Experiences with Student Loan Debt: A Phenomenological Study of First-Generation, Low-Income College Graduates

First-generation and low-income (FGLI) individuals currently represent a large percentage of the total undergraduate student enrollment in U.S. colleges and universities. Student loan debt in the United States is also at an all-time high with approximately 43 million Americans sharing the $1.75 trillion total. Because FGLI individuals, like many other college students, often take on large amounts of student loan debt to successfully graduate college, it is worth learning more about the long-term effects that student loan debt has on the experiences of FGLI college graduates within the first ten years of graduating with a baccalaureate degree. The purpose of this phenomenological research study is to understand how FGLI college graduates experience student loan debt within the first ten years of graduating from a four-year, private institution. Utilizing a phenomenological approach allows participants the opportunity to describe both facets of the phenomenon – both the phenomenon itself and how they experienced it. The phenomenological approach is important, as it allows the essence of the shared experience to be discovered through the research.