Xamani Clarke was trying her hardest to figure it out on her own.

The Buffalo State University student was bringing in extra cash working at the campus childcare center. She had put everything down on paper and done personal budgets. But she was never quite confident that she understood the context of her decisions or properly anticipated the bills that she owed.

 “It felt like costs would come out of nowhere, and it was always a shock that could be overwhelming,” Clarke said. “It could be extremely stressful trying to cover those costs and not knowing when the next surprise was coming.”

The situation was exacerbated following her sophomore year, when Clarke decided to expedite her pathway to graduation through summer classes. Afterward she found out that her financial aid did not cover those classes, creating a financial hold that threatened her ability to re-enroll. She’d already been hanging on by a thread. Years of hard work and determination were suddenly at risk.

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Personalized financial plan

That summer, Xamani was nominated for Buffalo State's needs-based Grit Scholarship, which supports high-achieving students facing financial difficulties by providing funds to address their challenges. As part of the process, she connected with a retention coach and utilized the Arbol platform to effectively manage her financial needs.

Arbol provides personalized financial wellness to college students, accounting for all of their costs (ranging from tuition, room and board to other personal costs), then creating a dynamic plan designed to drive financial success as they strive toward graduation. Buffalo State is introducing Arbol to an expanding cohort of students, including all Grit Scholars.

For the first time, Xamani got to look at all of her disparate financial information in one place, giving her the full scope of her obligations. This allowed her to develop a long-term financial roadmap stretching toward graduation and beyond, and one that evolves as decisions big and small get made.

With the help of the scholarship and a fully formed financial plan, Clarke took off.

 "As a college student, I used to struggle with money management,” she said. “I tried to track my finances but I always feltlike unexpected things were happening at the last minute and I wasn’t prepared for them. Arbol has allowed me to track everything in one place, and made me feel more responsible and aware of my finances”

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A common problem

Xamani’s story is a common one for college students, which is why financial wellness has become a hot topic on campuses around the U.S. In the past, students have been left on their own to confront the new tiers of complexity their life takes during college. Some institutions have adopted static financial literacy tools and budgeting apps, but those have fallen well short of the mark, leaving talented and dedicated staff members with no good tools to deliver financial wellness at scale.

Arbol is an answer to this problem by integrating disparate data – from financial to scholarships to student affairs to other resources – into an intuitive platform that makes things easy for students and creates actionable data for the college.

At the center of this experience are the young adults such as Xamani, who no longer must carry the burden of uncertainty from class to class. The sense of relief when they know exactly what they owe and exactly how much they have to cover is usually visible on their faces.

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What happened next

With all the information at her fingertips, Xamani was able to move forward with a clarity of purpose that was previously impossible. She finally had the power to create the future she wanted.

Xamani now has a financial plan that aligns to her academic aspirations. Her confidence increased because she has a full view of her situation and needs. The visibility empowered her to make decisions that support her long-term goals. And her stress measurably decreased, meaning she was able to refocus on getting great grades and preparing for graduation.

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Takeaways

●     Xamani’s story illustrates why it is imperative to deliver personalized financial plans to students before they step onto campus as freshmen.

●     The plan must represent a partnership between college departments, integrating things like financial aid, scholarships and student accounts to give the student a clear portrait of their situation.

●     Financial plans are a mechanism for the efficient delivery of on-campus resources, surfacing students with specific needs rather than generic outreach efforts.

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Xamani is preparing to graduate from Buff State this spring and move back to the Bronx, where she can complete her master’s in childhood education while saving money. It’s the kind of budget-conscious decision that Arbol helps people make, and it is creating an opportunity for this bright, talented and determined young woman to show the world what she’s got.

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