Data and Methodology

This analysis uses the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study, drawing on data from the 1999–2000, 2003–04, 2007–08, and 2011–12 school years, with a focus on the 2015–16 school year. Estimates of borrowing for non-tuition costs are based on the total amount a student or his parents borrowed that year, including federal loans to students and parents, and private, state, and institutional loans. We then subtract the amount a student paid in tuition and required fees after any grants and scholarships have been applied. In this way, both grants and loans are applied to tuition first, and any loan amount in excess of the tuition and fees paid is allocated toward non-tuition expenses. We also categorize students according to whether they borrow amounts equal to or less than what they pay in tuition and fees, borrow more than they pay in tuition and fees, or do not borrow at all.