How Broke College Students Suffered Through The 2009 Recession

college students broke and suffer during recession 2009 If the 2008-2009 great recession could bring the biggest and wealthiest banks to their knees begging for bailout money, just imagine what it did to the proverbial broke college students.

In 2009 students across the United States experienced financial difficulties like never before. Many had to postpone their education for a leave of absence due to lack of funds to cover high tuitions, room and board, and books.

State and Federal budget cutbacks directly affected education and college students in many ways. For colleges and universities, states trimmed educational services and raised student tuition and fees. This resulted in many students dropping out or putting off their education. Students' parents were laid off in large numbers cutting off a major source of help for them. These combined events resulted in many campuses seeing organized student protests against tuition increases.

A 2008 survey conducted by Longmire & Co., an educational consulting firm, found that the recession forced more than 70 percent of prospective college students to drastically alter their 2009 academic year plans. When asked how their college plans might change, 53 percent of students said they considered attending a less expensive college, and 47 percent said they planned to work as freshmen. Many incoming freshmen were also likely to rely more heavily on financial aid counseling (43 percent) and to borrow more heavily (38 percent).

For recent college graduates, the choke hold of the recession has got even tighter. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that in July 2009, the unemployment rate for college grads rose to 4.7%, up from 2.8% in 2008. But that still pales in comparison to the 9.4% unemployment rate for workers with only a high school diploma or ged.

Also unlike unemployed high school graduates, many out-of-work college graduates have massive student loan debts. On average, two-thirds of college grads with bachelors had a debt of about $23,000, according to Finaid.org, a popular financial aid web site.

Its not clear when hard hit college students will recover from the recession, but one things clear, they definitely got a crash course in budgeting and financial responsibilities from the 2009 economic downturn.

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Comments

0 #5 queen-drucilla03 2010-08-22 16:12

College is the place to be, there's no other place or experience like it after leaving high school, but if you have no money like myself and other students because of this annoying recession, then it can become a bit of a bummer. The recession gave me a reality check, as if I needed one anyway, live within your means, and for a college student like myself that means not spending for weekend movies or going out to bars too much. The summer was a welcome relief, I get to go back home and live with my parents so I didn't have to worry about food and room and board. Thank god for parents. But I think most students will come out of this recession much stronger and more motivated because they saw first hand what it's like to struggle and hustle when things like jobs after you graduate aren't lined up so well for them. I certainly have grown more and become way more responsible about my spending habits and living more financially conservative. I just hope the government can do something soon to turn this thing around. It's so weird but how can things just go bad so quick. One moment the economy is good and then it totally turns really bad. Weird does all the money in the world go. It doesn't just vanish into space. Help us students understand here America.

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0 #4 ashanti 2010-08-22 15:48

Lets just say My freshman and sophomore years I was living it up in college and my parents were sending me a healthy sum of money every month for expenses and weekend entertainment, but by the time my junior year came around in 2008, that was all but gone. Both my parents lost their jobs and unemployment benefits became the way of life for them. My monthly stipend was gone and I was on my own to look for work and make money any way I could. I became a hostess at one of the popular restaurants around campus and started trying to sell stuff on Ebay and other online places where you might be able to barter or sell other items for money. I even signed up to a website that allows you to sell your hair through an auction process. 2008 and 2009 will be a memorable year for me in college. The effects of those recession years are still following me and my parents. But you can't look back, you can only brainstorm better things for yourself and adjust your way of life for the future.

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0 #3 1shannon4Cali 2010-08-22 14:37

Please, want talk about broke college student suffering? I'm it, my friends are it, their friends and the list continues. For starters none of us can find real jobs that pay anything decent. Our parents can barely help us, and some of us had to move back home to commute to college because we just can't afford college room and board. I personally have no savings and my credit cards are maxed out. I've had to borrow so much money from other friends or family members. On a good economy college is still really expensive and now that it's so bad it's even worst. But there has to be a silver lining somewhere. I can't stay negative too long about it. I guess if I can't wish the money in my pocket I have to go out and make it, or start something of my own that could make me some good money.

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0 #2 Derrick 2010-05-01 17:37

I was a broke college student in 2009 and nothings changed in 2010, I'm still broke. What sucks even more is that my parents were both broke too since they both got laid off from their jobs. Talk about a double whammy. At least they were able to collect unemployment, and my dad hustled some side work for extra cash. Honestly 2009 was probably the most terrible year I knew since being born. I can't even imagine what it's like for people who barely had anything before the recession even started.

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0 #1 AriesGirlOnCampus 2010-04-26 20:19

Most college students are broke during a good economy, but it gets even worst during a bad economy. If you're not used to hustling on campus to make extra money, or if you don't have parents who can give you a monthly spending allowance you're pretty much left in the dust financially. I knew college girls and college guys who had hair cutting skills and started cutting other students hair to cover small bills. Other friends of mine starting producing Youtube videos for niche audiences that cover specific topics like college life, or just were simply funny comedic skits. But they made money from doing it. I don't recommend anyone just sit around and wait for things to get better with the economy, you have to start our own hustle even as a broke college student.

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