U of A APLUS study finds pre-college factors that influence how young people manage their money during their first year in college

How do college students develop responsible financial habits? The Arizona Pathways to Life Success for University Students (APLUS) project aims to find out. Initiated in 2007 as part of the Take Charge America Institute’s mission to provide research-based educational outreach programs, we surveyed over 2,000 first year students to find out what influenced their current financial attitudes and behaviors. Three pre-college factors clearly influenced how young people manage money during their first-year of college. Parents played an important role in preparing their children to live independent and productive lives. High school financial education classes, as well as paid work experience, also contributed to students practicing more responsible financial behaviors, such as paying their bills on time, staying within a budget, and paying their credit card bills in full each month.

To learn more about the project, the follow-up survey on the impact of the recent economic recession on UA students, or to download a copy of the complete report, go to http://aplus.arizona.edu/.