The Continued Student Loan Crisis for Black Borrowers

In 2017, the U.S. Department of Education released groundbreaking data showing that half of Black or African American borrowers who first entered college in the 2003-04 academic year defaulted on their student loans within 12 years.1 New federal data released this fall show that these numbers have not improved: Black or African American borrowers who started college in 2011-12, almost a decade later, have continued to face high default rates. This report suggests that the crisis among Black borrowers has persisted—even as federal policymakers created a series of loan repayment options to try to help individuals struggling with debt.