Out of Reach? How a Shared Definition of College Affordability Exposes a Crisis for Low Income Students

Abstract

Skyrocketing average student debt is but one warning sign that our system has gone dangerously off course. Student loan defaults continue to rise even in a healthier post-recession economy, and many worry about the impact of student debt and high college costs on millennial economic security and the ability to earn enough to achieve a middle-class life. This problem has a class and a color: black students are more burdened with student debt, despite the fact that college often confers fewer benefits on them.