Financial stress can affect students just as much, if not more, than academic stress. The cost of books and supplies, housing, transportation and tuition can take a toll on students’ mental health. Colleges and universities like Syracuse, and the people who work there, can and should do more to accommodate students with diverse financial backgrounds.

The 2019-20 tuition cost for students enrolled at Syracuse University after fall 2018 is $52,210. That’s incredibly steep as tuition only covers students’ education. The median household income in America was $61,822.00 in 2018.

SU does provide a number of resources to help students cope with financial stress. Orange Budget is an app that helps students manage their expenses, and the school also offers financial coaching from a team of Smart Money coaches.

But those services aren’t enough, especially when many students aren’t even aware of every financial literacy initiative on campus.

Donald Dutkowsky, a professor of economics at SU’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, said he would love to see the university’s financial literacy initiatives advertised more in the first year experience.

“It’s all about trying to move students forward so that they can be more successful in their studies and ultimately more successful in life, and I think that’s an important component of all that training,” Dutkowsky said.

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But tuition isn’t the only expense students are up against at Syracuse.

Luxury housing near SU is ridiculously expensive. The Marshall Syracuse, for example, charges $1,225 to $1,500 per month depending on the type of apartment. Rooms on campus can range from $3,460 to $6,070 per year.

Students like to make jokes about repaying their student loans and getting buried by debt, but financial stress is real and can be damaging. It may be easy for students to tell themselves that everyone is in the same situation, and although that might be true for many students, it’s not a good thing.

Stress can be hard to define. Cleveland Clinic, a nonprofit academic medical center, defines stress as “a normal reaction the body has when changes occur.” But in the modern financial landscape, stress is students hyperventilating after any bill arrives.

Stress can affect your social life and even small things like your ability to eat breakfast or buy a snack between classes during the day.

When students are just surviving rather than living, the college system has failed.

“I think financial stress often leads to academic stress,” said Maria Zhu, an assistant professor of economics in SU’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. “They’re so closely intertwined. I think financial stress puts a lot of pressure on students to graduate in a timely manner so they’re not spending more money or to have a good GPA and resume so that they can get a high paying job. I kind of see it as all these interrelated stresses, so I think it’s important that universities tackle all aspects of it.”

A community of low income students that attend the University of Georgia found relief by creating a “Being-not-rich” guide that provides financial resources for students. The guide lists lower rent options for housing, advice on how to maintain a healthy social life and tips on transportation around campus. Student-led initiatives like this are great, but they should be coming from universities rather than struggling students left with no other options.

And those changes don’t necessarily have to come exclusively from university administrations. Professors can also help students who are financially struggling by being more accommodating and understanding of difficult economic circumstances. Zhu and Dutkowsky both said they consider the cost of textbooks and student engagement platforms like Top Hat when planning and instructing their courses.

We have to stop viewing finances as detached from the overall student experience. Financial stress can lead to academic stress, and it can affect all areas of a student’s life. Students who are financially sound are less likely to worry about their finances and more able to focus on their academics and social connections — more likely to succeed at SU.

Colleges have a responsibility to provide students with resources to help with their finances just as they do with their academics. They need to start taking that responsibility more seriously.

Jenna Wirth is a sophomore magazine journalism major. Her column appears bi-weekly. She can be reached at jwirth@syr.edu. She can be followed on Twitter @jenna__wirth.

Published on September 25, 2019 at 2:21 am