When it comes to financial literacy, is today's physical therapist (PT) student—to borrow the question posed by a popular television show—smarter than a fifth grader? Probably. But, are these doctoral students more financially savvy than a high school senior? All too often, the likely answer is no.
"Many students never have had to handle their own finances. Their parents took care of it for them at the undergraduate level, so those students are in unfamiliar territory," says Kathy Anderson, director of financial aid at the MGH Institute of Health Professions in Boston. "In my opinion, parents do their children a disservice by keeping them out of financial discussions, because financial literacy isn't something that students learn in K-12 education."
