Perception of taking out student loans to afford higher education U.S. 2022

In the United States, taking out student loans to attend higher education has become a controversial course of action. In 2022, 36 percent of adults perceived taking out student loans in order to afford higher education in the United States as a financial risk. In contrast, 14 percent of adults said it was a good long-term investment.

Biden’s pause on payments

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Biden administration allowed for a pause on student loan payments which was extended to June 2023. It has since become clear that many adults in the U.S. will struggle to resume student loan payments, with 30 percent of U.S. adults reporting that they probably would not be able to afford to make payments towards their student loans once the pause expires. In addition, 60 percent of adults in the U.S. said that resuming payments towards their student loans would have a major impact on their financial security. Although President Biden has advocated for a student loan forgiveness plan to ease the transition into resuming student loan payments by first forgiving up to 20,000 U.S. dollars in student debt for many Americans, this plan came under criticism by conservative groups who have attacked the implementation of the policy in courts. In 2022, only a quarter of Republicans believed that student loan debt was a very serious problem, compared to over half of Democrats.

Affordability of higher education in America

Although many in the U.S. perceive the value of attending higher education as a pathway to a successful career, only nine percent of surveyed Americans believed that everyone in the U.S. had access to a quality, affordable education after high school if they wanted it. 36 percent of Americans who said that they definitely could not afford to resume student loan payments reported owing 75,000 to 100,000 U.S. dollars, which can amount to the cost of just one semester of college in the United States. Despite declining enrollment numbers in higher education institutions, colleges fees remain costly and younger Americans have started to question whether taking out student loans is worth the risk. U.S. adults aged 18 to 44 years old as well as those who earned under 50,000 U.S. dollars were both found less likely to believe that taking out student loans to attend higher education was worth it.