Each month, the ScholarshipOwl for Business team conducts a survey among students to develop a deep understanding of the key trends affecting Gen Z.
In January 2023, the ScholarshipOwl for Business team surveyed over 9,000 high school and college-aged students within its ScholarshipOwl scholarship platform to find out the breadth and depth of the impact of economic conditions on today’s students. There were a total of 9,108 students who responded to the ScholarshipOwl for Business survey. The respondents consisted of: 63% female, 36% male, and 1% identified themselves as other. 55% identified themselves as high school students, with the vast majority high school seniors; 37% identified themselves as college undergraduate students, primarily college freshmen; 5% identified themselves as graduate students; and 3% identified themselves as adult/non-traditional students.
It was apparent that the economic and inflationary conditions in the new year had affected millions’ ability to afford basic goods, but how did these conditions affect student’s ability to afford the cost of college? The first ScholarshipOwl for Business survey question was “Have current economic conditions affected your ability to pay for college?”
The overwhelming majority (83%) responded “yes”, that the current economic conditions have affected their ability to pay for college, with just 17% indicating no impact.
As a follow-up question, we asked, “To reduce college costs, which of the following strategies are you planning on?” Students selected all responses that applied to them.
The vast majority of the respondents selected multiple strategies. Applying for scholarships and working part-time while attending school full-time were chosen most often. The full breakdown:
- 96% are focusing on applying for scholarships
- 75% plan to work part-time while attending school full-time
- 38% are prioritizing affordability of the college over other attributes (academics, reputation, location, etc.)
- 29% plan to live at home and commute to college and/or attend college online
- 13% plan to work full-time while attending college part-time
- 8% plan to take a gap year and/or delay starting college
- 6% are considering working full-time and not going to college at all
Brands can help students forge a more affordable path to college
Despite the challenges faced, the good news is that the majority of students still hope to make their dream of a college education a reality. The survey indicates that students are looking at a variety of options to help fund their college education, but two solutions stand-out:
- 96% of students surveyed said that they are focusing on applying for scholarships to reduce their out-of-pocket cost.
- 83% of students plan to work either part-time or full-time while enrolled in college.
Brands are well-positioned to help make these solutions happen:
- Through the ScholarshipOwl for Business platform, brands can create, launch and promote scholarship campaigns to Gen Z students to help reduce their cost of college.
- Brands can nurture their relationship with their scholarship applicants, sharing news and information about their products, as well as promoting internship and employment opportunities.
Brands also benefit by being part of the solution:
- When a brand launches and promotes a scholarship campaign, that brand is now “on the radar” of Gen Z. Students will develop positive feelings about the brand and its products, and be more interested in learning more.
- When students apply for a scholarship campaign, they are opting-in to a relationship with that brand. This presents an opportunity to connect with applicants, and then deepen that relationship over time.
- Students looking for internships and employment opportunities will naturally be more interested in working for companies that care about students. A scholarship campaign demonstrates the brand’s care and concern for students far better than an advertising campaign would, and does so for a much lower cost. A traditional advertising campaign makes students feel targeted rather than supported, and may be ineffective in reaching GenZ.
- Scholarship campaigns also can fulfill a business’ philanthropic efforts while supporting the company’s overarching mission and values.
To find out more about how your brand can create and launch a scholarship campaign that supports students while meeting your business and philanthropic goals, visit business.scholarshipowl.com.
