Methods

New America contracted with Lake Research to conduct six online focus groups with borrowers across the country who were in or had experienced student loan default. The groups were conducted in June and July of 2022. Each focus group lasted for two hours and included seven or eight borrowers, for a total of 47 participants.

Participants reported that they currently had federal student loan debt for their own postsecondary educations (although some also had private student loan debt and held debt for others), had been in repayment for at least two years prior to the COVID-19 pandemic (March 2020), had defaulted on a student loan, and were 22 or older. Not all borrowers were currently in default.

Research indicates that borrowers may not know if they are in default, so the team asked borrowers additional questions about the consequences of default in order to identify their loan status and screen them into the groups.¹ These included whether they had received a letter or other notice indicating that their loans were in or were about to be placed in default; whether they had missed nine months’ worth of payments; whether their wages, federal income tax refunds, or federal benefits had been garnished or withheld or they had received a letter or other notice that they were about to be withheld; and whether their loans had been assigned to a collection agency or guarantee agency for nonpayment.

Participants were asked questions about their experiences with higher education including while in school; loan repayment challenges; repayment plans and options; interactions with servicers, debt collectors, and the Department; their experiences in and exiting (if appropriate) default; the pandemic and pandemic payment pause; and their financial security.

Focus groups were recruited to ensure a mix of participants by gender, age, race and ethnicity, household income, region, level and sector of education, amount borrowed and owed, presence of children under 18 in the home, and marital/partnership status (see Table 1). New America staff analyzed the focus group transcripts using Dedoose software. Quotations included in this report have been lightly edited for grammar and clarity.