College students scraping by on less

02/27/2006The Asahi Shimbun

Living the student lifestyle apparently now means existing on the tightest budget since fiscal 1990.

According to a survey by a national association of university cooperatives, hard times are forcing college students living away from home to get by on less.

Average living expenses, other than tuition, for students living away from home are estimated to be 1.85 million yen for the current school year, which ends in March.

That's the lowest figure since 1990, representing a decline of about 300,000 yen from the peak year of 1996.

About one-third of all college students living away from home receive scholarships, usually in the form of loans.

The survey by the National Federation of University Cooperative Associations was conducted last October. A total of 9,934 students at 39 universities around Japan responded.

The study found that 34.3 percent of respondents living away from home were getting some form of scholarship or loan, an increase of 1.2 percentage points over 2004 and the highest figure ever in such surveys.

The average proportion of scholarships among all income for students living away from home, including those not receiving scholarships, was 16.8 percent, also the highest figure ever.
The rise in scholarship loans reflects students' getting less money from home.

Also, since 1999, more loans have been issued by the Japan Scholarship Foundation, now part of the Japan Student Services Organization.

Students without any scholarships received a monthly average of 101,230 yen from their parents, more than double the 48,750 yen monthly that scholarship students received from their parents. The difference was made up with scholarship loans, which averaged 59,660 yen a month.

College students living at home expect to spend an average 1.07 million yen this school year, the second-lowest figure after 2004.

The National Federation of University Co-operative Associations says more college students are trying to help their families make ends meet by trimming their own living expenses.

(IHT/Asahi: February 27,2006)

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