Social Learning Opportunities and the Financial Behaviors of College Students Michael S. Gutter Selena Garrison University of Florida Zeynep Copur Hacettepe University This study explores the relationship between financial social learning opportunities and financial behaviors of college students. Data were collected from 15,797 college students age 18 and over throughout the United States during spring and fall semesters of 2008. Financial behaviors were related to age, race, marital status, school rank, income level, loan amount, and qualification for financial aid. Results suggest important relation- ships exist between financial behaviors and financial social learning opportunities. Students who budget and save tended to have higher scores on the social learning opportunities indices than those who do not budget and save. Financial behaviors were positively related to social learning opportunities when controlling for demographic and financial characteristics. Keywords: college students; financial behavior; financial social learning; socialization For most young adults, college marks the beginning of greater financial inde- pendence from their parents and greater responsibility for making sound finan- cial decisions (Lyons, Scherpf, & Roberts, 2006). At present college life includes a new dimension of discovery for students: easy access to credit cards. As stu- dents come to campus for the first time, they are bombarded with credit offers via on-campus bulletin boards and tables in the student union. It is common for students to obtain credit cards early in their college careers and remain loyal customers for up to 15 years (Hultgren, 1998). Once at college, many stu- dents are dealing with financial challenges such as paying bills, creating a bud- get, and using credit for the first time in their lives. The ability of students to cope with these challenges depends on the financial knowledge and behaviors they acquired before being on their own (Lyons et al., 2006). Consumer socialization describes the process by which young people acquire skills, knowledge, and attitudes regarding their role as consumers in the mar- ketplace (Moschis & Churchill, 1978; Ward, 1974). Some researchers have extended that definition to include acquiring and developing values, attitudes, standards, norms, skills, behaviors, motives and knowledge, which are related to consumption and family financial management (Cohen & Xiao, 1992; Danes, Authors’ Note: Michael S. Gutter and Selena Garrison, Department of Family, Youth and Commu- nity Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL. Zeynep Copur, Department of Family and Con- sumer Science, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey. Please address correspondence to Michael S. Gutter, Department of Family, Youth and Community Sciences, University of Florida, PO Box 110310, 3002C McCarty Hall D, Gainesville, FL 32611; e-mail: msgutter@ufl.edu. This project was funded by a grant from the National Endowment for Financial Education. Family & Consumer Sciences Research Journal, Vol. 38, No. 4, June 2010 387–404 DOI: 10.1111/j.1552-3934.2010.00034.x Ó 2010 American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences 387