Heading off to college is a big step. The cost associated with entering adulthood can be a lot to take in. A new program at one Rochester college is helping students get a leg up on their finances.

The first days of college can be tough. Ross Bertucci knows from experience.

“I remember my first week on campus,” said Bertucci, a commercial art and illustration major. “I didn’t know where anything was.”

It’s a lot for students like political science major Angelo Romero.

“I have to pay,” said Romero, who’s 19. “Worry about paying my college tuition while also trying to survive through things like food, water [and] clothing, all of that.”

The classmates are part of a new financial coaching program at Monroe Community College called Money Smart. The college is one of just a handful in the country to offer it, and hooking students up with money mentors to help plan for the present and the future.

“I can tell you when I was in college, and it wasn't it wasn't yesterday but it was a while ago, we didn't have something like this,” said MCC associate vice president for enrollment management Christine Casalinuovo-Adams. “And I think that every college student can certainly benefit from it.”

The Money Smart program helps students balance their responsibilities. Tuition, rent, auto repairs and other responsibilities can add up, financially. Students receive tips on how to pay their bills while building up savings.

“You don't realize, really what you've gotten yourself into financially until you get that first bill,” said Bertucci, 39. “And you're like, ‘Oh my God they want me to pay $800 a month?’ Like, how do you do this?”

“I don't know a lot about how like handle both paying college and also surviving,” said Romero. “So talking to somebody more about that can really help with me.”

Nine U.S. colleges and universities are now part of the Money Smart financial coaching program, paid for by the National Council for Workforce Education and JP Morgan Chase.

In college and beyond, a little help can go a long way.

“I think it's a challenge to sometimes think clearly about how you need to manage every step of that process,” said Casalinuovo-Adams. “And this is an opportunity to really help students focus in on what they need to do to ensure that their financial planning is in place, to help them move forward.”