Education Commons^™

Debt Profiles Of Model Students: The Projected Debt Of Highly Productive Students And Its Economic Impact, Mark E. Fincher

Journal of Student Financial Aid

A common misperception suggests that a high-achieving student can easily complete a degree with very limited debt, and that students with high levels of debt are thus underachievers. This assumption is supported by memories of previous decades when it was realistically possible for most students to work their way through college. This view, however, ignores the current financial realities faced by students with limited family support. The financial experience and circumstances of current, high-performing students is markedly different from similarly dedicated students in the past. Current students are now more likely to g raduate with high debt burdens that negatively …