Qualitative interview data were used to explore the experiences of college students with foster care or homelessness experiences. Participants, with an average age of 21 years, included 18 female and nine male students with a history of homelessness or foster care enrolled in several independent 4-year colleges in one Southeastern state. Participants were recruited through a flyer that was distributed via an email message to individuals and organizations who worked with prospective participants. The qualitative data were collected over the course of an academic year from several in-depth, semi-structured interviews. Interviews were analyzed using a directed content analysis approach to identify key themes: getting by on their own, meeting material needs requires agency, and the Catch-22 of managing academic and material needs. Findings suggest that many of the students in the study experienced a fragile and seemingly unsustainable balance between meeting material needs and academic demands. The current financial aid model, which relies on significant contributions from parents, was insufficient for most students in the study. Results support the need for interventions that improve the ability of students with foster care and homelessness histories to manage their material and academic needs as college students.

定性的访谈数据被用来探究有寄养或无家可归经历的大学生的经历。参与者的平均年龄为21岁，其中包括18名女学生和9名男学生，他们在一个东南州的几所独立的4年制大学中就读，这些学生有无家可归或寄养的历史。参与者是通过传单招募的，该传单通过电子邮件分发给与潜在参与者合作的个人和组织。在一个学年的过程中，从几次深入，半结构化的访谈中收集了定性数据。访谈采用定向内容分析方法进行分析，以识别关键主题：靠自己生活，满足物质需求需要代理机构以及管理学术和物质需求的Catch-22。结果表明，该研究中的许多学生在满足物质需求和学术需求之间经历了脆弱且看似不可持续的平衡。当前的经济援助模式依赖于父母的巨大贡献，对于大多数在研究中的学生来说是不够的。结果支持需要干预措施，以提高具有寄养和无家可归历史的学生管理大学生的物质和学术需求的能力。