Older students, bigger debts

Older students, bigger debts

The Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant requested data from the Dienst Uitvoering Onderwijs (DUO) on student loans, broken down by field of study. As it turns out: economics and law students, who later think they will earn a good living, borrow considerably more than students with pedagogical or linguistic studies (in Dutch). 

What also stands out: students start borrowing more as they get older. That’s not a coincidence, says professor Wilco Van Dijk in de Volkskrant. He is professor of psychological determinants of economic choice behavior at Leiden University. “Their lives are becoming more expensive.” A considerable group of students only move into rooms later in their studies. Dahran Çoban, chairman of the Dutch organization Interstedelijk Studenten OverlegÇoban (ISO) also points to ‘poorly paid internships’ as a possible reason. “In addition to being a medical intern, you really can’t do a side job, so they are forced to borrow extra.”