A Trellis Strategies survey finds that many students are struggling with basic needs and debt while still reporting that college remains key to their future. The findings underscore how affordability pressures continue to shape enrollment experience, persistence decisions, and student support demands across institutions. While institutions increasingly expand financial aid messaging and emergency grant options, the survey highlights the ongoing gap between students’ perceived value of college and the day-to-day financial stress that can interfere with academic progress. For higher education leaders, the data reinforces the need to align financial aid, advising, and student support services to the lived realities of students managing costs, housing, and transportation alongside coursework. The survey also points to a continuing role for targeted interventions that address debt and basic-needs instability early—before they become persistence barriers.