1 in 2 College Students Are Placing Their Entrepreneurship Dreams on Hold Due to Student Loans

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Jun 06, 2019, 11:00 ET

NEW YORK, June 6, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Student loan debt is keeping almost half of soon-to-be college graduates from becoming entrepreneurs according to a new ValuePenguin.com survey of the entrepreneurial ambitions of college students graduating in the next 12 months.

These findings reflect broader entrepreneurship trends. New businesses started by 20- to 34-year-olds have declined from 34.3 percent in 1996 to 25.5 percent in 2017. Meanwhile, student loan debt has increased 114 percent over the past decade, with students graduating with an average of $32,731 in student loans according to ValuePenguin.com research.

Key findings:

Student loans are the biggest barrier to entrepreneurship: 76 percent of the college students surveyed want to start their own business but identified student loans as their biggest barrier to business ownership. 47 percent of soon-to-be graduates say student loans are keeping them from starting a business after graduating.
Entrepreneurial students in public colleges are the most discouraged by student loans: 51 percent of four-year public college students identified student loans as their biggest barrier to entrepreneurship. Comparatively, 48 percent of for-profit private college students, 46 percent of four-year private college students and 35 percent of two-year college students saw student loans as their biggest barrier to entrepreneurship.
Students in the Northeast are most burdened by student loans: 56 percent of college students in the Northeast point to student loans as the biggest to starting a business, compared to 53 percent of students in the West, 50 percent of students in the Midwest, and 39 percent of students in the South.

ValuePenguin.com analysts conducted the survey from April 15 to May 6, 2019, and collected 618 responses from college students across the country who are graduating college in the next 12 months and are financing their education with student loans and want to start their own business.

To view the full report, visit: https://www.valuepenguin.com/student-loans/aspiring-young-entrepreneurs-cant-start-business-due-student-loan-debt.

About ValuePenguin.com
ValuePenguin.com, now part of LendingTree (NASDAQ: TREE), is a personal finance website that conducts in-depth research & provides objective analysis to help guide consumers to the best financial decisions. ValuePenguin focuses on value, assessing whether the return of a particular decision is worth the cost or risk of that option, and how this stacks up with the other possible choices they may have. For more information, please visit www.valuepenguin.com, like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter @ValuePenguin.

About LendingTree
LendingTree (NASDAQ: TREE) is the nation's leading online marketplace that connects consumers with the choices they need to be confident in their financial decisions. LendingTree empowers consumers to shop for financial services the same way they would shop for airline tickets or hotel stays, comparing multiple offers from a nationwide network of over 500 partners in one simple search, and can choose the option that best fits their financial needs. Services include mortgage loans, mortgage refinances, auto loans, personal loans, business loans, student refinances, credit cards and more. Through the My LendingTree platform, consumers receive free credit scores, credit monitoring and recommendations to improve credit health. My LendingTree proactively compares consumers' credit accounts against offers on our network, and notifies consumers when there is an opportunity to save money. In short, LendingTree's purpose is to help simplify financial decisions for life's meaningful moments through choice, education and support. LendingTree, LLC is a subsidiary of LendingTree, Inc. For more information, go to www.lendingtree.com, dial 800-555-TREE, like our Facebook page and/or follow us on Twitter @LendingTree.

Media Contact:
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SOURCE ValuePenguin