- Study part 1. Repay Now or Save for Later: The Balancing Act of Repaying Student Loans and Saving For Retirement
- Study part 2. The Elephant at the Dinner Table: Family Conversations and Conflict Surrounding Student Loans
- Study part 3. ‘Til Debt Do Us Part: Student Loan Debt and Romantic Relationships
Methodology
The MIT AgeLab conducted a two-part mixed-methods study between February 2018 and April 2019. The first part consisted of small, in-person focus groups with 88 participants, in conjunction with pre-group and follow-up online questionnaires. The second part of the study involved a larger online national survey of 1,874 participants. In both parts of the study, participants ranged in age from 25-75, and were currently contributing to student loan payments for their own and/or an immediate family member’s higher education.