Are Students Really Rational? The Development of Rational Thought and its Application to Student Choice

Understanding High School Students’ Willingness to Borrow to Pay College Prices

“…Whereas other research demonstrates that students react differently to different forms of financial aid and respond to non-pecuniary aspects of aid (Avery & Hoxby, 2004;Heller, 1997), this study suggests that students draw varying conclusions about loans. Human capital theory does not assume that individuals have perfect and complete information, but that they make decisions based on available information about the benefits and costs (DesJardins & Toutkoushian, 2005). Thus, perceptions of loans may vary because of differences in students' knowledge of loans, including their awareness of mechanisms that protect students' from unfair treatment by lenders, potential for loan forgiveness and forbearance, and availability of interest subsidies, as well as differences in their knowledge of the benefits and costs of attending college more generally (as suggested by Christie and Munro [2003] and Callender and Jackson [2005]).…”

The sources of racial‐ethnic group differences in college enrollment: A critical examination

“…A rational human capital investment model assumes that, even when the expected benefits and costs are the same, two individuals may make different college choices because of differences in their preferences, tolerance for risk, and uncertainty (DesJardins and Toutkoushian, 2005). But measures of preferences, tolerance for risk, and uncertainty are generally omitted from economic models.…”

Financial Aid and Student Dropout in Higher Education: A Heterogeneous Research Approach

“…In each case, investment in human capital leads to higher productivity, which is rewarded by higher future returns. Rational individuals, as economists assume, weigh the expected costs and benefits when deciding to make an investment in human capital, such as higher education (DesJardins & Toutkoushian, 2005;Paulsen, 2001). From this analysis, each member of society decides whether, and how much, to invest in their own human capital.…”