What strategies are being implemented at your college or university to address the growing impact that fear of student debt is having on enrollment trends? Chime in using the comments below or tag us on Twitter (@LRAPassociation). We've taken the time to scour the web for relevant data and statistics regarding the potential for impact fear of managing student debt after graduation might be having on the higher education choices students and families are making. As a focal point for the facilitated discussion we are leading at NACCAP, we created this convenient take-home document with primary sources listed (and linked at http://lrap.org/NACCAP).

1. %LOANS
%LOANS
HIGHER EDUCATION
PROFESSIONAL POVs
STUDENT AND
FAMILY POVs
NATIONAL UNDERGRADUATE
ENROLLMENT & STUDENT
DEBT FACTS
The average amount of total student
loans received by undergraduates in
2015-16 at private nonprofit 4-year
institutions.(12)
42%
$9300
58%
Percentage of
undergraduates at private
nonprofit 4-year
institutions who took out
student loans.(12)
5.1% 13.7%
2000 2014
Percentage indicating share of all
borrowers with balances over $50k.(14)
Average total income for borrowers
with less than $50k in balances has
decreased from: (14)
$44,500
$35,250
2000 2014
10K
20K
30K
40K
50K
At the college level,
average debt
for students
(reported by
college) covers an
enormous range of
$4600 - $59,100.(13)
Percentage of students
from longitudinal study of
9th graders indicating
financial reasons for not
enrolling in college.(16)
30 40 50
60
70
20
10
0
80%
58%
of college leaders believe
tuition discounting is
unsustainable generally,
59% at their institution
specifically.(11)
89%
of private, nonprofit
admissions directors
believe their institution is
losing potential applicants
due to concerns about
accumulating student loan
debt.(8)
90%
of private nonprofit
college presidents
strongly agree or agree
that attention to student
debt has led many
prospective students
and parents to think of
college as less
affordable than it is.(10)
58% of admissions
directors believe public
discussions of student
debt discourage
students from
considering their
college specifically.(8)
66.27%
of college administrators cited
tuition or fee affordability as among
the greatest internal challenges.(9)
49.1%
38%
is the average tuition
discount rate for first-time,
full-time freshmen at
private nonprofit
institutions in 2016-17, up
from 38% in 2005-06
(NACUBO data). (11)
42%
69%
of Americans say college
degrees are not worthwhile
due to student debt and
poor job prospects.(1)
65%
of Americans think
education beyond high
school is not affordable to
anyone in this country who
needs it.(7)
79%
Only 34% of students
strongly agree that they
will graduate with the
skills and knowledge they
need to be successful in
the job market.(5)
of families eliminated
colleges from selection
set due to cost over
time.(2)
of those 18-22 say finding
a good paying job is
somewhat or much harder
than when their parents
were their age.(6)
Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly
Agree
34%
LRAP at
NACCAP
A FACILITATED
DISCUSSION ON FEAR OF
STUDENT LOAN DEBT &
ENROLLMENT IMPACT
Contracting Market
13% decline in fertility rate after
2008 recession likely to translate
to 280,000 fewer students
2020-29.(15)
13% of Gen Z identify as Atheist,
compared to 7% of Millennials(17)
66.7% of 2017 high school grads
enrolling in college, lowest since
2013. Enrollment for Hispanic
students down 11 percentage
points.(18)

2. %LOANS
%LOANS
LRAP at NACCAP
A FACILITATED DISCUSSION ON
FEAR OF STUDENT LOAN DEBT &
ENROLLMENT IMPACT
• 72% Percentage of 9th graders in
longitudinal study who had enrolled
in postsecondary education between
completing or leaving high school
and February 2016. 36% enrolled at a
public 2-year college, 41% at a public
4-year college, only 16% at a private
nonprofit 4-year college.(16)
• 54.4% Percentage of undergraduates
at private nonprofit 4-year institutions
who took out federal Direct Loans,
$6900 average amount borrowed. (12)
• 47.4% Percentage of undergraduates
at private nonprofit 4-year institutions
who took out Direct Subsidized Loans,
$4000 average amount borrowed.(12)
• 47.8% Percentage of undergraduates
at private nonprofit 4-year institutions
who took out Direct Unsubsidized
Loans, $3900 average amount
borrowed.(12)
• 57.2% Percentage of undergraduates
at private nonprofit 4-year institutions
who received aid funded by the
postsecondary institution they
attended, $16,200 average amount
funded.(12)
• 64% of admissions directors believe
public discussions of student debt
discourage students from considering
higher education.(8)
• 85% of private nonprofit college
presidents are very or somewhat
concerned about enrolling target
numbers of undergraduates.(10)
• 85% say they were very (55%) or
moderately (30%) concerned about
reaching their institution’s enrollment
goals this year.(8)
• 69.48% of college administrators cited
competition for prospective students
as among the greatest external
challenges.(9)
• 54.62% of college administrators cited
public uncertainty about the value
of higher education as among the
greatest external challenges.(9)
• 99% of private nonprofit college
presidents think concerns about
college affordability and student debt
are somewhat or very responsible for
declining public support of higher
education.(10)
• 80% of college leaders believe tuition
discounting is unsustainable generally,
59% at their institution specifically.(11)
• 58% of families who eliminated a
college from a selection set due to
cost, did so before research.(2)
• 39% of Americans who are dissatisfied
with four-year programs cited the cost
as a leading concern.(1)
• 20% of families who eliminated a
college from selection set due to cost,
did so before applying, 12% before aid
award, and 10% after aid award.(2)
• 22% of education consumers say
access or affordability motivated them
toward their specific institution.(3)
• 44% of students in one poll rejected
a school based on published sticker
price.(4)
• 36% of students strongly agree that
they will graduate with the skills and
knowledge they need to be successful
in the workplace after finding
employment.(5)
• 53% of students strongly agree that
their major will lead to a good job.(5)
HIGHER EDUCATION
PROFESSIONAL POVs
STUDENT AND
FAMILY POVs
NATIONAL UNDERGRADUATE
ENROLLMENT & STUDENT DEBT
FACTS
Sources
1. 2017 Civis Analytics Poll
2. 2017 How America Pays for College: Sallie
Mae’s 10th National Study of College
Students & Parents
3. Strada/Gallup 2018 Survey on Top
Reasons US Consumers Choose
Educational Pathways
4. Education Value Proposition Study by
Longmire and Company in 2013
5. Strada/Gallup 2018 Student Survey Report
6. New America’s Annual Survey on Higher
Education 2017
7. Gallup/Lumina 2014 study
8. 2017 IHE Survey of Admissions Directors
9. 2017 STAMATS National Poll of College
Administrators
For links to primary sources and more information visit LRAP.ORG/NACCAP
10. 2018 IHE Survey of College Presidents
11. 2017 Chronicle of Higher Education Tuition
Pricing Crisis
12. NPSAS:16 (National Postsecondary
Student Aid Study 2015-16)
13. TICAS – Student Debt and the Class of
2016
14. Brookings Study on Borrowers with Large
Balances 2018
15. Demographics and the Demand for Higher
Education, Nathan D. Grawe, 2017
16. NCES Results of Long Term Longitudinal
Study on 9th graders
17. Barna Group 2018 research on Gen. Z &
Millennials
18. US Labor Department Statistics
Notes
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