National Report Highlights Hidden Homelessness Among College Students and Its Impact on Degree Completion

New analysis finds 14% of students experience homelessness and face higher food insecurity, mental health strain, and financial barriers to graduation.

WASHINGTON, DC, UNITED STATES, March 3, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Higher education remains one of the most powerful engines of economic mobility in the United States. Yet for students experiencing homelessness, that pathway is too often obstructed — not by lack of talent or drive, but by layered and frequently invisible barriers.

A new data analysis released by SchoolHouse Connection and Trellis Strategies finds that college student homelessness is both prevalent and distinct in its impacts, and that standard “basic needs” or first-generation initiatives may not be sufficient on their own to reach students experiencing homelessness.

The report, Removing Barriers, Building Futures: Data-Informed Policies to Support College Students Experiencing Homelessness, compares data on students who have experienced homelessness alongside data on their housed peers and first-generation students. The findings show that homelessness is associated with deeper and more cumulative hardship across multiple areas of students’ lives that directly affect persistence and degree completion.

National data estimate that more than 1.5 million college students experienced homelessness in 2019. More recent large-scale surveys indicate that approximately 14 percent of students report experiencing homelessness and 43-48 percent report housing instability.

“Homelessness among college students is more common than most people realize, and it is often hidden in plain sight,” said Jillian Sitjar, Director of Higher Education at SchoolHouse Connection. “This report makes clear that homelessness compounds hardship in ways that require intentional identification and targeted support alongside broader basic needs efforts.”

The analysis shows that students who have experienced homelessness face compounding barriers:
1. Hunger/Food insecurity: 72% reported low or very low food security, compared with 44% of first-generation students and 36% of other students.
2. Mental health burden: 48% screened positive for likely major depressive disorder and 60% for generalized anxiety disorder, significantly higher than their peers.
3. Work intensity: 72% worked for pay, and 39% worked 40 or more hours per week while enrolled.
4. Transportation barriers: 27% missed class due to unreliable transportation, more than double the rate of housed peers.
5. Financial fragility: 90% reported financial difficulties.

Homelessness was frequently unrecognized. Half of affected students reported couch surfing, 73% reported moving in with others due to financial hardship, yet only 21% self-identified as homeless.

“Experiencing homelessness severely undermines students' ability to fully engage in college,” said Allyson Cornett, Director of Research at Trellis Strategies. “When students face uncertainty about where they’ll sleep or whether they might have to move at a moment’s notice, their focus shifts from academics to meeting their most basic needs for safety and stability.”

The report outlines policy and practice recommendations for institutions, states, and Congress, including designating trained higher education liaisons for homeless students, making emergency aid accessible, expanding housing options, and improving transitions from high school to college.

The authors emphasize that basic needs initiatives remain essential, but that layered barriers require layered solutions. Only 49% of students who experienced homelessness agreed their institution had adequate financial support services, compared with 62% of peers.

Webinar: March 4 at 12:30 p.m. Eastern
SchoolHouse Connection and Trellis Strategies will host a public webinar on March 4 at 12:30 p.m. Eastern to present the findings and discuss implications for policy and practice. Participants will learn how to:
1. Interpret the disaggregated data findings and understand how students who have experienced homelessness differ from their peers and from first-generation students.
2. Translate the data into action through concrete campus practices and aligned state and federal policies.

Presenters:
Jillian Sitjar, Director of Higher Education, SchoolHouse Connection
Barbara Duffield, Executive Director, SchoolHouse Connection
Carla Fletcher, Principal Research Associate, Trellis Strategies

Registration information is available here.

Jillian Sitjar
SchoolHouse Connection
jillian@schoolhouseconnection.org

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