Jan. 7, 2011
The average college graduate owes $20,000 at the time of graduation.
Worse, the debt is almost as large for students who never graduate.
What a waste!
Here is a good article on this:
The Project Student Debt web site has a wealth of information on student loans and debt. Using US Department of Education data for the 2007/08 academic year (the most recent available), it said two-thirds (or 1.4 million) of 2008 college graduates had student loan debt, a 27% increase from 2004, breaking down as follows:at public universities, it was 62%;
for private nonprofit ones, 72%; and
at private for-profit institutions, 96% were debt entrapped.In 2008, graduating seniors had an average debt burden of $23,200, a 24% increase from $18,650 in 2004. At public universities, it was $20,200. For private nonprofit ones, $27,650, and at private for-profit universities, $33,050.
However, given how government data is manipulated, true totals are far higher and rising exponentially. Many graduates have debt burdens approaching or exceeding $100,000. If repaid over 30 years, it amounts to a $500,000 obligation, and if default, much more because debt obligations aren't erased.
This is debt bondage.
The numbers are staggering -- $96 billion loaned annually to attend college, graduate, trade or professional schools, excluding "shadow" borrowing. It includes tapping home equity, retirement accounts, other sources, and credit cards. A 2005 Smith College survey found 23% of students use plastic for college tuition and fees.In the past decade, student loan debt ballooned over four-fold. In 1977, about $1.8 billion was borrowed. By 1989, it was $12 billion, and in 1996 $30 billion. According to the Student Loan Debt Clock, its cumulative principle and interest exceeds $877 billion, surpassing credit card debt for the first time last June, and will exceed $1 trillion in early 2012. . . . As a result, millions of students and families have been gravely harmed, relegated to lifetime debt bondage.
None of this is necessary. You can beat the system. You can get a B.A. from an accredited college for $15,000 or less -- less than most students owe at graduation. //www.garynorth.com/public/729.cfm
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