2/3 of college students struggle with costs, work-school balance
Nearly two-thirds of California students say their biggest obstacle to succeeding in college are costs, including tuition and living expenses, and juggling work with school, according to a survey released Sept. 12 by the California Student Aid Commission.
More than one-third of the 15,000 students surveyed said they lacked stable housing and a steady source of food in the last month. Students in rural areas expressed the greatest hardship: 41 percent of Central Valley residents reported housing insecurity while 47 percent of those in the North Inland — the area of Shasta, Butte, Lassen, Plumas and Siskiyou counties — said they did not have regular access to sufficient nutritious food.
Among Los Angeles students, 30 percent reported housing insecurity, the lowest level in the state, and 33 percent faced food insecurity, the third-lowest level after the East Bay and wine country areas.
African American students faced the greatest struggles. More than half reported they lacked regular access to nutritious food and 40 percent said they did not have stable housing, the survey found. About 4 in 10 Latino students faced similar hardships, with about 3 in 10 Asian Americans and whites reporting such difficulties.
“Far too many students do not have the financial means to cover the real costs of college, nor do they have access to sufficient aid,” Marlene Garcia, commission executive director, said in a statement. “In many cases, they are skipping meals, sleeping in cars, or otherwise going deeper into poverty with crushing loan debt. This is unacceptable, and we must address these direct needs immediately.”
The Student Aid Commission is a state agency responsible for administering financial aid programs for students attending public and private universities, colleges, and vocational schools in California.
For the first time in more than 10 years, the commission conducted the survey from all five segments of California higher education: the University of California, California State University, California Community Colleges and both nonprofit and for-profit private institutions. More than 150,000 students were surveyed and 15,419 responded during the 2018-19 academic year via an online and mobile-friendly survey platform designed in partnership with the College Futures Foundation and Mathematica.
Overall, 64 percent of students said their success is obstructed either by college costs (33 percent) and the struggle of balancing school and work (31 percent).
(Los Angeles Times/Tribune News)