College Graduates with Debt

Definition

Percentage of graduating students from four-year institutions with student loan debt, 2011.

Description

For many low- and middle-income students, high tuition costs are a barrier to college entrance and completion and usually, students and families must take out student loans in order to afford postsecondary education. These loans can be a huge challenge to pay back, especially in the current economic climate. Many factors influence the prevalence of educational debt among college graduates. Although high tuition costs are often correlated with increased debt, this is not always the sole reason students take on debt. Other reasons include inadequate grant and scholarship programs, the cost of living or the student’s level of financial need.

This measure provides data on graduates from four-year public and private nonprofit institutions. Students at for-profit colleges are excluded in this measure, as many of these institutions do not report student debt data. However, national surveys by the U.S. Department of Education indicate that students at for-profit colleges often take on more debt than students at nonprofit institutions.

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College Graduates with Debt

Source

Student Debt and the Class of 2011. Oakland, CA: Institute for College Access & Success, Project on Student Debt, 2012.

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