New
statistics from the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study show fewer college
students are taking out loans to pay for their education, while another report
indicates that a large chunk of student debt is concentrated in families with
the means to pay it off.
The
federal study, according to Inside Higher Ed, found that 38% of full- and
part-time undergraduates had taken out student loans for the 2015-16 academic
year, compared to 42% for the 2011-12 year (the last time the study was
conducted). The drop occurred across the board at private and public
institutions, two- and four-year schools, and even at for-profit colleges.
The
average loan amounted to $7,600, up about $500 from four years prior. However,
that average includes loans by students at for-profit schools, who typically
borrowed much more than students attending nonprofit institutions.
One
reason for the decline in borrowing rates may be that grants to college
students increased during the period covered by the study, from an average of
$6,200 up to $7,600.
A
separate study by the Urban Institute found that half of college student debt
was held by families earning the top 25% of income (roughly $81,140 or more per
year) and the top 10% accounted for almost one-fourth of student debt,
according to The Chronicle of Higher Education.
“The
concentration of education debt among the relatively affluent means that some
policies designed to reduce the burden of education debt are actually
regressive. Focusing on lowering the interest rate on all outstanding student
debt or on forgiving large amounts of that debt would bestow significant
benefits on relatively well-off people,” wrote the researchers.
