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The Burden of Debt: Undergraduate Students’ Experiences with Paying for Their Education
- College Student Affairs Journal
- Southern Association for College Student Affairs
- Volume 35, Number 2, Fall 2017
- pp. 140-152
- 10.1353/csj.2017.0019
- Article
- Additional Information
This article considers how undergraduate students make meaning from their experiences with debt. Findings from focus groups with students across four campuses within a public university system in the Midwest centered on three key areas: (1) perceived versus actual costs of attending college, varying for students across institutions (2) feelings about carrying debt, centering on the perceived reality and burden of debt, and (3) effects of debt on students, highlighting implications of debt on students’ post-graduate decisions. Findings support research and practice to better understand and support students’ in financing their education.