In the book, The First Year Out: Understanding American Teens After High School, author Tim Clydesdale identifies ‘learning how to manage money’ as one of the foremost necessities for today’s emerging adults.

Clydesdale suggests that most college freshmen spend much of that first year on campus trying to figure the whole ‘money thing’ out.

Most students entering college today have little to no understanding of what is required in order to create, manage and maintain a budget.

Why?

Because they haven’t had to.

For many (but not all) of today’s college students, their parent(s) have performed this role for them up until they leave for school… and in fact, many parents continue to do so well into their child’s college years.

And while I think that most parent’s are well-intentioned in their desire to perform this function for their students, I believe that it is ultimately serving to stunt their child’s development in this area — and that will impact their child’s ability to grow and develop in other areas as well.

As opposed to beginning the pivotal transition from financial dependence, to co-dependence, to independence; many students are remaining in the position of financial dependence through much, if not all, of their college years — and in many ways are then remaining dependent on others for greater levels of assistance in other important areas like:

• how to grow spiritually, and determine what they believe, and why
• how to be successful in the classroom and discern what God might be calling them to do with their life
• how to handle difficult relational situations
• how to deal with moral and ethical dilemmas that arise in their life

And instead of growing and developing in all of these areas, during the formative college years, our students are maintaining the same attitudes, habits and patterns that they have lived in for the first 18 years of their lives.

And where does that leave them when they graduate?  In all of these critical areas?

What will our students, or their parents, expect themselves to be able to handle in these areas ?

What can they expect?

And who will help them after they graduate?

So I find myself wondering…

• Do you see the same connections that I do between the formation of our students (or a lack there of) and issues relating to money?
• What do you think our role in this process should be?
• Are there significant ways we can address issues of money, increasing financial independence and stewardship with our students?
• Are there ramifications for not addressing these issue with our students?

I’d love to know what you think about this… or what it looks like in your ministry with college students!

Please take a moment to share your thoughts in the comment section below.  Thanks!