Date of Award

5-2022

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Honors Thesis

Department

Finance

First Advisor

Bryan Foltice

Abstract

This study aims to provide insight into the relationships between proven significant drivers of financial knowledge (numeracy, cognitive ability, mathematics anxiety, and financial literacy) and an individual's premeditated strategy to tackle their student loans. From a sample of 160 undergraduate students, we find few significant results that affirm the hypotheses of the study. However, we also determine that several descriptive factors (i.e., general mathematical skill, anticipated level of debt and interest to be repaid, etc.) vary by an extremely wide margin, suggesting that students lack the very skills necessary to calculate and deal with their own loans. Additionally, we find that existing literature may not apply to undergraduate students, as our data (although insignificant) points to heightened complexity in individuals with student loans.

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