Data from the National Student Loan Data System and a college's student data base for cohort years 1993, 1994, and 1995 yielded descriptive statistics on 260 borrowers who defaulted on student loans at one public two-year college. After describing characteristics associated with defaulters, the author provides supporting information from a qualitative survey that elicited perceptions about loan defaulters from 12 respondents representing students, faculty, and staff at the college. Findings indicate that student background characteristics play as great a role in loan default behavior as institutional influences, and the author provides suggestions for future research and policy efforts.
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