Debt and its use among Puerto Rican undergraduate students

• Autores: Alice Abboud Chalhoub, Cristal Matos Corporán, Marisela Santiago Castro
• Localización: Fórum Empresarial, ISSN-e 2475-8752, ISSN 1541-8561, Vol. 3, Nº. Extra 1 (PRAXIS@FAE), 2015, págs. 22-30
• Idioma: inglés
• Títulos paralelos:
  • Debt and its use among Puerto Rican undergraduate students.
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• Resumen
  • español

    Durante la pasada década, los préstamos estudiantiles han incrementado sustancialmente. Según el total de deuda estudiantil, Puerto Rico ocupa el decimoséptimo lugar entre los Estados y territorios estadounidenses. Sin embargo, el promedio por estudiante es de $18,000, posicionándolo así como el más bajo entre todos. Esta investigación piloto tiene como objetivo entender el propósito y la cantidad de deuda estudiantil en el que incurren los estudiantes. La muestra consta de 194 (10%) estudiantes de la escuela de Administración de Empresas de una institución pública de educación superior de Puerto Rico. Los mismos respondieron a un cuestionario relacionado a sus deudas y gastos. Los resultados indican que 28% poseen deudas y que las variables de rendimiento académico no están directamente relacionadas al nivel de deuda. Además, las mujeres fueron más susceptibles a tener deudas.

  • English

    Student debt in the United States has been quickly increasing during the past decade. As to the first quarter of 2014, the student loan debt surpassed credit cards debt and auto loans. Puerto Rico ranks #17 by total debt among the United States and territories. Nonetheless, students in Puerto Rico have an average of $18,000 of student debt, positioning it at the lowest rank by average debt. This paper explores the debt phenomena among Puerto Rican undergraduate students. Specifically, we want to determine if students have debt, and if so, what type and how they spend it. A sample of 194 undergraduate students from a School of Business at a public higher education institution of Puerto Rico was surveyed. Results indicate that 28% of business students have debt. Female students were more susceptible to have debt. Furthermore, top expenses covered by debt are food, education, car expenses, clothing, and entertainment. The results reveal that 90 percent is not receiving counseling about debt management from the financial aid office. From those receiving the financial advising (10 percent), only 2 percent perceive it as useful.

    These results provide an exploratory look into the debt and its use among Puerto Rican undergraduate students.