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In 2016, “36 percent of graduating seniors (planned) to live at home at least a year or more after graduation, according to a recent survey by the job site Indeed,” Jessica Dickler, CNBC reporter, wrote in a June 2016 article.

According to CNBC, College students are depending on their parents more and more for everyday necessities.  Typical students today generally have some type of help paying for school, food, insurance, phone bills, and other necessities to get them through college. Thus, dependency has become normal for many young adults.

Many college graduates often find themselves in debt with no type of savings to fall back on.  In fact, according to The Institute for College Access & Success, in 2014, Grand View University students, on average, had the highest debt compared to other colleges and universities in Iowa. The amount of debt Grand View students tend to have on average is $38,160, and 89 percent of students graduate with a debt they will have to pay off.

Living at home gives young adults the chance to establish themselves after college and afford to live on their own when the time comes.  Doing this helps avoid the struggle they would have had to face.

“I’ll probably live back with my parents after college,” Tanner Heiman, a student at Grand View University said.

There are a variety of Grand View University students who are more independent than a typical college student and have various plans after graduating.

Three out of four students interviewed said they have help paying for at least one expense through college,  but typically students around GV have some sort of income being put towards a savings. According to College Board, Education Professionals, “Studies show that students who work are more confident and possess better time-management skills than students who are not employed. In addition to offering a paycheck, some independence and satisfaction, a part-time job can provide both training and experience.” Having a job shows a lot of independence that typical college students don’t have.

Grand View University represents many young individuals who are independent. Most students work two or three jobs to be able to afford tuition and housing as well as other financial needs while they are in college.

Logan  Gihring, a Grand View student  from New Virginia, Iowa, is completely independent. He pays for his own college, insurance, food expenses and other daily necessities.  He has his own job to pull this off while being a full time student.  After college, he plans to stay independent and work his way up in life.  He plans on staying in Des Moines and paying his own rent on an apartment.  Gihring was asked how often he want home, his response was, “maybe once every three months” but he relies on himself for just about everything.

Cody Cline, a student at Grand View, is another example of an independent student.  He pays for his own college, living, food, and maintains a job to be able to do this.

On a different perspective, Betty Anderson is an Administrative Coordinator at Grand View.  She has a daughter, Annalee Anderson, who goes to Grand View as well.  Her daughter gets her education for free because her mother works on campus, but her housing is not free. Betty said that she pays for her daughters housing on campus, but Annalee does have a job to build up her own savings.

“It wasn’t how I was raised,” Anderson said, when explaining the difference between her and her daughter’s college experience. “Sometimes I feel like she has a different perspective of money because of that.”

Some college students get help from their parents for groceries, money and tuition while other college students work two jobs and pay for their own necessities and college tuition with no help. Every college student is different.