Navigating the Financial Aid Process: Borrowing Outcomes among First-Generation and Non-First-Generation Students

Fernando Furquim, Kristen M. Glasener, Meghan Oster, Brian McCall and Stephen L. DesJardins

The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 2017, vol. 671, issue 1, 69-91

Abstract: A growing number and proportion of students rely on student loans to assist with the costs of postsecondary education. Yet little is known about how first-generation students use federal loans to finance their education. In this article, we examine each of the decisions that culminate in student indebtedness: the decision to apply for aid, whether to borrow, and how much to borrow. We find significant differences by generational status at each step of the student borrowing process. First-generation students are more likely to apply for financial aid, borrow, and take out larger loans than their peers, after controlling for a rich set of covariates for costs and financial resources. We find that student characteristics cannot fully explain these observed differences in borrowing outcomes across generations.

Keywords: student loan; financial aid; first-generation students; hurdle model; decomposition (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:anname:v:671:y:2017:i:1:p:69-91

DOI: 10.1177/0002716217698119

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