Federal Policymakers Must Act Now to Reform the Student Loan Default System

For too long, the dream of pursuing a college degree has turned into a nightmare of loan default for millions of students. Default disproportionately affects Black students and first-generation students, and most of those who experience default entered college from a low-income background.

Rather than helping struggling borrowers get back on their feet, the student loan default system is punitive and self-defeating, and plunges people deeper into poverty. Federal Policymakers Must Act Now to Reform the Student Loan Default System reviews the current student loan default system and urges policymakers to re-think its purpose and structure, and make much-needed systemic reforms.