LGBTQ students face unique adversity in managing student debt, a new survey finds

The LGBTQ community faces more challenges than other student populations in managing student loan debt, according to new survey results.

Student Loan Hero — a financial education company which provides information about how people can better manage their finances — provided the survey to 11,184 LGBTQ identifying adults, which was fielded using Cint, a technology company which connects online survey respondents with firms.

The survey found 60 percent of LGBTQ borrowers regret taking on student loans, when only 45 percent of the general population regret the debt. Miranda Marquit, a finance journalist who helped conduct the survey, said the subject of LGBTQ individuals and student loan debt lacks research, overall.

Additionally, the survey found LGBTQ student borrowers are more likely than the general population to make less than $50,000 a year. In more than half of the 50 U.S states, people can legally be fired for their sexual orientation or gender identity.

“So that makes it really hard to have money and take care of your finances when you can’t get a job or you’re worried about being fired from your job because of your orientation or identity,” Marquit said. “What we really need to work for in wider society is protection and also making sure they have the same access to rights and the same access to a chance at happiness.”

Almost one-third of the respondents said they had been denied financial help because of their gender identity or sexual orientation. Only 39 percent said they felt completely accepted by their own families, often resulting in managing finances without any support.

“First of all, a lot of it has to do with education and changing mindset and making sure we’re targeting that community,” Marquit said. “The other issue is we really need to start, in our culture, having wider acceptance because a lot of the time when we talk about LGBTQ we talk about it in terms of tolerance but that’s not the same thing as acceptance.”

This survey is the most recent study released by Student Loan Hero. The company often releases surveys studying how student loan debt affects different populations.

“There’s a fairly decent size percentage of our population struggling with these issues. I think we don’t think about it a lot,” Marquit said. “You know, education and awareness are very important. And now that we have some of this information it can help us move forward.”

Correction: May 13, 2018

An earlier version of this article implied Cint is a survey company. Cint is a technology company that connects online survey respondents with any firm looking to reach a registered, online audience to participate/take a survey. Student Loan Hero wrote and hosted their own survey.

SaraRose Martin, News Editor