Shifting Narratives: Centering Race in Defining and Measuring College Value

Completing a quality degree is key to unlocking the full range of benefits of higher education, including securing meaningful employment that supports a student’s ability to repay their loans.

Summarizes loan limits, interest rates, and other terms for federal student loans issued from July 1, 2019 through June 30, 2020.

Useful two-page fact sheet about average student debt across all sectors of higher education, and specific groups of BA graduates who carry disproportionate debt burdens.

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.

This analysis of nationally representative data shows that certain groups of students are far more likely to default on their federal loans than others: those who attended for-profit colleges, Pell Grant recipients, first-generation students, and African-American students. Completion matters, but it doesn't adequately protect vulnerable students from default.

Summarizes loan limits, interest rates, and other terms for federal student loans issued from July 1, 2018 through June 30, 2019.