EDHS Contemporary World Affairs

Young people are carrying a load heavier than they normally bear as they scatter from campuses, judging from an AP-mtvU poll that finds students anxious about their finances, job prospects after graduation and the pressures facing their folks back home.

The poll surveyed students at 40 U.S. colleges, exploring financial pressures, job possibilities, their state of mind and when stress becomes depression. Among the findings on the economy:

• 22 percent of students said they worry a lot about having enough money to get through a typical week at school, and more fully one-third said they worry a lot about the finances of their parents.
• Nearly one in five changed plans this year and decided to attend graduate or professional school after college because an undergraduate degree might not be enough to get them a job. Staying in school buys time for the economy to improve and defers repayment of student loans but adds living costs and debt.
• 11 percent of those whose parents lost a job veered away from grad school because they could not afford it. They were twice as likely to avoid grad school as those whose parents did not lose a job. Job loss in the family also made twice as many students consider dropping out 27 percent. Overall, nearly one in five considered quitting school.
• 32 percent said financial worries have a lot of impact on the stress they're under, up from 27 percent last spring.