WASHINGTON, D.C. – A recent survey of college students’ personal finances reveals that a quarter spend most of their money on booze and drugs at a time when student loan debt has climbed to $1.26 trillion.

The 2016 College Students and Personal Finance Survey conducted by LendEDU, a student loan transparency site, showed that out of the 455 undergraduate and graduate students surveyed at three East Coast schools in early 2016, roughly a quarter said their biggest monthly expense is alcohol and drugs.

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LendEDU CEO Nate Materson told WCMH the results were “quite surprising, but not that crazy.”

“This was perhaps the most fun response,” he said.

The survey question asked simply, “What is your biggest monthly expense?”

Thirty-eight percent of students responded with food, 29 percent said rent was their biggest expense, and 8 percent reported they spent the most on clothes.

A total of 27 percent of students reported no income, 28 percent cited summer jobs as their biggest source of funds, 24 percent work part-time off campus, 16 percent work on campus, and a mere 5 percent held down full-time jobs while attending classes.

The survey also revealed that most college students know very little about personal finance, as many report never receiving education on the subject from public schools or their parents.

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Thirty percent of students reported their parents “did not teach me how to manage money,” though smaller percentages said their parents taught them some, either through specific strategies, general concepts or learn-by-example.

Fifty-one percent of respondents said they received no education on personal finance in high school, and 45 percent haven’t taken a course in college and don’t plan to.

“College students are leaving campus with an average of $35,000 in student loan debt, yet the majority of students are lacking basic financial skills,” Matherson pointed out. “How can we expect student loan borrowers to repay/escape student debt without personal finance knowledge?”

The survey asked students “Which best describes your current personal finance goal?” and the highest percentage – 29 percent – responded with paying off student loans. About 38 percent of students believe their student loan debt will hold them back after college, as opposed to the rest who think otherwise or will not have debt.

Other highlights from the LendEDU survey:

  • 43 percent of students surveyed could not name one major difference between a credit and debit card
  • 23 percent of students surveyed could not name one major difference between a checking account and a savings account
  • 79 percent of students surveyed did not know the difference between a traditional bank and a credit union
  • 68 percent of students surveyed did not know what a 401k or IRA is used for
  • 58 percent of students surveyed were not working to build good credit
  • 43 percent of students surveyed believed that checking their credit report would hurt their credit score

The survey, posted to LendEDU’s website last week, follows a report issued by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York earlier this month that showed Americans added $29 billion of student loan debt last quarter, bringing the country’s total student loan debt to $1.26 trillion.

“In comparison, Americans added $120 billion in mortgage debt and $7 billion in auto debt,” The Detroit Free Press reports. “Americans continue to owe more money on student loans than any other type of debt besides home mortgages.”

The 2015 report “Student Debt and the Class of 2014” – conducted by The Institute for College Access & Success – also showed the vast majority of college students are leaving with student loan debts that are far higher than a decade ago.

“Seven in 10 seniors (69%) who graduated from public and nonprofit colleges in 2014 had student loan debt, with an average of $28,950 per borrower,” according to TICAS. “Over the last decade – from 2004 to 2014 – the share of graduates with debt rose modestly (from 65% to 69%) while average debt at graduation rose at more than twice the rate of inflation.”