Too Much Debt? Student Loans and Life Course Outcomes

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 1
  In Roundtable Session: Financing College Enrollment: Programs, Strategies, and Policies

Abstract

Much of the prior literature on student loans has focused on how they influence students’ behaviors before or during college, such as enrollment, persistence, and completion. Another prominent line of research has explored student loan outcomes. Literature exploring student loans and young adults’ nonpecuniary outcomes (e.g., marriage, family formation, home ownership) is more nascent. Using two national surveys, we found that college-goers with debt were less likely to have a savings or checking account and college graduates with loans had lower odds of ever having a mortgage and higher odds of having a job that offered a retirement plan.

Authors

• Meghan Oster, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

• Annaliese Paulson, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

• Rooney Columbus, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor