This article reflects on the major themes that emerge in the studies presented in this volume, concentrating on implications for federal policy and future research. We emphasize that for future federal policy to be successful, it will need to be revamped in ways that are relatively nuanced, encouraging (among other things) enrollment and persistence to degree completion among students who might not otherwise take loans or go to college, protecting taxpayers and students against investments in low-performing colleges, making federal loan programs more understandable to students who need them, and reducing the risks of student loan nonrepayment. For future research we make numerous recommendations, including calls for attention to debt aversion, income-based loan repayment, and the effects of borrowing on a broad range of student outcomes.

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