Total education borrowing among students and parents has declined by 4 percent, the first decline in more than 20 years, according to a study released by the College Board on Wednesday.
Boston University has significantly increased its financial-aid budget in recent years, said BU spokesman Colin Riley.
BU funded scholarships in the academic years 2011–12 for 8,577 students, at an average of $22,125, Riley said.
However, the College Board study reported federal grants declined to $49 billion in the 2011–12 academic year from $52 billion in the 2010–11 academic year.
In 2008, federal grants fell at just $26 billion, according to the study. There is some indication that it is a disadvantage to graduate from college during the recession, said Kevin Lang, a BU economics professor.
However, some students are weighing their options when it comes to the value of their degree.
“One would guess that it would be true as well, to some extent, people are also saying, ‘If I’m going to get a college degree, I’m going to get one that means something,’” Lang said.
The loan rates’ decline is somewhat unsurprising in light of current economic conditions, he said.
“We see it for everybody,” Lang said. “In some ways it’s even less surprising for college students.”
Laurence Kotlikoff, a BU economics professor, said applications for graduate education are decreasing around the country.
“I think the perceived difficulty of students in finding jobs after they graduate may be behind this,” Kotlikoff said.
Bridget Terry Long, a professor of education and economics at Harvard University, said while she did not know the cause of the national decline, one possible hypothesis is that students are making different choices.
Long said changes in population demographics could have also played a role in these changes.
“Students might be choosing less expensive colleges given that they’re more conscientious about how much it will cost,” Long said.
Teresa Yue, a College of Arts and Sciences junior, said perhaps more and more students are choosing to attend state schools to save money.
“Especially if the state school is near to their home, they wouldn’t have to apply for housing and stuff like that either,” she said.
Yue said fewer people are probably going to graduate school because they are more conscientious of the financial strain college puts on a family.
“Maybe their family was already dealing with the college financial strain, and then on top of that instead of going to grad school they just chose to help support both their family and their younger siblings,” Yue said.
John Waldman, a School of Management senior, said the financial aid he received from BU factored into his college decision-making process.
“[My family] is at that barrier where we can afford college, but its still a lot of money,” he said. “We have three other kids at home.”
Waldman said he was uncertain as to why student-loan borrowing has suddenly decreased.
“I just assumed it has to do something with the economy — it’s bouncing back a little bit, now so people have more cash flows to be able to spend on a college education,” Waldman said.
Catherine Enwright, a CAS freshman, said she chose BU primarily for financial reasons.
“You definitely just want to go in [to the workforce] with as little debt as possible,” she said.
Enwright said if she were able to, she would take out as few loans as possible.
“If you have a definite career direction and a more cheap college can do it for you, then you should totally do it, or a state school,” Enwright said.
However, some students said they have not had positive experiences with BU financial aid.
Nicole Miranda, a CAS sophomore, said she never even heard from the financial aid office after reapplying for aid her sophomore year.
“I don’t even know because last year I got barely anything, and then this year I applied and I don’t think I ever got a notice,” Miranda said.
She said she has a number of international friends who do not receive any aid.
“I feel like if you’re international you should be even more considered for financial aid, but its the opposite,” she said.
Riley said the administration has been working hard on making BU affordable.
“I can say that our budgets in recent years have increased significantly,” he said. “I would say that it’s an important issue for the administration.”
Riley said the administration in particular is concerned about the amount of debt students leave BU with, which currently stands at about one semester tuition’s worth.
“It has increased a few thousand dollars each year,” he said.
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