Section 2.3 Big Problem: the Staggering and Inequitable Burden of U.S. Student Debt
Definition 2.3.1.
Student loans are a form of debt taken on in order to help students afford to pay tuition, fees, and other expenses necessary to attend colleges and universities. Unlike scholarships or grants, student loans must be repaid.
Definition 2.3.2.
Defaulting on a loan means a borrower stops making the required payments on that loan. When someone defaults on a student loan, the federal government is allowed to withhold their tax refund, paycheck, or (for older adults) Social Security payments.
The average person to default on their student loans owes less than
\(\$10,000\text{,}\) suggesting that defaulters are make significantly lower incomes than the average student loan borrower. Those borrowers who did not complete a college degree are
three times as likely to default as those who completedโ34โ. Moreover, half of Black borrowers who took out loans in
\(2003\)-
\(2004\) had defaulted after
\(12\) years.
Definition 2.3.3.
The Pell Grant is a federal government grant which provides money for college to low-income students that does not have to be repaid, unlike student loans.
Definition 2.3.4.
All public and most private colleges (
\(91\%\) of all colleges in
\(2016\) are not-for-profit institutionsโ36โ, meaning they invest their profits back into the institution and often operate under independent governance. A college that is not registered as a not-for-profit institution is called a
for-profit college.
Definition 2.3.5.
Definition 2.3.6.
Tuition is the amount of money charged by a college for instruction by faculty.
A student fee is a sum of money charged to students at a school, college, or university in addition to tuition. Student fees may be used to support student organizations and activities, sports teams, exercise facilities, class supplies such as art materials, or anything else beyond the cost of instruction.
https://www.npr.org/2019/07/09/738985632/these-are-the-people-struggling-the-most-to-pay-back-student-loans
https://www.npr.org/2019/07/09/738985632/these-are-the-people-struggling-the-most-to-pay-back-student-loans
https://www.npr.org/2019/07/09/738985632/these-are-the-people-struggling-the-most-to-pay-back-student-loans
files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED603581.pdf
files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED603581.pdf
nces.ed.gov/pubs2018/2018410.pdf
read.oecd-ilibrary.org/education/education-at-a-glance-2017_eag-2017-en