The chief money-related stress for many is debt. Outstanding student loans have soared to $1 trillion and there seems to be no stopping the growth. In 2001, 5.6% of college-bound students expected to use $10,000 or more in loans the first year. By 2011, this figure had more than doubled, to 13.3%, the most recent American Freshman: National Norms survey found.
More striking, a May 2012 survey by Inceptia, a non-profit financial education advocate, found that four of the top five areas causing stress among college students were money related. Inceptia explored 11 likely sources of stress, including family life, work, academics, and time management. The top five reasons for stress:
Need to repay loans
Cost of education
Borrowing money for college
Need to find a job after school
Academic challenge of course work
Read more: Back to School: Top Five Things That Stress College Students | TIME.com http://business.time.com/2012/07/31/back-to-school-top-five-things-that-stress-college-students/#ixzz2kR1Y8ie6
Whatever happened to teen angst over fitting in or finding a date? Money issues swamp them, and it is having a debilitating effect. One in three say money problems are hurting their grades and one in four say money issues have forced them to reduce their coursework. From a July 2012 Inceptia report:
“We found that 74% of respondents are working during the academic year, and 15% of students are working full-time. The average student is putting in 21.1 hours of work per week, which is significantly more time than they are spending on academic endeavors outside the classroom.”
Other research has found that working more than 10 hours per week leads to academic trouble and that students who work more than 20 hours per week are significantly more likely to report that financial stress