The Color of Student Debt: Implications of Federal Loan Program Reforms for Black Students and Historically Black Colleges and Universities
In this paper, we explain why discussions must take into account a critical issue conspicuously absent from most public debate about reforming higher education financing, and student loans in particular: There is a substantial racial disparity in families’ need to borrow for college, such that black students depend much more heavily on access to loans than white families, and leave college with a great deal more in student loan debt than their white counterparts.