The Cost of Resilience: Navigating Disability-Related Financial Tradeoffs Amid Systemic Neglect in College

Abstract

Abstract:Students with disabilities confront disproportionate financial barriers in higher education, yet research has rarely explored how these students actively navigate disability-related expenses in pursuit of their degrees. This mixed methods study investigated experiences of 334 disabled undergraduates at four-year U.S. institutions, integrating survey data and 20 nested interviews to examine the specific tradeoffs students make between finances and physical health, mental health, and personal safety. Findings reveal that coping strategies surrounding medication costs, mental health care access, and transportation are pervasive, often arising from unmet financial need and gaps in institutional support. Implications highlight the need for postsecondary institutions and policymakers to extend financial aid, health service coverage, and coordinated support beyond minimal compliance, directly addressing the structural roots of inequity. This work advances resilience theory in disability in higher education literature by foregrounding the systemic costs of “resilience” and calls for a shift from celebrating coping to dismantling the conditions that necessitate such tradeoffs.