As the college-going population becomes increasingly diverse and the cost of college continues to rise, it is critical that we better understand the underlying mechanisms by which prospective students make decisions about whether and how to finance their education beyond high school. Student loans are an increasingly necessary tool to help students pay for postsecondary education. Though 35% of all undergraduate students and 55% of all graduate students receive some type of federal loan to help finance their postsecondary education (Snyder & Dillow, 2015), there appears to be a subset of students who are averse to taking out loans and, thus, will choose not to borrow money to finance their college education (Callendar & Jackson, 2005; Cunningham & Santiago, 2008). Loan aversion, as it applies to postsecondary education, is generally defined as "an unwillingness to take a loan to pay for college, even when that loan would likely offer a positive long-term return" (Cunningham & Santiago, 2008, p. 10). Loan-averse students are those interested in investing in higher education but not willing to take out loans to do so (Palameta & Voyer, 2010). Although a handful of studies have provided initial evidence that loan aversion may affect students' decisions about investing in college, this study further tests the hypothesis that loan aversion exists and is widespread in the United States among current and prospective college students. Evidence of the existence of loan aversion has been found among students in various contexts (