Georgia Peer Financial Counseling Program

The average college student is constantly bombarded with credit card offers and other enticements to spend big money before actually earning it. Many students, however, know very little about handling money wisely. The Peer Financial Counseling  (PFC) Program was created to address that problem and to give college students the basic information they need to manage their personal finances responsibly and effectively.

"The basic concept is simple," said Tim Connell, President of the Georgia Student Finance Commission (GSFC), the state agency that funds the PFC Program. "Most college students don't like to take financial advice from their parents or other old timers. They are more likely to listen if the advice is coming from someone their own age and with similar experiences. The PFC Program trains students to teach other students about financial literacy."

The Georgia Peer Financial Counseling Program has benefited nearly 3,000 college students in the last two years through programs on 11 Georgia campuses. In the 2006-07 academic year, the program will be available on 20 campuses. On each campus, a staff coordinator, usually from the college's Office of Student Financial Aid or Student Services, uses PFC grant money to hire a student PFC coordinator.  The student coordinator recruits other students to be peer financial counselors. After the counselors are trained to teach the four modules in the Peer program, training presentations are scheduled for the general student population.

The four modules are:

• Making It On A College Budget: The Basics

• Staying on Good Terms: Credit and Debt

• Choosing to Understand: Student Loans

• Becoming a Millionaire: Savings and Investments

For each module there is an instructor’s guide, a PowerPoint presentation with speaker notes, suggested activities, handouts, additional resources, and an evaluation.  Evaluations from the first two years indicate that students are acquiring new knowledge and learning more appropriate financial and consumer behaviors through participation in the program.

College administrators interested in requesting funding for a PFC program on their campus, or more information about the program, should contact Kathy Odom kathyo@gsfc.org, 404-309-3830 or 770-724-9076 or Kathleen Caldwell kathleenc@gsfc.org, 229-446-4699, at the Georgia Student Finance Commission. Information is also available in the “College Administrators” section of GAcollege411.org.

The Peer Financial Counseling Program is funded by the Georgia Student Finance Commission, with administrative support from the University of Georgia Department of Housing and Consumer Economics (HACE) and the Governor’s Office of Consumer Affairs.

Since 1965 GSFC has provided more than $9 billion in financial aid to help nearly 2 million Georgians achieve their dreams of higher education. GSFC funds and services 15 different low-interest education loan programs including Stafford and PLUS loans, consolidation loans, and state service-cancelable loans.  GSFC also administers multiple scholarship and grant programs, including the nationally acclaimed HOPE Scholarship Program. Additional information about GSFC products and services is available at GAcollege411.org or via telephone at 800-505-GSFC (4732).