The Hildreth Institute is a research and policy center dedicated to restoring the promise of higher education as an engine of upward mobility for all.
Read our latest research: Underfunded, Unaffordable, and Unfair

The Student Loan Bill of Rights is Enacted in MA Economic Development Bill
For Immediate Release January 15, 2021 Contact: Andrew Farnitano, 925-917-1354, andrew@crawfordstrategies.com Hildreth Institute Applauds Enactment of Student Loan Bill of Rights in MA Economic...
EQUITY IN HIGHER EDUCATION: A PROMISE UNFULFILLED BUT STILL ACHIEVABLE
~~~ Access full report HERE & brief version HERE EXECUTIVE SUMMARY COVID-19 exposed the financial vulnerability of our country, and it's deep racial inequalities. While we work to...
COVID-19 Exposes Yet Another Reason Why Private Student Loans Are Too Risky
Click HERE to see full report The riskiest way to finance college is becoming the last resort for too many students. Executive Summary Private student loans are riskier than government-issued...
Why We Need #ZeroDebt College
Naia M.
“The following year tuition was raised significantly and I couldn’t go back to that school. So I dropped out and went back home to community college with a 20k loan that only was getting bigger.”
Damian B
“I don’t believe the government should be allowing young adults whose brains are still developing to put themselves in a crazy amount of debt just because it is the “norm” in society.”
Kneeco H
“Being Afro-Latinx has had its oppressive obstacles long before I was born, but it says something when I have to work my ass off to get TO college and work my ass off to get THROUGH college…”
Tt K
“I was always promised that college would open doors for me, but sometimes it feels like the tolls are too high to even enter.”
Rafael S.
“Financial aid is an ongoing concern while attending school and stressful experience for low-income students who feel like they have to manage the costs of their future at such a young age without proper guidance.”