College Graduates’ Debt Burden Grew, Yet Again, in 2010

[alp227]

Source: NY Times

Students who graduated from college in 2010 with student loans owed an average of $25,250, up 5 percent from the previous year, according to a report scheduled for release Thursday.

The average debt — once again the highest on record — came as the class of 2010 faced an unemployment rate for new college graduates of 9.1 percent, the highest in recent years, according to the report by the Project on Student Debt, which pointed out that unemployment rates for those without college degrees were still higher.

Matthew Reed, the report’s author, said that some people had expected the jump “to be even higher because of the economic downturn,” but that larger grants had helped “at least partially offset lower family incomes and higher tuitions while the class of 2010 was in school.” About two-thirds of the class of 2010 graduated with student debt. (The debts examined in the report do not include loans taken out by parents.)

The report is based on data from more than 1,000 colleges, representing half of all public and private nonprofit four-year schools. The average amount of debt would be even higher if the report included profit-making schools, where almost all students take out loans and, according to federal data, borrow about 45 percent more than students at nonprofits. But only five of 471 profit-making colleges reported student debt data for their 2010 graduates, the report said.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/03/education/average-student-loan-debt-grew-by-5-percent-in-2010.html

[midnight]

1. K&R

[SKKY]

2. When I read this, it reminded me how thankful I am that I've had the...

...benefit of the GI Bill and Navy Tuition Assistance. My Bachelors and Masters has cost me a grand total of about 3K. Of course, I've put in 20 years of military service to get it, but now that I'm about to retire, I'm ever-so-grateful for the opportunity I've had. I can't imagine retiring in 5 months with 25K of debt.

[exboyfil]

3. I really would like to get to the default rates

for the for profits. That is an area in which student dollars may be available. Future student loans should be based on past performance on loans for the institution. That would give an incentive to the institutions to do a better job of selecting students to begin with, give them incentives to help in placement, and to evaluate majors/programs with high default rates.

[OhioChick]

4. Tuition is going through the roof with no jobs available.....

While in school or upon graduation.

[defendandprotect]

6. They've corporatized colleges/universities --

[melm00se]

7. Tuition has been growing fast

for more than 25 years:

[OhioChick]

9. Look from 2001 and on....

Holy shit. That's criminal.

Thanks for the graph.

[melm00se]

10. i am curious

as to what is driving that.

enrollment over the same period:

year.....total enrollment
1985.....12,247,055
1986.....12,503,511
1987.....12,766,642
1988.....13,055,337
1989.....13,538,560
1990.....13,818,637
1991.....14,358,953
1992.....14,487,359
1993.....14,304,803
1994.....14,278,790
1995.....14,261,781
1996.....14,367,520
1997.....14,502,334
1998.....14,506,967
1999.....14,791,224
2000.....15,312,289
2001.....15,927,987
2002.....16,611,711
2003.....16,911,481
2004.....17,272,044
2005.....17,487,475
2006.....17,758,870
2007.....18,248,128
2008.....19,102,814
2009.....20,427,711
source: http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d10/tables/dt10_197.asp

[OhioChick]

11. Jobs leaving in droves to China and India....

And everyone being told to "re-train."

[defendandprotect]

5. They're not getting jobs, benefits dwindling, pensions out -- where is their future?

Parents well know what is going on with these generations of kids who are graduating

into debt and joblessness -- and this has been going on for 20 years and more.

Parents and students have been saddled with these huge debts for college -- making it

unaffordable for the average family any longer.

[bemildred]

8. What a great start in life that is.

:sarcasm: