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The report highlights widespread stress, anxiety, and financial difficulties, including limited confidence in repayment and debt forgiveness. It links rising costs and low wages to increased borrowing and discusses how factors such as stopping out shape adverse repayment outcomes, with particular attention to financial security and basic needs insecurity.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":40,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/perception-is-reality-student-loan-borrowers-key-findings-and-financial-security-insights/587608/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/perception-is-reality-student-loan-borrowers-key-findings-and-financial-security-insights/587608.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"นรินทร์","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-11-06","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":29},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"What key feelings do borrowers most commonly report about student loans?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"Borrowers frequently report stress and anxiety, with many saying they had more debt than expected and that their overall debt felt unmanageable.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"How common are financial difficulties among students who borrow?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"Nearly all self-reported borrowers reported facing financial difficulties at some point during college. Most also ran out of money at least once during the survey period.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"How confident are borrowers that their student debt will be forgiven or repaid?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"Most borrowers were not confident that any debt would be forgiven, and only a minority reported being confident to some degree in their ability to repay what they borrowed while in school.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":124,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":62},587608,1792924656,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":39,"category_name":40,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":29,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":19,"language":139,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":140,"faqs":141,"seo_title":142,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":143,"read_time":52,"preview_page_count":4},2336475104957,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/avatar/22000c4c6bd8a5076e1?x-image-process=image/resize,m_fixed,w_180,h_180&k=1787554080175789136","SPOTLIGHT REPORT BRIEF  \nTRELLIS RESEARCH | AUGUST 2022  \nPerception is Reality: Attitudes and Experiences of Student Loan Borrowers  \nAllyson Cornett, Cassandra Knaff, and Carla Fletcher August 2022  \nRecommended Citation: Cornett, A., Knaff, C., & Fletcher, C. (2022) . Perception is reality: Attitudes and experiences of student loan borrowers. Trellis Company.  \nKey Findings  \n• Feelings of stress and anxiety related to loans were common; 62 percent reported they had more student loan debt than expected, and 36 percent felt that their total debt was unmanageable.  \n• Many student borrowers struggled with their finances, with 87 percent reporting financial difficulties since starting college.  \n• Although discussions of canceling student debt have been prominent in recent years, 66 percent of borrowers were not at all confident that any of their debt would be forgiven.  \nThe combination of rising college costs, escalating living expenses, inadequate wages, and other factors leaves many college students struggling to make ends meet. In earlier decades, it was possible to finance an undergraduate education by taking a full course load while working enough hours to cover living and education expenses. From 1966 to 1981, an undergraduate could have paid for a year of education, including tuition, fees, and cost of living, at a public four-year university by working just 24 hours a week at a minimum wage job. However, in 2020 to 2021, this same student would have had to work 75 hours every week of the year to pay for two semesters at a Texas public four-year university.1  \nUnsurprisingly, these trends lead many to borrow to pay for college. Approximately 30 to 40 percent of college students borrow federal student loans each year to meet their expenses.2 Currently, there are 45 million postsecondary students with $1.6 trillion in outstanding federal student loan debt. Further, undergraduates who graduated in 2019- 2020 borrowed an average of $28,400 .3,4 However, the economic impact(s) of these student loans varies widely. For instance, students who “stop out” or leave college without a degree or credential are much more likely to experience adverse repayment outcomes. Half of defaulted borrowers have not completed a degree.5  \nThis brief examines data from 19,934 students who reported taking out a student loan in Trellis’ Fall 2021 Student Financial Wellness Survey (SFWS), with special emphasis on their financial security and attitudes toward their loans, debt, and debt forgiveness. With conversations about loan forgiveness continuing in Washington D.C., it is critical to have a full understanding of borrowers’ perceptions and experiences.  \n1 Fletcher, C., & Cornett, A. (2022) . State of student aid and higher education in Texas: 2022. Unpublished manuscript.  \n2 Urban Institute. (n. d.) . Understanding college affordability: Borrowing. Retrieved from [http://collegeaffordability.urban.org/covering-expenses/borrowing/\\#/](http://collegeaffordability.urban.org/covering-expenses/borrowing/#/)  \n3 Fowers, A. & Douglas-Gabriel, D. (2022, May 22) . Who has student loan debt in America? Washington Post. Retrieved from [https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2022/05/22/student-loan-borrowers/](https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2022/05/22/student-loan-borrowers/)  \n4 College Board. (n. d.) . Trends in student aid: Highlights. Retrieved from [https://research.collegeboard.org/trends/student-aid/highlights](https://research.collegeboard.org/trends/student-aid/highlights)  \n[5](5 The Brookings Institution)[ The Brookings Institution](5 The Brookings Institution). ([2021](2021), [April 13](April 13))[. The student debt burden and its impact on racial justice](. The student debt burden and its impact on racial justice), [borrowers](borrowers), [and the economy](and the economy). Retrieved from  \n[https://www.brookings.edu/testimonies/the-student-debt-burden-and-its-impact-on-racial-justice-borrowers-and-the-economy/](https://www.broo","cbCaii8yc8bweIjq","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaii8yc8bweIjq","pdf",528822,"English","# Key Findings\n## Feelings and debt expectations\n## Financial difficulties and basic needs insecurity\n## Attitudes toward repayment and forgiveness\n# Historical and economic context\n## Rising costs vs. earlier affordability\n## Borrowing prevalence and loan scale\n# Data and study focus\n## Survey sample and emphasis","[{\"question\":\"What key feelings do borrowers most commonly report about student loans?\",\"answer\":\"Borrowers frequently report stress and anxiety, with many saying they had more debt than expected and that their overall debt felt unmanageable.\"},{\"question\":\"How common are financial difficulties among students who borrow?\",\"answer\":\"Nearly all self-reported borrowers reported facing financial difficulties at some point during college. Most also ran out of money at least once during the survey period.\"},{\"question\":\"How confident are borrowers that their student debt will be forgiven or repaid?\",\"answer\":\"Most borrowers were not confident that any debt would be forgiven, and only a minority reported being confident to some degree in their ability to repay what they borrowed while in school.\"}]","Perception is Reality - Student Loan Borrowers - Key Findings and Financial Security Insights | PDF",1792062330]