The Intersection of Student Loans and Social Class: Exploring Borrowers’ Journeys Into Debt and Repayment

• In Event: Roundtable Session 5
  In Roundtable Session: Social Class in Higher Education

Abstract

There is heightened concern about the implications of loans on borrowers’ lives post-graduation, especially for borrowers from low socioeconomic backgrounds. Drawing upon the concepts of cultural capital and habitus, this research explores how student debt and social class intersect and affect individuals’ trajectory into adulthood. A total of 50 interviews were conducted with young adults from varying social classes who had incurred $30,000 to $180,000 in undergraduate debt. The findings point to the immense role that habitus plays in shaping borrowers’ educational experiences and post-graduation outcomes and illustrate the inequitable payoff that college and debt have for borrowers with varying cultural resources. In highlighting how debt exacerbates social inequities, the findings call for several practice and policy-based changes.

Author

• Elissa Chin Lu, Boston College