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ECONOMIC REPORT OF THE PRESIDENT

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Figure 5-17<br />

Average Monthly Payment by Sector and Repayment Plan, 2011<br />

Repayment Cohort<br />

Average Monthly Payment<br />

300<br />

250<br />

Standard<br />

IDR<br />

284<br />

200<br />

197<br />

150<br />

100<br />

50<br />

91<br />

58<br />

147 149<br />

117 120<br />

139<br />

109<br />

0<br />

2 Year Public 4 Year Public Nonprofit For-Profit Graduate<br />

Note: Data are for the fiscal year 2011 cohort as of fiscal year 2014. Some small sectors are<br />

excluded from this chart. Data contain some duplication across and within categories.<br />

Source: Department of Education<br />

At the same time, as research has shown, college choice is a crucial<br />

factor. It is critical to help borrowers avoid investing in colleges that are<br />

unlikely to increase their lifetime earnings and might leave them with high<br />

debt and low earnings. This Administration’s policies have focused on<br />

strengthening the information available to students and ensuring college<br />

accountability to help students make good decisions.<br />

Improving Information and Reducing Procedural Complexities<br />

When students have better information, they can make better choices<br />

about their education. When choosing a college, students need information<br />

on college quality and cost to know whether their investment in higher<br />

education will pay off. Research shows that, for high-achieving low-income<br />

students, providing information about college cost and quality, like semicustomized<br />

net price and graduation rates, enables students to attend and<br />

progress at schools that better match their qualifications (Hoxby and Turner<br />

2013). Further research shows that clear and detailed information about<br />

earnings can lead students to revise their employment expectations (Ruder<br />

and Van Noy 2014; Wiswall and Zafar 2013; Oreopoulos and Dunn 2012)<br />

and change their major choice (Ruder and Van Noy 2014; Baker et al. 2016).<br />

Accessible information about costs and economic outcomes thus plays a<br />

Investing in Higher Education | 331

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