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It describes financial-aid leveraging and optimization, detailing how selective schools target the biggest discounts to high-achieving and wealthy applicants, leaving other students’ aid far short of need. The analysis links funding gaps to federal Parent PLUS loans created in 1980 and revised impacts reported in 2026.",{"@graph":14,"@context":72},[15,34,55],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/","Research & 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to Debt They Can't Afford  \nStephen Burd  \nEducation Policy & Higher Education Last edited on March 18, 2026  \nAcknowledgments  \nWe would like to thank the Joyce Foundation for its generous support of this work. The views expressed in this report are those of its author and do not necessarily represent the views of the Joyce Foundation or its officers or employees. The author would like to thank Rachel Fishman and Sabrina Detlef for their keen editing skills. He would also like to thank Katherine Portnoy, Amanda Dean, and Natalya Brill for their communications, production, and data visualization support.  \nUpdated on March 18, 2026: This report has been updated to correct the percent of University of Connecticut freshmen receiving non-need-based aid from 88 percent to 20 percent.  \n[newamerica.org/education-policy/reports/parent-plus-subprime-loans-universities-debt/ 2](newamerica.org/education-policy/reports/parent-plus-subprime-loans-universities-debt/ 2)  \nAbout the Author(s)  \nStephen Burd is a Senior Writer and Editor with the Education Policy program at New America, where he has helped shape the organization’s work on higher education policy and on student financial aid issues.  \nAbout New America  \nWe are dedicated to renewing the promise of America by continuing the quest to realize our nation’s highest ideals, honestly confronting the challenges caused by rapid technological and social change, and seizing the opportunities those changes create.  \nAbout Education Policy  \nWe use original research and policy analysis to help solve the nation’s critical education problems, crafting objective analyses and suggesting new ideas for policymakers, educators, and the public at large.  \nAbout Higher Education  \nWe are researchers, writers, and advocates from diverse backgrounds who shed light on the thorniest issues in higher education and develop studentcentered federal policy recommendations  \n[newamerica.org/education-policy/reports/parent-plus-subprime-loans-universities-debt/ 3](newamerica.org/education-policy/reports/parent-plus-subprime-loans-universities-debt/ 3)  \nContents  \nIntroduction 5  \nMaking the List 12  \nPrivate Universities 15  \nPrivate University Profile 17  \nThe George Washington University 19  \nSt. John’s University 20  \nPublic Universities 22  \nPublic University Profile 23  \nUniversity of Alabama 24  \nAuburn University 31  \nLouisiana State University 33  \nConclusion 37  \nAppendix 39  \n[newamerica.org/education-policy/reports/parent-plus-subprime-loans-universities-debt/ 4](newamerica.org/education-policy/reports/parent-plus-subprime-loans-universities-debt/ 4)  \nIntroduction  \nPublic flagship and research universities in the South are thriving, setting  \nenrollment records year after year. National publications marvel at their  \nsuccess recruiting students from around the country, particularly at a time  \nwhen higher education as a whole seems to be in such dire straits. And  \njournalists and pundits twist themselves into knots trying to explain the appeal of the schools to suburban college applicants from Northern states. Are these  \nstudents flocking to these schools to enjoy the sun, tailgate parties, and  \nwinning football? Or are they, as Fox News would have it, leaving in droves to  \nescape woke politics?1  \nIn reality, there is a much simpler reason. Many of these universities are  \nspending tens of millions of dollars each year—and, in the case of the  \nUniversity of Alabama, $185 million annually—to reel in affluent students  \nfrom around the country.2 In other words, these schools are offering the best deals to well-to-do students and their families who are shopping around. Take Caroline Ward, who in 2017 was one of more than 200 freshmen from Illinois to receive full-tuition scholarships from the University of Alabama.“Students are looking for those scholarships, and they’re going to take them wherever  ","cbCaimFSgfdMma0M","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaimFSgfdMma0M","pdf",2069437,48,"English","# Introduction\n# Making the List\n# Private Universities\n## Private University Profile\n## The George Washington University\n## St. John’s University\n# Public Universities\n## Public University Profile\n## University of Alabama\n## Auburn University\n## Louisiana State University\n# Conclusion\n# Appendix","[{\"question\":\"What problem does the report focus on?\",\"answer\":\"The report focuses on how universities’ aid and recruitment strategies steer low- and lower-middle-income families into debt they may not be able to repay.\"},{\"question\":\"How do universities use financial aid to influence enrollment?\",\"answer\":\"They use financial aid leveraging or optimization to set discount “price points” so the schools can enroll targeted groups without overspending beyond necessity.\"},{\"question\":\"Why do low-income families often rely on Parent PLUS loans?\",\"answer\":\"Even when they receive some aid, it typically does not cover their full financial need, so families borrow federal Parent PLUS loans to close the gap.\"}]","The Subprime PLUS Loan Crisis: How Dozens of Universities Steer Low-Income Families to Debt They Can't Afford | PDF",1792057397,121]