To manage their loans effectively, U.S. postsecondary student loan borrowers must make a variety of important decisions that require significant knowledge and financial skills and entail considerable risk. Federal law requires colleges to provide student loan counseling to their federal student loan borrowers, but there is significant room for…

The Texas Guaranteed Student Loan Corporation (TG) offers critical support to schools, students, and borrowers at every stage of the federal student aid process--from providing information on how to pay for a higher education, including financial aid options, to facilitating successful loan repayment after graduation. As part of that support, this…

Borrowing student loans can be confusing and intimidating, enough so that these feelings can influence how students go to college or whether they even enroll at all. Colleges have a responsibility to provide loan counseling to federal student loan borrowers--which, when done intently, can produce a potentially clarifying and empowering experience.…

Legally mandated student loan exit counseling attempts to prepare borrowers of federal student loans for the repayment process; yet, researchers hypothesized that the online modules most borrowers use for this purpose have significant shortcomings. This report (the second in a series of five from TG Research) describes a study in which researchers…

The Texas B-On-Time (BOT) Loan Program is a unique state aid program intended to increase access to higher education in Texas and encourage on-time graduation. This state student loan may be completely forgiven if the otherwise eligible borrower completes his or her degree on time. The BOT Loan Program was developed in response to low on-time…

Legally mandated student loan entrance counseling attempts to prepare first-time borrowers of federal student loans for this challenge; yet, researchers hypothesized that the online modules most borrowers use for this purpose have significant shortcomings. This report (the third in a series of five from TG Research) describes a study in which…

This report (the first in a series of five) explores congressional efforts to mitigate that risk and encourage informed borrowing by enacting statutes related to student loan counseling. After introducing the relevant contemporary policy context, it examines how federal rules governing student loan counseling evolved over time to embrace online…

In December 2012, the Texas Guaranteed Student Loan Corporation (TG) released a report outlining an unexpected set of conclusions. Citing data from the U.S. Department of Education's Baccalaureate and Beyond (B&B) study, the report found that, among students who earned bachelor's degrees during the 2007-2008 academic year (AY) and borrowed…

Student loans are likely to remain a prominent instrument for paying for college in Texas, a necessary financial tool for low- and moderate-income students. As college costs rise and growing enrollments further stretch grant funds, the policy challenge is to assist students in determining the appropriate level of student loans for their individual…

As the importance of a college degree climbs and federal and state grant funding remains inadequate, millions of students in the U.S. continue to take out student loans each year to help pay for their rising education costs. In October 2011, the total amount of outstanding student loan debt in the U.S. exceeded $1 trillion (Chopra, 2012),…

Over the last several years, the media, higher education researchers, and an increasing number of policymakers have pointed to the growing levels of individual and aggregate student loan debt in the United States. At approximately $1.2 trillion, outstanding student loans have surpassed credit cards as the second largest form of consumer debt in…

As the cost and importance of education continue to rise, more college students across the U.S. begin their postsecondary education by signing a contract to repay an ever-increasing amount of student loan debt. Conventional wisdom maintains that borrowing for college is an investment in the future that should be deemed "good debt". Data…

Texas Guaranteed Student Loan Corporation (TG) provides critical support to schools, students, and borrowers at every stage of the federal student aid process--from providing information on how to pay for a higher education including financial aid options, to facilitating successful loan repayment after graduation. This 2016 issue of "State…

TG provides critical support to schools, students, and borrowers at every stage of the federal student aid process--from providing information on how to pay for a higher education including financial aid options, to facilitating successful loan repayment after graduation. This issue of "State of Student Aid and Higher Education in Texas"…

In 2006, TG estimated that 47,000 bachelor's degrees would be lost in Texas due to financial barriers experienced by college-qualified high school graduates from the class of 2004. With more current data, TG now estimates that the number will be 52,800. "Digging Deeper" explores how students who enroll in college continue to experience…