You will prepare and submit a term paper on A Survey of Student Debt. Your paper should be a minimum of 1500 words in length. This survey is designed in order to gain a better understanding of the student loan debt experience in higher education levels. Therefore, participation is voluntary and it is an anonymous survey. thus the identity of participants will not be disclosed. Thank you for setting time aside to complete this survey.

The sample for the majority of the respondents fell into varied categories including females and males aging from the age of 18 and above. The majority of respondents were students taking varied university programs and those who have received varied student loans. Nearly all the respondents were among the students who relied on student loans while the majority relied on support from parents and relatives. The research employed sampling survey method and questionnaires were distributed to varied students in varied faculties for self-completion of questions. The final data were collected after one week for further analysis and discussions.

The issue of student debt on participation in higher education has been of great concern in many states. The research study report indicates that in 2010, about two-thirds of graduating college seniors left learning institutions with student loan debt (Drezner, 2013, p. 16). Many students and parents lack adequate knowledge to accurate estimate for higher education costs. The research indicates that the ever-increasing college costs have contributed to increasing the need for financial aid, which is critical for increasing college access and success (Institute for College Access & Success, 2008, p. 1 and Eckel, Johnson, Montmarquette & ROJAS, 2007, p. 233). There has been a significant increase in student loan debt but these rates remain uneven among varied groups of students. Voigt (2007, p. 97)

From the research questions, it was found that student loans is among the highest percentage of funding tuition fee for students in higher education. Although many students receive scholarships or fee bursaries and other loans from relatives, personal savings, and money from partners, many students rely on student loans. Moreover, the higher percentages of students fund their accommodations and living expenses through student loans and parents/ guardians or relative’s money to help. Therefore, many students feel guilty about the financial sacrifices their parents or relatives offer them. thus they feel under great pressure to work hard. The research indicated that many students studying in universities involve in part-time or full-time jobs but most of these jobs are unpaid. They perform unpaid jobs in order to acquire future work experience and others revealed that unpaid work leaves them with too little time for academic studies. Even though others receive payment, it is little and it cannot satisfy their financial needs.