An analysis of financial aid offers and parent plus loan borrowing from 2015-2019 at Missouri, public four-year universities

Abstract

The Parent PLUS loan covers the financial gap of a student's educational expenses after other forms of financial assistance. Depending on the unmet need, the PLUS loan amount borrowed can be tens of thousands of dollars for a single academic year. In this work, I provide a literature review on student loan debt and higher education financing, results from evaluating financial aid offers at Missouri public, four-year higher education institutions between 2015-2019, and present findings from two focus group sessions of financial aid directors. For two years of my study, I find statistically significant differences in the Parent PLUS loan borrowing percentage rate at institutions that include the PLUS loan in their financial aid offer versus institutions that do not. The other two years of my study show practically significant differences in the Parent PLUS loan borrowing percentage rate.