Preview: 2023-24 Student Basic Needs Survey Report

September 2024

Our students are not a monolith—they represent a multitude of different identities and lived experiences that challenge prevalent stereotypes of college-goers as a privileged group of well-supported individuals fresh out of high school. The September issue of our newsletter is dedicated to painting a fuller, more accurate picture of “Today’s Students.” To do that, we teamed up with Lumina Foundation to give you a First Look of our 2023-2024 Student Basic Needs Survey Report, which comes out later this fall.

Between Jan. 2023 and July 2024, 74,350 students across 16 states and 91 schools completed the Student Basic Needs Survey as part of our Hope Impact Partnerships program. According to our findings, 3 in 5 college students are experiencing basic needs insecurity related to food and/or housing. Mental health also continues to be a major challenge for students, with almost half experiencing clinically significant symptoms of anxiety and/or depression.

Basic needs insecurity is particularly acute among structurally marginalized and strategically undervalued populations. Black, Indigenous, LGBTQIA+, and parenting students in particular face disproportionately high rates of food insecurity, housing insecurity, homelessness, and mental health related challenges.

Dive into our preview here:

For more details on our data, refer to the web appendices.

And who are "Today’s Students"?

The numbers below describe our survey sample of 74,350 students across 16 states and 91 schools. Although they are not nationally representative, these numbers call for the dismantling of outdated myths that inevitably harm students and keep us from crafting the equitable world we all deserve.