This study addressed the question of whether student loan repayment and default behaviors are more highly related to the characteristics of the college attended or to the characteristics of the aid recipient. The model for the study was based on theories of human capital and public subsidy, ability to pay perspectives, organizational structural/functional approaches, and student-institution fit models. Data from three national databases were merged: the 1987 National Post-secondary Student Aid Study of individual recipients of federal financial aid, the Integrated Post-secondary Education Database System data containing campus financial and enrollment characteristics, and a third containing College Board Survey data. Analysis found no support for the hypothesis that institutional characteristics have an impact on student loan default. Default behavior could, however, be substantially predicted by borrower characteristics. These included race, marital status, college major, grade point average, highest earned degree, and taxable income. These results erode the basis for current national policy and practice, which holds institutions accountable for the default behavior of those who have left the institution. (Contains 37 references.) (JB)