Higher Education: Students Have Increased Borrowing and Working to Help Pay Higher Tuitions

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on: (1) the changes that have occurred in recent years in the percentage of undergraduate and graduate/professional students who borrow and in the cumulative amount of their borrowing; (2) the changes that have occurred in the percentage of undergraduate and graduate/professional students who work and the number of hours they work; (3) how undergraduate borrowing and work patterns differ by type of school, year in school, dependency status, family income, and race/ ethnicity; and (4) information concerning the amounts of education debt parents incur. GAO based its review in large part on an analysis of data collected by the Department of Education as part of the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study.