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Personal Finance Reports

2016 College Students and Personal Finance Study

Updated Jun 13, 2023   |   7-min read

We are excited to release the results of our 2016 College Students and Personal Finance Study. This study was designed to test current college students on basic personal finance knowledge and to gain insight into the ways in which current college students are managing money.

There is a lack of financial literacy in the United States – that is no secret. Today, only 17 states require high school students to take a course in personal finance. We hope that you find the results of our study eye opening and insightful.

Over the last month, our survey team was hard at work collecting responses from 455 undergraduate and graduate students. In total, each student answered 25 unique questions related to personal finance and managing money. We asked each respondent to answer these questions honestly and believe that that vast majority of students were truthful in their replies.

We believe that high schools, colleges, and universities need to require a formalized personal finance education in the classroom. Personal finance skills are vital. Many people associate college with new experiences and fun times, but it can also be characterized by cheap dinners, frugality, and even excessive student loan debt.

According to a few people, the student debt issue could even be attributed to a lack of financial literacy. Without a solid background in personal finance, oftentimes there is a lack of knowledge on student loan basics; for instance, many students don’t know that private student loans often come with higher interest rates or that there are repayment options such as student loan refinancing

In our results, we found that students are lacking basic knowledge and confidence in just personal finance basics, so it isn’t too far off to surmise that this lack of knowledge spreads into other financial topics. We hope that these results will inspire educators and lawmakers to improve access to personal finance education in the classroom.

Here are the results of the survey (numbers rounded in this article):

  • Grade yourself in terms of successfully managing your finances and money?
    • 8 percent of students surveyed reported “A”
    • 32 percent of students surveyed reported “B”
    • 41 percent of students surveyed reported “C”
    • 14 percent of students surveyed reported “D”
    • 4 percent of students surveyed reported “F”
  • What sounds most like your current financial situation?
    • 51 percent of students said “I’m barely keeping up”
    • 49 percent of students said “I’m doing just fine”
  • Are you saving money each month?
    • 42 percent of students surveyed reported “Yes”
    • 58 percent of students surveyed reported “No”
  • Do you track your monthly spending with an app or by hand?
    • 42 percent of students surveyed reported using an app
    • 15 percent of students surveyed reported budgeting by hand
    • 43 percent of students surveyed said that they don’t track monthly spending
  • What percentage of your income is saved each month?
    • 29 percent of students surveyed reported “0%”
    • 12 percent of students surveyed reported “1-10%”
    • 20 percent of students surveyed reported “11-20%”
    • 21 percent of students surveyed reported “21-30%”
    • 6 percent of students surveyed reported “31-40%”
    • 2.2 percent of students surveyed reported “41-50%”
    • 1.7 percent of students surveyed reported “51-60%”
    • 2.6 percent of students surveyed reported “61-70%”
    • 1.3 percent of students surveyed reported “71-80%”
    • 1.7 percent of students surveyed reported “81-90%”
    • 2.2 percent of students surveyed reported “90% or higher”
  • Do you currently have an emergency fund?
    • 19 percent of students have an emergency fund
    • 81 percent of students do not have an emergency fund
  • How knowledgeable are you about creating and maintaining a budget?
    • 18 percent of students surveyed reported that they are “Very Knowledgeable”
    • 41 percent of students surveyed reported that they are “Moderately Knowledgeable”
    • 36 percent of students surveyed reported that they are “Minimally Knowledgeable”
    • 5 percent of students surveyed reported that they are “Not Knowledgeable”
  • What is your biggest monthly expense?
    • 38 percent of students surveyed reported “Food”
    • 25 percent of students surveyed reported “Alcohol and/or Drugs”
    • 29 percent of students surveyed reported “Rent”
    • 8 percent of students surveyed reported “Clothes”
  • What is your largest source of income?
    • 27 percent of students surveyed reported “I don’t have an income”
    • 16 percent of students surveyed reported “On-campus job”
    • 24 percent of students surveyed reported “Part-time job off campus, or internship”
    • 28 percent of students surveyed reported “Summer jobs”
    • 5 percent of students surveyed reported “Full-time employment”
  • What is the average interest rate paid on a savings account in the United States?
    • 26 percent of students surveyed reported “0-1%”
    • 42 percent of students surveyed reported “1-3%”
    • 22 percent of students surveyed reported “3-5%”
    • 8 percent of students surveyed reported “5-7%”
    • 2 percent of students surveyed reported “+7%”
  • How knowledgeable are you when it comes to financial investments?
    • 7 percent of students surveyed reported that they are “Very Knowledgeable”
    • 33 percent of students surveyed reported that they are “Moderately Knowledgeable”
    • 34 percent of students surveyed reported that they are “Minimally Knowledgeable”
    • 26 percent of students surveyed reported that they are “Not Knowledgeable”
  • How knowledgeable are you when it comes to saving for retirement?
    • 9 percent of students surveyed reported that they are “Very Knowledgeable”
    • 42 percent of students surveyed reported that they are “Moderately Knowledgeable”
    • 35 percent of students surveyed reported that they are “Minimally Knowledgeable”
    • 13 percent of students surveyed reported that they are “Not Knowledgeable”
  • How much did your parent(s) / guardian(s) teach you about managing money?
    • 21 percent of students surveyed reported their parents “taught me specifically how to manage money”
    • 25 percent of students surveyed reported their parents “taught me general ways of managing money”
    • 24 percent of students surveyed reported their parents “helped me learn through example”
    • 30 percent of students surveyed reported their parents “did not teach me how to manage money”
  • Did you receive personal finance education in high school?
    • 14 percent of students surveyed reported “Yes, I received an adequate amount”
    • 35 percent of students surveyed reported “Yes, I received a little bit”
    • 51 percent of students surveyed reported “No, I received no education at all”
  • Did you take a personal finance course in college? Or, do you plan to take a personal finance course in college?
    • 34 percent of students surveyed reported “Yes, I’ve taken a class already”
    • 21 percent of students surveyed reported “No, but I plan on taking a course”
    • 45 percent of students surveyed reported “No, I haven’t taken a course and I don’t plan on it”
  • Which sources do you trust the most for learning about managing money?
    • 39 percent of students surveyed reported “Bank websites”
    • 11 percent of students surveyed reported “Bank Branches”
    • 9 percent of student surveyed reported “School/academic institutions”
    • 41 percent of students surveyed reported “Other financial websites”
  • Which best describes your current personal finance goal?
    • 29 percent of students surveyed reported “Pay off student loan debt”
    • 19 percent of students surveyed reported “Start saving for retirement”
    • 23 percent of students surveyed reported “Build good credit”
    • 20 percent of students surveyed reported “Save for vacation and/or special purchase”
    • 9 percent of students surveyed reported “Start an emergency fund”
  • Do you feel like student loan debt will hold you back financially after graduation?
    • 38 percent of students surveyed reported “Yes, student loan debt will hold me back financially”
    • 33 percent of students surveyed reported “No, student loan debt will not hold me back financially”
    • 29 percent of students surveyed reported “Not applicable, I don’t have student loan debt”
  • Have you ever been late on a credit card payment?
    • 8 percent of students surveyed reported “Yes”
    • 32 percent of students surveyed reported “No”
    • 60 percent of students surveyed reported “Does not apply”
  • 43 percent of students surveyed could not name one major difference between a credit and debit card
  • 23 percent of students surveyed could not name one major difference between a checking account and a savings account
  • 79 percent of students surveyed did not know the difference between a traditional bank and a credit union
  • 68 percent of students surveyed did not know what a 401k or IRA is used for
  • 58 percent of students surveyed were not working to build good credit
  • 43 percent of students surveyed believed that checking their credit report would hurt their credit score
college students and personal finance study infographic

About the 2016 College Students and Personal Finance Study

The LendEDU team surveyed 455 undergraduate and graduate students at three different 4-year institutions (2 public, 1 private) on the East Coast. The survey was administered by hand by the LendEDU team. All responses were self reported by the respondents.

See more of LendEDU’s Research