Recent Graduates and the Burden of Student Debt

In 2000, recent college graduates typically earned a starting salary of approximately $15,000 - $20,000 more per year than their high school graduate counterparts without a college education. Even with the promise of a sizeable income bump, many college students are also faced with the burden of increasing student loan debts, which must be repaid after graduation.

• Of all the federal aid granted to undergraduate students in the 2006-07 academic year, 40% was in the form of loans. Students borrowed a total of $39.1 billion from the federal government during that year -- a 51% jump from what was borrowed in 1996-97.



• Undergraduate students also borrowed nearly $16 billion additional dollars from private and state sources to help pay for college during the 2006-07 academic year. (Trends in Student Aid. Trends in Higher Education Series, 2007. The College Board)



• From 2000-2004, 65.7% of four-year undergraduate students graduated with some student loan debt, whether it was from federal loans, private loans, or some combination of both.
  • The average student loan debt among graduating seniors in those years was $19,237
    • The median debt was $17,120
    • With 25% of students borrowing $24,936 or more
    • And 10% of students borrowing $35,213 or more
      (National Postsecondary Aid Study)
    
    
    
• The average income for a recent college graduate with a Bachelor's Degree (a standard, 4-year degree) is $45,400 and varies by field. (US Census Bureau, Current Population Surveys, March 1998, 1999, and 2000)



• Graduate students rely more heavily on loans to finance their education, and many undergraduate students interested in seeking a graduate degree are prevented from doing so because they cannot afford additional loans. (Trends in Student Aid. Trends in Higher Education Series, 2007. The College Board)