Borrowers with lower total educational debt were much likelier to borrow private student loans instead of Stafford loans than were peers with more debt, as were students at public two-year colleges, according to a new analysis [1] of private student loan borrowers. The analysis, by the financial aid expert Mark Kantrowitz, aims to shed new light on the reasons why some students who might qualify for federal student loans opt instead for costlier and riskier alternative loans.