Student Aversion to Borrowing: Who Borrows and Who Doesn’t (PDF; 259 KB)
Source: Excelencia in Education
From press release (PDF; 29 KB):

For millions of students, the increasing cost of a college education, combined with lower rates of growth in grant aid, have resulted in additional reliance on student loans to pay for college. In 2003-04, 35 percent of undergraduates obtained a loan from federal, state, or other sources. The large and growing role of student loans presents both opportunities and concerns for students who enroll in college. For certain students, however, loans offer the ability to pay for necessary college expenses that they otherwise could not afford; for others, loans may result in significant debt without completing a college degree. In some cases, 45 percent of undergraduates make a deliberate decision not to borrow even when they have significant remaining financial need ($5,000–30,000) after receiving money from other sources.

A new report by the Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP) and Excelencia in Education highlights the borrowing patterns of students who choose to enroll in college and provides suggestions about why certain students may not borrow, even when borrowing seems to be a logical choice. The study, Student Aversion to Borrowing: Who Borrows and Who Doesn’t, uses the demographic and enrollment characteristics of undergraduate students, as well as interviews with students and financial aid administrators, to gain a better understanding of students’ use of loans as a means to finance their college career.

+ Fact Sheet (PDF; 157 KB)

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 10th, 2008 at 9:51 am and is filed under Education, Financial issues, Postsecondary, Social and cultural issues. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.