So what’s keeping cash-anxious college students up at night?

College and finances. Finances and college.

It’s difficult to consider one without the other.

And even as thousands of young Utahns are donning caps and gowns and celebrating their graduation, personal finance issues questions surely linger for most college students:

Can I land a job? Will it pay me enough to begin making my college loans payments? And what about other money matters that define a postgraduate’s daily life?

A recent national survey focused on how American college students are feeling about their money situation at a moment when simply a trip to the gas pump or grocery store can trigger cash anxiety.

The WalletHub poll gathered college students’ attitudes toward money — ranging from their biggest post-graduation fear to how social media is influencing their spending habits.

Student anxieties: Paying off loans — and finding a job

When asked what spooks them the most about postgraduation life, 30% of respondents said student loan debt. Their fears are not unreasonable. The average student debt in the U.S. is now in the tens of thousands of dollars — and rising.

To better inform college-bound students who are making pricy student loan choices, the Education Department now includes an “earning indicator” on federal student loans applications, with information about specific schools’ postgraduation earning status.

Meanwhile, 29% of student-respondents said their biggest postgraduation fear was not finding a job. A quarter of respondents — 25% — answered “credit card debt.”

While 16% responded “living with parents.”

Tuition and social media money trends

Tuition at private and public universities across the country has risen significantly over the past generation.

And while college students in Utah spend, nationally, the lowest share of their median annual household income on higher education — while also having the country’s lowest average of student debt — they are still managing tuition increases.

Last March, Utah’s higher education board approved a 2.82% systemwide tuition hike. A University of Utah student in 2026-2027, for example, will pay $317 more than the prior academic year for 15 credit hours.

But despite the rising costs, almost three-quarters of survey respondents consider their tuition a good investment. Not so much for 28% of respondents.

That generally positive attitude regarding the value of attending college revealed in WalletHub’s national survey tracks with Utahns.

In a recent Deseret News/Hinckley Institute poll, 61% of college-age respondents — age 18-34 — said they have at least some degree of confidence in Utah’s colleges and universities.

Those same respondents have slightly less confidence — 56% — in colleges and universities nationwide.

But while students seem generally satisfied with their tuition “Return on Investment (ROI),” a majority of WalletHub student respondents — 52% — believe their college is not doing enough to help them become financially literate.

Meanwhile, a third of college students have little patience for the government subsidizing overpriced tuition. When asked if the federal government should provide loans with expensive tuition, 33% said, “Nope.”

Social media platforms remain popular among American college students.

But affinity for, say, Instagram or TikTok can exact heavy financial costs. Social media-triggered “FOMO,” aka “fear of missing out,” is prompting some college students to make poor money choices.

More than half of the student-respondents — 53% — say they feel pressured by social media to spend beyond their means.