According to a 2014 report by the Inaugural Gallop-Purdue Index, a nationally comprehensive study of 29,560 U.S. college graduates found that African-American college students acquire 17 percent more student loan debt then their white counterparts.
Despite the economic disadvantages minority college students face, loans should be a last resort for meeting college expenses, after alternatives such as scholarships, grants, TAP awards and work study. These forms of financial aid, unlike loans, do not have to be paid back by the student.
After graduation, economic progress can be stunted by an offset of college loans, which according to the Gallop-Purdue Index, has led to a meager 33 percent of African-American students achieving financial success.
Scholarships, grants and employment programs can make student loan debt more manageable and less of a problem in the future.