibility,at-promise,experiences,financial,financial aid,financial stress,financial wellbeing,financial well-being,first year students,Higher Education,low-income,OAI-PMH Harvest,postsecondary,postsecondary education,rural,rurality,student loans,Students,wellbeing,well-being

Format theses (aat)

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Corwin, Zoe (committee chair), Ishop, Kedra (committee member), Kitchen, Joseph (committee member)

Creator Email khalilah.lauderdale@hotmail.com,krlauder@usc.edu

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-oUC113282116

Unique identifier UC113282116

Identifier etd-Lauderdale-12129.pdf (filename)

Legacy Identifier etd-Lauderdale-12129

Document Type Dissertation

Format theses (aat)

Rights Lauderdale, Khalilah Ranae

Internet Media Type application/pdf

Type texts

Source 20230721-usctheses-batch-1072 (batch), University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the author, as the original true and official version of the work, but does not grant the reader permission to use the work if the desired use is covered by copyright. It is the author, as rights holder, who must provide use permission if such use is covered by copyright.

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 2810, 3434 South Grand Avenue, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, California 90089-2810, USA

Repository Email cisadmin@lib.usc.edu