| Author(s): | Baum, S., and Steele, P. |
| Title: | Who borrows most? Bachelor's degree recipients with high levels of student debt |
| Source: | http://advocacy.collegeboard.org/sites/default/... |
| Date: | 2010 |
| Organization: | College Board |
| Short Description: | Many discussions of student loan debt are clouded by a failure to distinguish between typical students and the growing minority who borrow amounts and types of loans that are likely to cause them repayment difficulties. This policy brief focuses on the 17% of 2007-08 bachelor’s degree recipients who graduated with more than $30,500 in education debt. |
| Annotation: | Many discussions of student loan debt are clouded by a failure to distinguish between typical students and the growing minority who borrow amounts and types of loans that are likely to cause them repayment difficulties. This policy brief focuses on the 17% of 2007-08 bachelor’s degree recipients who graduated with more than $30,500 in education debt. High debt levels are not necessarily an indicator of repayment problems. Many students with relatively low debt struggle with weak earnings, and we know that failure to complete a degree or certificate program is the most consistent predictor of student loan default. Some individuals with high debt levels, particularly those with advanced degrees, have high enough earnings to support that debt, but others do face severe hardships. The study of these populations deserves future study. Our examination of the characteristics of the undergraduate students whose debt levels are largest highlights one category of borrowers who may be at risk. The data in this report describe the prevalence of high debt levels among bachelor’s degree recipients by sector,
race/ethnicity, dependency status and income. High debt levels are most common in the for-profit sector.
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