Study Links Student Loan Debt and Postcollege Wealth

Those with student debt -- whether they graduated from or dropped out of college -- are less likely than their counterparts without debt to accumulate assets in the years after leaving college, according to a new study. The research linked debt with borrowers, compared to others, having lower net worth, fewer financial and nonfinancial assets, and homes with lower market values. The study, accepted for publication in Children and Youth Services Review, was written by Min Zhan, a professor of social work at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.