Student Loans have Reached New Heights

According to a recent Wall Street Journal article, “Students Borrow More Than Ever for College,” student borrowing for college has reached a record high.  Just last year, the amount of borrowing for educational loans grew nearly 25% where such borrowing had once been as low as 1.7%.  As students across the nation headed back to school, FGI Research conducted a study to learn more about respondents who had borrowed money to pursue higher education.

Where Aid Comes From

Of those who responded, 83.92% said they had qualified and used Financial Aid.  Respondents were asked to share all forms of financial aid that they received for their education.  The majority of this aid came from Stafford Loans (76.98%), followed by Perkins Loans (36.51%) and then private loans (29.37%). While most respondents were female, the gender distribution of those seeking financial aid were mostly equal. Moreover, respondents receiving financial aid were diverse ethnically and in terms of age, making it apparent that this trend has affected multiple demographics since the country’s economic downturn.

The Future of Market Research?

The changes in the market research industry over the past 30 years have been significant: the widespread adoption of the CATI system for telephone interviewing, predictive dialers to help us reach our respondents more efficiently, the use of sophisticated scanning techologies to speed the processing of mail surveys, and, more recently, the implementation of online research.

Using both qualitative and quantitative methods allows us to present audio and visual stimuli more easily, shorten field windows, and even reach audiences that had previously been unreachable through random digit dialing.  Online research is driving accelerating change in market research. So, what’s next?

To Tweet, or Not to Tweet?

In an age of rapidly increasing uses for social media, Twitter has emerged as a social network that provides up-to-date data on consumer reactions.  While it is still quite uncertain whether or not Twitter will rise to the popularity that Facebook and MySpace have experienced, the site is certainly seeing a vast increase in users month after month.  Connecting to customers through sites such as Twitter will be influential in creating relationships and gaining “followers.”