December 2007

The question this research, commissioned by the Opera Universitaria di Trento, aimed to answer is whether the scholarship provided by this institution is adequate to cover the annual living costs of students. And in order to verify whether the scholarship adequately covers the expenses incurred by students, it was necessary to answer the question: “how much does it cost on average per year to support oneself during university studies?”.
After describing, in chapter 1, the methodology of the survey, chapter 2 proceeded to the estimation of the average annual living cost separately for different types of students: both those for which the scholarship amount is differentiated (local, commuting, non-resident, and Erasmus students); and those who are not granted specific financial support but were assumed to have different costs (independent and disabled students). Then, in order to understand whether differences in terms of living arrangements (local, commuter, non-resident) lead to differences in the total annual living cost, holding a series of other student characteristics constant, several multiple linear regression models were developed in chapter 3. Indeed, the analysis of average costs in itself does not allow determining whether being a local, commuting, or non-resident student, for example, actually causes a variation in living costs, as it does not take into account all those conditions that could have an impact on costs (such as age, gender, field of study) and that might be distributed differently in the surveyed sample.
In chapter 4, the adequacy of the scholarship amount was assessed by comparing the average annual living cost of each student type with the scholarship amounts established by the Opera Universitaria.
Finally, in chapter 5, the average annual income of the students was estimated, which made it possible to quantify their funding sources and determine to what extent each of them contributes to covering living expenses.