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Personal Finance Reports

Colleges That Are Making a Difference By Improving Financial Literacy

Updated Jun 19, 2023   |   3-min read

Over the last few years, there has been no shortage of articles that revolve around the common theme of young Americans, mainly college students, being woefully underprepared to handle their finances due to a lack of knowledge when it comes to personal finances.

Admittedly, LendEDU has contributed to this spate of articles, but only because there truly is a lack of financial literacy amongst our nation’s young adults.

The issue has reached such a level of concern that The Financial Literacy and Education Commission, a group that includes the Treasury Department and the Department of Education, has very recently recommended that colleges across the U.S. implement mandatory financial literacy courses.

Fortunately, there will always trailblazers that lead the way so that others may follow suit, even when it comes to financial literacy.

In this article, LendEDU has recognized several financial literacy programs at colleges throughout the country that are innovating the ways in which financial literacy is taught in order to make a lasting difference in the lives of thousands of young adults.

From Yale in the Northeast, down to the University of South Florida in the South, and Stanford out West, LendEDU has interviewed the financial literacy program coordinators at these schools, amongst others, to reveal how they are improving financial literacy one student at a time.

Yale University & the Implementation of ReisUP’s LIT Program

Tara Falcone, a Yale University alumna and former hedge fund analyst on Wall Street, founded ReisUP, an online, interactive financial education company. ReisUP’s flagship program, LIT, is a video-based financial literacy platform designed specially for college students.

In 2018, a custom LIT program was implemented at Yale University that allowed Yale students to register for the interactive financial literacy program through Yale’s website. Tara also appears regularly on Yale’s campus to host financial literacy workshops and continue to promote LIT use amongst Yale’s student body.

Stanford University’s Mind Over Money Financial Literacy Program

At Stanford University, the Mind Over Money financial literacy program was formed as a campus-wide resource to help educate and inform students on financial decisions that need to be made both as a student and as a graduate.

Erika Topete, an alumna of Stanford University herself, joined the Mind Over Money staff to assist in building a world class financial literacy program at Stanford. Erika is also a board member for Generation Wealthy, a personal finance nonprofit.

The Bull2Bull Financial Literacy Program at the University of South Florida

In Tampa, Florida at the University of South Florida, the Bull2Bull Financial Education Program (B2B) is a peer-to-peer financial literacy program that is grounded in research and current trends in order to improve the financial wellness of students at the university.

Dameion Lovett is the Campus Director of Financial Aid at USF, while also serving as the director of the Bull2Bull program. With two decades of financial aid experience, Dameion brings a bevy of knowledge in the subject.

Promoting Financial Literacy at Southern Connecticut State University

At Southern Connecticut State University, improving financial literacy amongst students has been prioritized in recent years. The school’s program features over 100 annual workshops and has created more than 3,000 individual financial plans based on the unique situations of respective students.

Running this financial literacy program is Lew DeLuca, who has become an all-star of sorts in the financial literacy space. Financial literacy at SCSU is currently an office of one, and that one is Lew; he not only gives financial literacy presentations throughout Connecticut and New York, but he privately counsels individual students to help them meet their financial goals.

See more of LendEDU’s research.