Multilevel analysis of the effect of loans on degree attainment: Differences by race, SES, and college characteristics

his study investigated how loan amount is related to degree attainment with a particular focus on students' race, SES, and college characteristics. Hierarchical Generalized Linear Model (HGLM) was used to clarify the effects of individual and institutional variables on degree attainment. The data for this study were derived from the Beginning Postsecondary Student (BPS) Survey in 1989/90 and 1993/94. HGLM analysis, using loan amount as a continuous variable (an increase of ;College-level analysis indicated that students responded differently to increases in tuition by race and SES. For all students, higher tuition increased degree attainment rates. By contrast, high tuition decreased degree attainment rates for low-SES students with loans and Black students with loans of...