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What
High School Counselors Think
About Student Financial Aid
Written
by: Ian Crawford, Web Communications Editor
Submitted by: Stephanie
Bender & Aristea Williams, Client Relations Managers Serving Tristate
High school counselors have a great influence on the decision-making
of their students – helping them decide what school to attend
and how to finance their further education. A recent study asked
for their views on student loans, and while most of them agree that
loans help the financially needy, they are wary about the level
of debt that students need to take on to attend college.
Balancing Acts: How High-School Counselors View Risks and Opportunities
of Student Loans by the National Association for College Admission
Counseling and the Project on Student Debt asked counselors what
they thought about student debt, how prepared they were to give
advice about student loans, and their opinions about students taking
out loans.
The key findings include the following:
- Widespread Concern about Student Debt
- The vast majority of high school counselors (86 percent) are concerned
about the level of debt students are taking on to pay for college.
- Most school counselors (78 percent) say that students’ and
parents’ concerns about loan debt affect whether and where
students go to college.
- Counselors at schools with a majority of low-income students
are much more likely to say that fear of debt “strongly
affects” college choices (56 percent) than counselors
at schools with fewer low-income students (34 percent).
- Nearly all high school counselors (97 percent) say that students
and families need a lot of help making decisions about student loans.
- Giving Advice about Student Loans Can be Challenging
- Most high school counselors feel generally prepared to discuss
loans with students and families. Eighty percent feel at least “somewhat
prepared,” including 25 percent who feel “very prepared.”
- More than half of counselors find it at least “somewhat
easy” to answer questions about whether to borrow to pay for
college (62 percent), and what happens if the student does not graduate
from college (53 percent).
- Three-fourths (76 percent) of counselors find it at least “somewhat
hard” to advise students and families about how much they
can afford to borrow, and two-thirds say it is hard to answer questions
about what type of loan to take (66 percent) and what happens if
borrowers cannot pay back their loans (64 percent).
- Generally Positive Views of Student Loans, but Concerns
about Risks for Low-Income, Less Prepared Students
- Most high school counselors believe student loans are a good investment
for a typical student at their school: 83 percent believe loans are
at least a “somewhat good” investment, including 37 percent
who believe they are a “very good” investment.
- Most counselors (89 percent) say that student loans help low-income
students attend college
- However, more than one-third of counselors (37 percent) believe
that low-income students should avoid student loans because of the
risks of default.
- Counselors in high schools with a majority of low-income students
are much more likely to view loans as at least “somewhat risky”
for a typical student at their school (33 percent) than counselors
in schools with fewer low-income students (14 percent).
- Nearly three-quarters (74 percent) of high school counselors agree
that students who are not well-prepared for college should avoid the
risk of student loans. Slightly more (79 percent) say students who
are well prepared can afford the risk of student loans.
Balancing Acts: How High-School Counselors View Risks and Opportunities
of Students Loans - National Association for College Admission
Counseling and the Project on Student Debt
|
