Jim Crow Debt: How Black Borrowers Experience Student Loans
Survey
Oct. 2021
Sample Size:
1,272
Demographics:
borrowers
Topics:
Student Loans
Top Findings:
- More than half of the Black borrowers in our study said they do not believe that student loans advance racial equality for Black borrowers (58%) or increase Black borrowers’ ability to build wealth (61%). In fact, only 33% of respondents believe student loans improve life opportunities for Black borrowers.
- Of the Black borrowers in our study who were in repayment, 72% were enrolled in an IDR plan. In interviews, many of them described their student loans as a “trap” or “scam” or drew comparisons between their experiences in these plans and historic examples of racial oppression.
- Many borrowers earning more than $25,000 said they had postponed contributing to retirement and purchasing a home.
- 80% of the Black borrowers we surveyed support government forgiveness of all student debt — in fact, participants backed this solution more than any other, including lower interest rates, free tuition, means-test, and cover college costs.