Among report findings:
- Black and low-income students borrow more, and more often, to receive a bachelor’s degree, even at public institutions. At 80 percent, the vast majority of Black graduates take on debt, compared to 63 percent of White graduates. Latino students borrow at the same rate as White students to attend public colleges and universities, but borrow at far higher rates to attend private non-profit schools (87 percent to 72 percent, respectively).
- Black and Latino students are dropping out with debt at higher rates than White students. At all schools, 39 percent of Black borrowers and 31 percent of Latino students drop out of college compared to 29 percent of White borrowers. Thirty-eight percent of low-income borrowers drop out, compared to less than a quarter of their higher-income peers.
- Associate’s degree borrowing has jumped particularly among Black students over the past decade. At public institutions, 57 percent of Black associate’s degree recipients borrow (compared to 43 percent of White students), and borrow nearly $2,000 more than White students. A decade ago, 38 percent of Black associate’s degree recipients borrowed (compared to 32 percent of White students). In other words, a six-point gap in borrowing between White and Black associate’s degree holders has turned into a 14-point gap.
- Black students are substantially more likely to cite financial reasons for not completing a degree program. Nearly 7 in 10 Black dropouts cite student debt as a primary reason for dropping out, compared to fewer than half of White students.
- Students at for-profit institutions, who are disproportionately people of color, face the highest debt burdens and dropout rates.