ERIC Number: ED598875
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2019-May
Pages: N/A
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
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Available Date: N/A
Student Loan Choice Overload. NBER Working Paper No. 25905
Marx, Benjamin M.; Turner, Lesley J.
National Bureau of Economic Research
What influences college student borrowing? In a field experiment with a large community college, we send emails about federal student loans to students who have received information about financial aid but have not made a borrowing decision. A treatment reminding students that they need not borrow the maximum amount of available loan aid does not affect borrowing. Treatments referencing amounts borrowed by recent graduates shift students from borrowing the maximum amount to not borrowing. Consistent with the hypothesis that students experience choice overload when observing multiple dollar amounts, the response is largest among low-performing students and arises from inaction.
Descriptors: Student Financial Aid, Student Loan Programs, Community Colleges, School Size, Decision Making, College Graduates, Difficulty Level, Low Achievement, Selection, Two Year College Students, Paying for College
National Bureau of Economic Research. 1050 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138-5398. Tel: 617-588-0343; Web site: http://www.nber.org
Publication Type: Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education; Two Year Colleges
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: National Bureau of Economic Research
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Author Affiliations: N/A

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