DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.

The Student Debt Dilemma

 

This article presents an idea that financial aid is also a factor in the increase of the student loan debt. Because tuition has been increasing and the amount given out by financial aid grants have been staying the same, students are looking to borrow money from the government and take out loans. Low-income families avoid borrowing for the very reason that they won't be able to pay them back. But, the days of being able to avoid taking out loans is well behind us. The author of the article looked at three different types of colleges as well. They were public universities, private universities, and community colleges. The author found that community colleges really don't promote taking out loans. Public universities do promote students taking out loans, but very catuiously. Private universities encourage their students to take out loans because of the high cost of their school. Their logic is "price shouldn't matter."

 

What some universities don't see is that the "price shouldn't matter" attitude will put all of their students in debt. Maybe they don't see that, or maybe they don't really care. Anyway, the price does matter. The choice of going to a private, public, or community college does matter because it will affect the rest of your life. 

DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.

Effect of Financial Aid on Students’ College Choice: Differences by Racial Group

 

The study entitled “Effect of Financial Aid on Students’ College Choice: Differences by Racial Group” analyzes types of financial aid that different students are eligible for and sees if it affects college students’ choice in determining which school they will attend. The study found that a student who was given grants, or a combination of grants and loans, had a more likely chance of attending their first choice school. The student who received just loans was not impacted at all in their decision of schools. The study also found that “White students were more likely to attend their first-choice institutions if they received grants or a combination of grants with loans. Asian American students were strongly influenced by having loans or a combination of grants with loans when they decided to attend their first choice of colleges. In contrast, college choices of Latino and African American students were not influenced by financial aid”.

 

This study gives some insight into what choices students, who are enrolling into college, make depending on where they will get their money from. It was surprising to me to find that when students were receiving only loans their choice would not be affected. This is an interesting study, and it is worth reading if you are starting to research the student loan process because it gives you just a bit of insight into what different students are thinking and doing.

DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.

The Effect of Loans

 

This study was done to find the effect that student loans have on community college students. This study found that student loans have a negative effect on college students. The author writes that "students who take loans will arrive at a more negative assessment of the net benefits of a community college education than their peers." The study found that students who have loans will become dissatisfied faster with their "college investment." The study also found that those who received grants were unaffected, which was odd. Grants are basically free money for college, but they did not make students more positive or alleviate any of the tension that college causes.

 

This study did not make any gorundbreaking findings, but its findings are things that should be heard, understood, and known. Loans and debt put a lot of pressure on college students, on top of their worrying about their GPA, work, and everything else they have going on in their lives. This study is a must read for those looking to get into the heads of someone who has student debt. 

DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.

Educational Debt Burden Among Student Borrowers

 

This article explores how and why the debt burden is greater on some families as oppossed to others. As expected, the study found that being from a low-income or lower-middle-income family created a greater debt burden from student loans. It is also estimated that if you are from a higher-income family you are going to earn 10%-25% more than those from low-income and lower-middle-income families. Race also comes into play when talking about student debt burden. Blacks with debt burden earned 17% less than whites with debt burden. Also, blacks with debt burden had an average of 23% more debt than whties. 

 

None of this is necessarily suprising, but it is important to see the diference among drifferent groups of people. Again here, the author makes the point that because of the shortcomings of financial aid low-income students have to take out loans to be able to go to school. One part of the system doesn't suffice, so people need to partake in another part of the system which screws them over. Reading this article lets you see some of the differences that exist among different groups of people.

DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.

References

 

Burdman, Pamela. (2005, October 1). The Student Debt Dilemma: Debt Aversion as a Barrier To College Access.

 

Kim, Dongbin (2004, February). Effect of Financial Aid on Students’ College Choice: Differences by Racial Group. Research in Higher Education, 45(1), 43-70. 

 

Dowd, Alicia C., Coury, Tarek. (2006, February). The Effect of Loans on the Persistence and Attainment of Community College Students. Research in High Education, 47(1), 33-62.

 

Price, Derek V. (2004, November). Educational Debt Burden Among Student Borrowers: An Analysis of the Baccalaureate & Beyong Panel , 1997 Follow-Up. Research In Higher Education, 45(7), 701-737.

DRAFT: This module has unpublished changes.