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For sophomore Danica Adams, dealing with personal finances has always felt like venturing into uncharted territory.聽

鈥淣o one else in my family has dealt with being a full-time college student while having to work,鈥� says Adams, a first-generation student who is majoring in chemistry. 鈥淚 think that adds more stress, because I don鈥檛 have a parent to go and say, 鈥楬ey, I don't know what I鈥檓 doing.鈥欌��

For Adams -- and many other students -- handling finances can be daunting.

To help students navigate their finances and better understand their relationship with money, the Office of Student Life and Well-being recently launched a free online tool that can deliver personalized information and support. , an interactive platform, was developed by iGrad, a financial technology company; it offers students resources, including courses, articles and videos, to help them improve their financial literacy. It is already used by hundreds of students at colleges across the country to help them manage their money, student loans and financial future.聽

Hannah Monbleau, associate director of Student Life and Well-being, hopes the Financial Seed will help students to set realistic goals as they better understand their finances.

鈥淚 love our students. They always shoot for the moon and set these astronomical goals,鈥� says Monbleau. 鈥淲ith the Financial Seed, I want students to set one goal at a time. When they achieve it, they鈥檒l be encouraged to increase their goals.鈥澛�

When students go on the platform, they are directed to take a test to discover their 鈥渕oney personality鈥� and their financial stress score. From there, they are given personalized resources like videos that pertain to student loans or courses on different types of insurance. Every so often, they are also prompted to take a financial wellness checkup.聽聽

鈥淚t's helped with my financial future. It's given me clarity about what kind of accounts I want to have when I鈥檓 older or which credit cards I might need,鈥� says Adams.聽

Image by Celia Hoffman

Monbleau has met with numerous student clubs and organizations to introduce the platform and encourage students to log in. Reaction has been overwhelmingly positive.

鈥淚 set a personal goal to go into it weekly. If I'm on the shuttles or something, it's something I can do in my free time,鈥� says Morgan Russell, a first-year civil engineering major.聽

Nia Pujo, a sophomore business major with concentrations in accounting and finance, is the vice president of finance for her sorority, Alpha Sigma Tau. She鈥檚 already been incorporating the Financial Seed into her Financial Tip of the Week, a talk she runs with her sorority members.聽

鈥淚 thought it was really good for our girls. They were all really excited about it,鈥� says Pujo. 鈥淭he Financial Seed helped me with taking a step back and realizing finances are on your own timeline. I learned a lot, and I鈥檓 excited to be keeping up with it.鈥澛�

Adams is also a member of Alpha Sigma Tau and can already see how the program has led to conversations about finances. 鈥淚 know some of my sorority sisters are very dedicated to Financial Seed and their 鈥楪arden.鈥� It makes me happy to see that,鈥� says Adams.聽

The 鈥淕arden鈥� is how students track their progress in Financial Seed. It grows when courses, articles and videos are completed. The more Garden points that students earn, the more chance they have at winning a sweepstakes prize.聽 聽

Mindful Finances

Nationwide, financial stress plays a key role in how students fare. A 聽by higher education technology provider Ellucian reported that 59% of students considered dropping out due to financial stress, while almost 80% of students reported that financial stress causes negative effects on their mental health.聽聽

鈥淚'll have a student come to me stressed about finances. They are working multiple jobs, so they're not sleeping or paying attention in class. They're getting sick all the time, so they're falling behind,鈥� says Monbleau.聽

To counter those aspects, the program also weaves in mindfulness. Monbleau praises the platform鈥檚 mindfulness aspect, which has money meditations and journaling prompts to help students explore their relationship with money. 鈥淵ou can manage the stress associated with money, so you can be more present in your academics, in your relationships and in your job,鈥� Monbleau says.聽

Senior business administration major Quinn O鈥橞rien, a student well-being leader for the Manning School of Business, says he is always recommending the program to other students. 鈥淚 really like the mindfulness aspect of Financial Seed. It鈥檚 a good education for students,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t will help you with your spending, but it also incorporates meditation within your debt.鈥�

While the platform was just introduced this fall, it鈥檚 already gaining traction. Monbleau notes that the number of repeat visitors is far exceeding expectations. 鈥淥ur goal is to get 25% of the student population enrolled and to have a 10% to 15% usage return rate. We're at a 50% usage return rate,鈥� she says.聽

Looking ahead, she wants to expand access to parents, family members and alumni.

鈥淲e want the whole community to be able to use the Financial Seed,鈥� she says.