Undergraduate financial stress, financial self-efficacy, and major choice: A multi-institutional study

Abstract

Over time, undergraduates students been increasingly forced to assume a greater portion of college costs. For most students, this means borrowing larger sums and cutting back on expenses to fulfill their college dreams, which often leads to financial stress. Using financial selfefficacy theory, we sought to better understand how a lack of financial confidence and a diminished sense of financial well-being may serve to undermine students' intended short and long-term goals. To this end, we examined the predictors of financial stress based upon a multiinstitutional sample of senior undergraduates and focus on the role of the earnings potential of different majors.