2018-19 Student Expenses and Resources Survey: An Initial Look at the Obstacles Students Face Affording Higher Education

Summarizes the results of the 2018-19 Student Expenses and Resources Survey (SEARS) that sampled 150,000 California college students from all segments of higher education about their experiences and perceptions of college affordability. Results revealed meaningful differences in expenses for college costs when broken down by race/ethnicity, age, and region, as well as valuable insights about students’ perceptions of their ability to pay for expenses beyond tuition, such as textbooks, housing and utilities, food, transportation and other essential costs.