The unequal debt loads may help explain some of the disparities between Black and White college graduates in a number of areas that range from physical to financial well-being, even though members of both groups have achieved “the same propitious milestone in life, namely, a college degree,” the analysis states.
“This is not to suggest that these lower levels of well-being can be explained solely by the fact that Black college graduates borrow at higher rates than other graduates do,” the Gallup analysis states. “Many variables may contribute to these observed differences in wellbeing between these two similarly educated groups ― including, but not limited to ― the income gap between the races as well as discrimination against Black Americans.”
Citing research that shows Blacks consistently earn less than Whites even when they have the same level of educational attainment, the analysis warns that the income disparities could have negative repercussions for future generations of Black college students.
“This could help create a vicious cycle for many Black graduates whereby they are compelled by economic necessity to take out student debt when they attend college and then subsequently spend a substantial period of their professional life paying down this debt, minimizing the ability to save for a child’s college education,” the analysis states.
The findings of unequal debt loads are based on an analysis of the results of the inaugural Gallup-Purdue Index, a joint research effort with Purdue University and Lumina Foundation to study the relationship between the college experience and college graduates’ lives.
In many ways, the unequal debt loads between Black and White college graduates are nothing new.
