Gen Z School college students Anticipated to Have Essential Have an effect on on the 2024 Election – Tech Journal

In August 2024, ScholarshipOwl delved into finding out additional about how the youth vote would possibly impression the outcomes of the 2024 election. Two surveys had been carried out:

• One survey investigated the issues that Gen Z voters care about most likely essentially the most, and as well as examined anticipated voting conduct;
• The other survey centered on how respondents acknowledged themselves – as liberal or conservative.

Given how shut the 2024 election is predicted to be, many predict that youthful voters could have a sizeable impression on the election – perhaps tipping the scales in Democratic candidate Kamala Harris’ route. Newest polls help this:

The ScholarshipOwl surveys are distinctive in that a lot of thousand faculty college students participated, whereas throughout the above polls, the segments had been so much smallerwith the NOW/Siena, YouGov, IPSOS and Marquette polls all having fewer than 2000 members, whereas the CBS poll had merely over 3100 members.

Factors and Voting Conduct Survey

In August 2024, ScholarshipOwl surveyed 12,090 highschool and college faculty college students on the ScholarshipOwl scholarship platform to check additional regarding the factors they care about and the way in which seemingly they’re to vote throughout the 2024 election.

Among the many many respondents, 62% had been female, 37% had been male, 1.5% acknowledged themselves as a singular gender id or hottest to not reply the question. Nearly half (45%) had been Caucasian, 24% had been Black, 18% had been Hispanic/Latino, 7% had been Asian/Pacific Islander, 2% had been American Indian/Native American and 5% chosen “completely different” or hottest to not reply the question.

Nearly one-third (30%) of the respondents had been highschool faculty college students, with the overwhelming majority highschool seniors; correctly over one-half (58%) had been school undergraduate faculty college students, primarily school freshmen and college sophomores; 9% had been graduate faculty college students and 4% acknowledged themselves as grownup/non-traditional faculty college students.

Qualifying Question – Are you eligible to vote throughout the 2024 U.S. Election?

We began the survey by asking a qualifying question, as we would have liked to focus on faculty college students who had been eligible to vote throughout the 2024 election. We requested faculty college students, “Are you eligible to vote throughout the 2024 U.S. Election?

• 78% (9395) talked about positive
• 22% (2695) talked about no

We then requested the 9395 eligible voters to reply additional questions.

How seemingly are you to vote throughout the 2024 election?

• 75% talked about they’d been terribly extra prone to vote
• 18% talked about they’d been significantly extra prone to vote
• 4% talked about they weren’t very extra prone to vote
• 3% talked about they don’t plan to vote though they’re eligible to take motion

Which of the subsequent protection factors will seemingly be most central to your 2024 voting alternatives? Select all that apply.

The overwhelming majority of respondents chosen a lot of factors, indicating that a lot of points will seemingly be prime of ideas after they vote this 12 months.

• Scholar mortgage debt and college affordability: 73%
• Inflation / worth of merchandise: 72%
• Jobs and the financial system: 64%
• Healthcare: 54%
• Cheap housing / homelessness: 52%
• Taxes / authorities spending: 49%
• Social justice / civil rights: 48%
• Psychological nicely being / dependancy: 47%
• Reproductive rights: 46%
• Gun violence: 39%
• Crime / public safety: 36%
• Native climate and the setting: 34%
• Immigration protection / immigration reform: 32%

Would you be additional extra prone to vote for a candidate that outlines a scholar mortgage reform protection?

Do you suppose the current administration solved the scholar mortgage problem?

Political Spectrum Survey

Moreover in August 2024, ScholarshipOwl surveyed 13,657 highschool and college faculty college students on the ScholarshipOwl scholarship platform to raised understand the place Gen Z sits on the political spectrum.

Among the many many respondents, 62% had been female, 37% had been male, 1.5% acknowledged themselves as a singular gender id or hottest to not reply the question. Nearly half (44%) had been Caucasian, one-quarter (25%) had been Black, 18% had been Hispanic/Latino, 7% had been Asian/Pacific Islander, 2% had been American Indian/Native American and 5% chosen “completely different” or hottest to not reply the question.

Nearly one-third (31%) of the respondents had been highschool faculty college students, with the overwhelming majority highschool seniors; over one-half (57%) had been school undergraduate faculty college students, primarily school freshmen and college sophomores; 9% had been graduate faculty college students and 4% acknowledged themselves as grownup/non-traditional faculty college students.

Observe that for this survey, we did not ask if respondents had been eligible to vote throughout the 2024 election.

Which of the subsequent most interesting represents your political views?

For this survey, we requested members merely this one question.

• 56% talked about Liberal
• 44% talked about Conservative

Key takeaways

The outcomes of these surveys present that amongst eligible voters, Gen Z would possibly in reality have an enormous impression on the 2024 election, with 75% of eligible youthful voters indicating that they are terribly extra prone to vote throughout the 2024 U.S. Election, and one different 18% indicating that they seem to be a minimal of significantly extra prone to vote. Merely 7% talked about that they’d been each not very extra prone to vote or that they do not plan to vote. Given the anticipated slim margins between the Harris-Walz and Trump-Vance tickets, the youth vote would possibly correctly resolve who wins the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election, along with resolve who wins the Dwelling and Senate.

With youthful voters having an very important have an effect on on the election, candidates would possibly want to take heed and ponder the issues that Gen Z cares about most likely essentially the most. Better than half of our respondents indicated that scholar mortgage debt and college affordability (73%), inflation / worth of merchandise (72%), jobs and the financial system (64%), healthcare (54%), and cheap housing / homelessness (52%) will seemingly be most central to their voting alternatives after they strong their vote throughout the 2024 U.S. Election. As such, candidates for the election would possibly want to prioritize these factors when reaching out to youthful voters, and develop protection plans that reply to their points.

How can Gen Z faculty college students assure they may afford school, regardless of the election outcomes?

There are a selection of steps that faculty college students can take to ensure they’ve an affordable path to varsity:

• Prioritize making use of for scholarships with ScholarshipOwl. Apply for scholarships all summer season prolonged, and all by the school 12 months.
• Work part-time in the middle of the college 12 months and full-time all through breaks. Save your earnings to utilize to your school coaching.
• Submit the FAFSA yearly for yearly that you simply simply’ll be in school, beginning in your senior 12 months of highschool, and persevering with to submit it yearly until you full your school coaching. The FAFSA opens on October 1st yearly.
• In the event you acquire your financial help gives, consider them and focus on choosing most likely essentially the most cheap school. In case your first-choice school provided you a a lot much less financial help and scholarships than completely different schools provided, contact your hottest school to see in case you occur to can negotiate your present to 1 that is additional cheap for you.
• Always ponder starting at a neighborhood school, which gives a really cheap alternative – and don’t neglect that neighborhood faculties moreover present federal and state grant help, and they also moreover present scholarships. So even in case you’re planning to attend neighborhood school, on a regular basis submit your FAFSA and on a regular basis apply for scholarships!

REMEMBER: Scholar loans should on a regular basis be a last-resort alternative for paying for school. Give consideration to debt-free sources that will will let you graduate with out the burden of owing 1000’s of {{dollars}} for school! Give consideration to creating use of for scholarships and jobs, NOT loans, in order that you could possibly graduate debt-free. There IS an affordable path to varsity – for extra knowledge, and to start making use of for scholarships, go to www.scholarshipowl.com.