Disparities in College Students’ Financial Hardships during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

We analyzed data from 28,601 students enrolled at nine large, public research-intensive universities who completed the Student Experience in the Research University (SERU) COVID-19 survey. Students from underrepresented and marginalized backgrounds had significantly higher odds of experiencing financial hardships compared to their peers, including the loss or reduction of wages from on- and off-campus employment, family’s income, financial aid, and expected employment; unexpected increases in living/technology expenses; and higher rates of food/housing insecurity.