Federal Student Aid is money from the Federal Government that helps you pay for college, career school, or graduate school expenses. Federal student aid is available through grants, work-study funds, and loans. Every student who meets certain eligibility requirements can get some type of federal student aid. This brief describes the types of aid…

Nearly all borrowers with federal student loans are currently eligible for an income-driven repayment (IDR) plan that allows them to cap monthly payments at 10 percent of their discretionary income. IDR plans also include a loan forgiveness benefit whereby remaining balances are canceled after a set period of making payments in IDR, typically 20…

The federal government now offers a multitude of complicated income-driven repayment (IDR) plans that are difficult to understand, enroll in, and stay in. Many students who would benefit from IDR do not enroll, and others will have large amounts of debt forgiven despite earning high wages. The current problems with IDR are not an indictment of the…

Is graduate school worth it? Graduate degrees--including master's, professional, and doctoral degrees--can help individuals boost their earnings and improve career advancement opportunities. But they can also be high-risk investments given rising costs, student debt, and the current lack of transparency about program outcomes. "Graduate…

The purpose of this study was to explore the narratives of Black women repaying student loan debt. Black Feminist Thought (BFT) was used as the framework. Selected participants had to be at least 18 years, self-identify as a Black woman, owe either U.S. federal and/or private student loans, and not be enrolled in a college degree program. Snowball…

The Baccalaureate and Beyond (B&B) series of data collections allows researchers to address questions regarding bachelor's degree recipients' undergraduate experiences, including their participation in various financial aid programs, student loan debt and repayment of that debt; entrance into and progress through postbaccalaureate education;…

The Baccalaureate and Beyond (B&B) series of data collections allows researchers to address questions regarding bachelor's degree recipients' undergraduate experiences, including their participation in various financial aid programs, student loan debt and repayment of that debt; entrance into and progress through postbaccalaureate education;…

Introduced this year, "How America Pays for Graduate School" is a national study by Sallie Mae, conducted by Ipsos. This new study is designed to complement Sallie Mae's "How America Pays for College" report, which, for the last 10 years, has provided insights into how American families plan and pay for college, with a focus on…

College tuition and student debt levels have been increasing at a fast pace for at least two decades. These well-documented trends, coupled with an economy weakened by a major recession, have raised serious questions about whether the market for student debt is headed for a crisis, with many borrowers unable to repay their loans and taxpayers…

This report documents the methodological procedures and evaluations of the 2008/09 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study (B&B:08/09). RTI, with the assistance of MPR, conducted B&B:08/09 for the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) of the U.S. Department of Education. Chapter 1 describes the background, legislative…

This Statistics in Brief examines three cohorts of recent college graduates 1 year after they attained their bachelor's degree. The graduation years for the three cohorts span a 15-year period: 1992-93, 1999-2000, and 2007-08. The latest cohort (2007-08) graduated in the midst of the 2008 recession. This Statistics in Brief first examines how…

This report provides a resource of accurate, timely and comprehensive facts about higher education in Minnesota. It includes comparisons over time as well as national and peer institution comparisons to add context for the interpretation of the data. It is expected to be used by a number of stakeholder groups such as legislators, educators and…

The U.S. Congress has mandated that the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) produce an annual report to help inform policymakers about the progress of education in the United States. Using data from across the center and from other sources of education data, "The Condition of Education 2015" presents 42 key indicators on…

To help inform policymakers and the public about the progress of education in the United States, Congress has mandated that the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) produce an annual report, "The Condition of Education." This year's report presents 42 indicators on important topics and trends in U.S. education. These…