What Are Student Loan Borrowers Thinking? Insights From Focus Groups on College Selection and Student Loan Decision Making

Carrie L. Johnson; Barbara O’Neill; Sheri Lokken Worthy; Jean M. Lown; Cathy F. Bowen

doi:10.1891/1052-3073.27.2.184

What Are Student Loan Borrowers Thinking? Insights From Focus Groups on College Selection and Student Loan Decision Making

Carrie L. Johnson, Barbara O’Neill, Sheri Lokken Worthy, Jean M. Lown, Cathy F. Bowen

School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, Agricultural, Food & Resource Economics

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

21 Scopus citations

Abstract

This study used data from online focus groups collected from November 2014 to April 2015 to understand college students’ decision-making processes when borrowing money to finance their education. Data were collected using an online course management system. Results suggest that (a) students relied heavily on advice from parents, guidance counselors, and friends; (b) attending college was not possible without student loans; and (c) students knew very little about the loans they would be responsible for repaying. Recommendations for financial educators and counselors to help student borrowers make prudent decisions about education debt are presented.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	184-198
Number of pages	15
Journal	Journal of Financial Counseling and Planning
Volume	27
Issue number	2
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1891/1052-3073.27.2.184
State	Published - 2016

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

Finance
Economics and Econometrics

Keywords

college students
decision-making
online focus groups
student loans

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10.1891/1052-3073.27.2.184

Cite this

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title = "What Are Student Loan Borrowers Thinking? Insights From Focus Groups on College Selection and Student Loan Decision Making",

abstract = "This study used data from online focus groups collected from November 2014 to April 2015 to understand college students{\textquoteright} decision-making processes when borrowing money to finance their education. Data were collected using an online course management system. Results suggest that (a) students relied heavily on advice from parents, guidance counselors, and friends; (b) attending college was not possible without student loans; and (c) students knew very little about the loans they would be responsible for repaying. Recommendations for financial educators and counselors to help student borrowers make prudent decisions about education debt are presented.",

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AB - This study used data from online focus groups collected from November 2014 to April 2015 to understand college students’ decision-making processes when borrowing money to finance their education. Data were collected using an online course management system. Results suggest that (a) students relied heavily on advice from parents, guidance counselors, and friends; (b) attending college was not possible without student loans; and (c) students knew very little about the loans they would be responsible for repaying. Recommendations for financial educators and counselors to help student borrowers make prudent decisions about education debt are presented.

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What Are Student Loan Borrowers Thinking? Insights From Focus Groups on College Selection and Student Loan Decision Making

Abstract

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

Keywords

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