High Tuition and High Student Loans: The Experiences of College Students With Education Loan Burdens

• In Event: 14.045 - Roundtable Session 3
  In Roundtable Session: 14.045-6 - Division J Section 5 Roundtable 3

Abstract

This paper presents results of a qualitative multiple case study of the experiences of college students facing student loan debt, how and why they acquired such debt, and why they persisted in school. Subjects participated in in-depth interviews. Results were analyzed using a conceptual framework that included persistence, motivational theory, and human capital theories to examine their reasons for continuing with their education despite considerable debt. Findings indicated that higher education is expensive; students are heavily reliant on loans to gain access to and persist in college; students were not counseled about consequences in debt, and suffered long term burdens as a result of this, but believed their education was worth it.

Authors

• Helen O. Au, University of Hawaii at Manaoa

• Stacey Butler Roberts, University of Hawaii - Manoa