By Bonny Brown, Ph.D
Chegg, Consumer Insights
Highlights
- 60 percent of students expect to graduate with student debt, while 42 percent worry about making loan payments after graduation.
- College Democrats say Bernie Sanders’ (31 percent) and Elizabeth Warren’s (25 percent) debt cancellation plans are the best options to address the nation’s student debt.
- Female Democrats are more enthusiastic about plans to forgive student debt, and support for Sanders’ plan has the largest gender gap (88% of female Democrats vs. 78% of male Democrats).
College affordability has gotten more attention in the 2020 presidential race than in years past, as the rising cost of college has left Americans with a collective $1.6 trillion in outstanding student debt. The Chegg/College Pulse Student Election Tracker finds that Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren lead among college students in the Democratic primary, and a new survey highlights the impact of their student debt proposals.
Why Student Debt is So Important in 2020
Today, among the Class of 2018, 69% of college students graduated with an average of almost $30,000 in debt, while the average monthly student loan payment is almost $400. A new survey conducted by Chegg and College Pulse finds that 60 percent of undergraduates expect to graduate with student debt, while 42 percent worry about making loan payments after graduation. At the same time, almost a quarter (23 percent) of current students say student loans will be a major factor in the type of jobs they apply for after graduation, compared to 31 percent who say it will be a minor factor.
Because of these worries, students are looking to the 2020 presidential hopefuls to address the nation’s growing student debt. Climate change may be the top 2020 issue for college students, but the cost of education falls in their top five most important issues. And a majority of college students (65 percent) say they are more likely to support a presidential candidate who makes addressing student debt a top priority.
Addressing rising education costs is particularly important for college Democrats. They are more likely to support a presidential candidate who focuses on student debt (83 percent vs. 17 percent) and far less likely to say it would not make a difference (13 percent vs. 58 percent).
Democratic Students Prefer Progressive Debt Policies
Democrats vying for the nomination have released a range of student debt plans, and each candidate’s proposal has overwhelming support from Democratic students. But when it comes to which proposal students think would best address the nation’s student debt crisis, college Democrats prefer the most progressive policies.
When asked to pick which plan would best address student debt, more college students overall (28 percent) say Joe Biden’s, while 21 percent say Sanders’ plan and 19 percent choose Warren’s plan. However, Democratic students (31 percent) choose Sanders’ plan as the best option, followed by Warren’s (25 percent). The proposals from Biden and Andrew Yang tie for third (17 percent).
Democratic Students Say Bernie Sanders’ Plan Would Best Address Student Debt
Which plan do you think would best address student debt?
Despite being the favored plan among Democratic students, some still worry that Sanders’ proposal to cancel all outstanding student debt isn’t feasible. “I love it in theory, but I understand there’s no way to make it work,” a University of Michigan student says of Sanders’ proposal.
Meanwhile, many students mention that Biden’s more modest plan to allow interest-free deferment for student loan borrowers who earn less than $30,000 per year should be one piece of a larger plan to eliminate debt — not the whole package.
“I favor this happening, but I don’t favor this being the only student loan plan,” a student from Washington University in St. Louis says of Biden’s proposal, suggesting that Biden needs a broader plan that addresses more than loan deferments. A Fort Hays State University student adds that “Republicans clearly aren’t taking middle of the road tactics,” so Democrats shouldn’t either.
The Gender Debt Gap
Women tend to take on larger student loans than men and hold nearly two-thirds of the outstanding student debt in the country, according to the American Association of University Women. These gender divides translate to current students’ views on college affordability, debt relief, and the Democratic primary.
Almost one-third (30 percent) of both male and female students say community college should be free for everyone. But male students are almost twice as likely as female students to say college tuition should stay the way it is right now (23 percent vs. 12 percent), while female students are more likely to say all public colleges and universities should be free (33 percent vs. 24 percent).
Female college students are also more likely than their male classmates to prioritize student debt when choosing a presidential candidate. Almost three-quarters (71 percent) of female students say they would be more likely to support a candidate who makes addressing student debt a top priority, compared to about half (55 percent) of male students.
Female Students are More Likely to Care About Candidates’ Debt Plans
Are you more likely or less likely to support a presidential candidate who makes addressing student debt a top priority?
And in the midst of the 2020 primary process, female Democrats are more enthusiastic about proposals that involve cancelling debt in some way. Support for Sanders’ plan has the largest gender gap (88% of female Democrats vs. 78% of male Democrats), followed by Yang’s (91 percent of female students vs. 82 percent of male students) and Warren’s (94 percent of female Democrats vs. 86 percent of male Democrats). Male and female Democrats’ support for Biden’s plan is on par (89 percent vs. 87 percent).
About Chegg:
Chegg puts students first. As the leading student-first connected learning platform, Chegg strives to improve the overall return on investment in education by helping students learn more in less time and at a lower cost. Chegg is a publicly-held company based in Santa Clara, California and trades on the NYSE under the symbol CHGG. For more information, visit www.chegg.com.
About College Pulse:
College Pulse is an online survey and analytics company dedicated to understanding the attitudes, preferences, and behaviors of today’s college students. College Pulse offers custom data-driven marketing and research solutions, utilizing its unique American College Student Panel™ that includes 250,000 college student respondents from more than 800 two and four-year colleges and universities in all 50 states. For more information, visit https://collegepulse.com/.