Students at the University of Maryland are fighting to get to the top of Michael McMillian’s class waitlists. No, he’s not lecturing on a flashy new topic like artificial intelligence or Taylor Swift, he’s teaching personal finance—and students are more interested in the subject than ever.More than half of all Gen Zers are entering adulthood without any formal financial education, and it’s causing real generational financial trauma, according to a recent study. McMillian, who is an associate clinical professor at the University of Maryland’s Smith School of Business, says parents are in part to blame.“Parents are either unwilling, not knowledgeable, or uncomfortable about talking about sex with their children,” McMillian says. “This happens in the same case when it comes to money and managing money.”However, adults may not be teaching their kids about finances in part due to their own lack of financial know-how. Over 75% of parents report not being completely confident in their ability to teach their children about investing, according to a survey by the SIFMA Foundation. A similar percentage said they would enroll their child in a different school if it had financial education and investment courses.Students’ finances are a leading cause of stress for most college students. In fact, close to three out of every 5 college students have considered dropping out of college due to financial stress, according to a recent Ellucian report, and nearly 80% of students say financial stress has harmed their mental healthWhen paired with the fact that college debt has ballooned to over $2.1 trillion, not many will argue against a need for personal finance education.“Money causes stress, and money takes your attention away from your studies,” McMillian says. “So by helping them with finances and providing mentoring and counseling, we’re in fact, improving at least some aspect of students’ mental health, which is so important nowadays.”Dorothy Kelly, lecturer of personal finance at the University of Virginia adds that having financial wellness can positively affect one’s entire life, including emotions, relationships, work productivity, and sleep.“My ultimate goal for everyone, for all my students, is to make financial choices to enjoy life that allows you to enjoy life,” Kelly tells Fortune.But, both professors say that despite the benefits, personal finance should not be required at the college level. Instead, students should want to take the course.“Everybody needs to learn this, but we learn when we’re motivated to learn,” Kelly says. “And I encourage anybody—it’s never too late to learn. The sooner people start learning about financial literacy, the better; the sooner their life is improved.”McMillian has taught college students about insurance, wages, and credit cards for decades but says he is constantly surprised that young adults are not familiar with basic financial information. However, a lack of person
Mer. Gen 22nd, 2025
