Loans in the Long Game: How Student Debt Affects Financial Stress Post-Graduation

This study employs data from the National Center for Education Statistics’ (NCES) Baccalaureate and Beyond Surveys to compare financial well-being among college graduates with varying social characteristics and levels of student debt. We use logistic regression to answer three questions: 1) To what extent does the amount of debt at graduation affect students' financial stress that they will be able to meet their fiscal obligations following graduation; 2) To what degree does this affect students from marginalized backgrounds; and 3) What are the postgraduate financial experiences of students who graduate from Hispanic Serving Institutions, Primarily Black Institutions, or Historically Black Colleges and Universities? Our project examines the relationship between cumulative federal student debt at the time of graduation and graduates’ ability to meet financial obligations following degree completion. We found that students with higher direct loan amounts at graduation reported inability to meet financial obligations more often than students with lower amounts. Furthermore, we observed disparities in this relationship between demographic groups and institutional types, indicating a need for additional policies strategically designed to address equity issues in higher education.