Private Loans: Facts and Trends
May 2, 2019 – Private loans are one of the riskiest ways to finance a college education. Like credit cards, they usually have variable interest rates that are higher for those who can least afford them. Analysis of federal data from 2015-16 reveals that less than half of private loan borrowers use the maximum amount of more affordable federal loans.
Risky Private Student Lending on the Rise Again
December 22, 2011 – One-page fact sheet on the recent signs of renewed growth in the private student loan market.
Critical Choices: How Colleges Can Help Students and Families Make Better Decisions about Private Loans
July 13, 2011 – Our report documents promising practices that a variety of financial aid offices are using to help prospective borrowers avoid unnecessarily risky and costly debt. It also identifies some problematic practices that bypass key opportunities to inform students’ and parents’ borrowing decisions.
New Data Show Big Increases in Private Student Loan Borrowing
April 21, 2009 – New analysis reveals alarming increases in private loan borrowing: the share of all undergraduate students who borrowed private student loans jumped from 5% in 2003-04 to 14% in 2007-08.
Denied
April 17, 2008 – At least one million community college students lack access to federal loans, not because of the credit crunch, but because their schools don’t participate in the federal loan programs. This pushes students who need to borrow to resort to risky private loans, payday loans, and credit cards, or to drop out or reduce their course load. Our brief also found significant gaps in loan access between racial and ethnic groups. See the press release and supporting materials.
