Date Approved

5-5-2016

Embargo Period

5-5-2016

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

M.A. School Psychology

Department

Psychology

College

College of Science & Mathematics

Advisor

Dihoff, Roberta

Keywords

Higher education, Education finance

Subject(s)

College costs--United States; Student loans--United States; Academic achievement--United States

Disciplines

Higher Education | Student Counseling and Personnel Services

Abstract

Student loan debt is an important topic up for discussion and has become a huge issue affecting multiple dimensions of today’s society. Undergraduate students are accruing more debt than ever to pay for college degrees, and recent trends in higher education report a raise in cost of tuition. Current statistics reveal over 1.2 trillion dollars in outstanding student loan debt from over 40 million borrowers, however, students are still being encouraged to further their education to gain an economic edge. An array of previous research has focused on various effects of student loans, however, there have been limited studies which look into the effects of accrued student loan debt on graduate degree choices. The purpose of this study was to determine if differences in student loan debt amount influences undergraduate students’ intent to pursue a graduate degree. Socioeconomic status and financial support were also considered. An anonymous survey design was distributed online through Rowan University’s SONA system. Bivariate correlation tests in SPSS for windows were utilized to identify any significant relationships among the variables.

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