The difference is small but perhaps troubling. Borrowers who attend similar institutions, have about the same EFCs and COAs and obtain the same number of loans, leave school with approximately the same debt load, whether or not they graduate. To the extent that educational credentials confer better jobs upon their recipients, borrowers who withdraw will therefore be at a disadvantage in repaying their loans relative to borrowers who graduate, assuming they have similar debt levels. According to Table 6, indebtedness does not vary much by the borrower s age at the time of separation from school. Other factors held constant, older borrowers are slightly less indebted than younger borrowers.
Age has the weakest relationship to debt of the significant variables in the model.
The last known residence of a borrower is generally a poor predictor of indebtedness level. Only three of the eleven residence variables the Gulf Coast, High Plains, and Upper Rio Grande have a significant relationship to debt level. As a whole, inclusion of the residence variables fails to capture cultural and regional differences in attitudes toward financing education with student loans. This failure is not completely surprising. Depending upon the borrower, these variables can reflect the residence of the borrower s parents, the region in which the borrower attended school, or the area to which the borrower moved after school.