Student loans in the United States

Common card · No. 454533

In the United States, student loans are a form of financial aid intended to help students access higher education. In 2018, 70 percent of higher education graduates had used loans to cover some or all of their expenses. With notable exceptions, student loans must be repaid, in contrast to other forms of financial aid such as scholarships and bursaries which are not repaid, and grants, which rarely have to be repaid. Student loans may be discharged through bankruptcy, but this is difficult. Research shows that access to student loans increases credit-constrained students' degree completion and later-life earnings while having no impact on overall debt. At the end of the second quarter of federal fiscal year 2026, on March 31, the federal student loan portfolio included $1.7239 trillion in outstanding principal and interest for 42.6 million unduplicated recipients. In 2019, students who borrowed to complete a bachelor's degree had about $30,000 of debt upon graduation. Almost half of all...

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