Precarious Role of Finances and Time Among Black and Latinx College Students

• In Event: Black and Hispanic Students' Educational Experiences and Opportunities

Abstract

This study examines the early departure pathways of first-time freshmen university students to better understand the intersection of financial and time-related constraints that affect first- generation and low-income Black and Latinx students. Data from 50 interviews with students who experienced an early departure from a four-year university suggest that students’ financial barriers are heightened as they matriculate because they are unsuspecting of the hidden costs of college. In turn, the financial- and time-related barriers operate as a double disadvantage that consequently pushes students out of higher education. The student’s financial commitments and responsibilities become unmanageable and this is exasperated by precarious familial contexts, processes, and haphazard timing associated with limited financial resources.

Authors

• Nicole Perez, University of Illinois at Chicago

• Sue P Farruggia, University of Illinois at Chicago