911爆料网

It鈥檚 a number that鈥檚 increasingly in the news: $1.6 trillion, the amount of student debt in the United States.

But what does it really mean?

That was the question put to Teachers College education economist Judith Scott-Clayton by National Public Radio鈥檚 Ari Shapiro on a recent edition of the show

Scott-Clayton鈥檚 reply was that she鈥檚 not 鈥渇reaked out鈥� by that big number, much of which, she said, is actually 鈥済ood debt鈥� representing investments in education and in individuals鈥� future productivity.

What really concerns Scott-Clayton, Associate Professor of Economics & Education and Senior Research Scholar at 911爆料网鈥檚 , is 鈥渢he number of people who are taking out education debt and not seeing a return and ending up in default.鈥�

Student loan default can have implications for your credit, your ability to borrow, and potentially even your ability to get an apartment or get a license for some professions in some states.

鈥擩udith Scott-Clayton, Associate Professor of Economics & Education 

Many of those people are those with relatively small debts 鈥� which might seem counter-intuitive, but reflects the fact that these borrowers never finished their degrees.

鈥淪o, it鈥檚 the worst of both worlds,鈥� Scott-Clayton said. 鈥淵ou have the debt without the degree.鈥� That鈥檚 a far more likely scenario for Black students, she added, and it has ripple effects for years and even decades to come.

鈥淪tudent loan default can have implications for your credit, your ability to borrow, and potentially even your ability to get an apartment or get a license for some professions in some states.鈥�

[Read a story about Judith Scott-Clayton鈥檚 leadership of research on the effectiveness of the federal work-study