High-Tuition, High-Loan Financing: Economic Segregation in Postsecondary Education

Abstract

Within the past 2 decades, the education services industry has been characterized as going through a period of high tuition with an increased reliance on the use of loan financing. This study examines the impact of this high-tuition, high-loan approach, especially as it relates to the role of socioeconomic status on educational choice within varying situated contexts. Using a questionnaire designed for systematic description and comparison of student decision-making, patterns of college choice behavior are described across socioeconomic groups and within and between high-cost and low-cost private postsecondary institutions. These patterns are used