PEER Financial Counseling Program

Today's college students are bombarded with ads and solicitations telling them they need to borrow and spend money. At the same time, many students come to college ill equipped to budget money and handle their personal finances. The Peer Financial Counseling (PFC) program is designed to address this problem. The goal of the program is to provide college students with a basic understanding of personal financial management and help them prepare for life's challenges and opportunities.

The Peer Financial Counseling Program in Georgia has reached more than 5,000 college students since 2004 through programs on campuses throughout Georgia. On each campus, a staff coordinator in the Office of Student Financial Aid hires (using grant funds) and supervises a student coordinator. The student coordinator has primary responsibility to recruit other students to act as peer financial counselors who are then trained to teach the modules in the program. The student coordinator and the peer counselors work with the college's staff coordinator to schedule presentations on campus. Sometimes providing pizza and soft drinks is the best way to bring students together!

The Peer Financial Counseling program modules are:

• Making It On A College Budget: The Basics
• Staying on Good Terms: Credit and Debt
• Choosing to Understand College Financing: 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. The 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.

Program Benefits

• Better-informed students will become more responsible student loan borrowers who are more aware of student loan terms, repayment options and responsibilities and will be less likely to default on student loans.
• Student learn about managing personal finances, budgeting, debt management, credit management, saving and the basics of investing.
• A successful program will assist in lowering the institutional cohort default rate by increasing students' personal financial literacy and their ability to repay their student loans.
• Schools will receive funding annually to assist in cultivating a successful PFC program on their campus.
• Stronger ties will result between students, their peers and the Financial Aid Office.

Program Funding

Funding for schools is available through an annual renewable grant from the Georgia Student Finance Commission. Funds are provided to support hiring a student coordinator and cover expenses related to recruiting and training counselors, marketing the program, and presenting the modules. Reporting requirements are minimal - three brief reports (mid-semester and end-of-year) and completing of program evaluations when program presentations are conducted.

If you would like additional information about the PEER program, click here.