Center on Budget & Policy Priorities - Published tuition -- the "sticker price" -- at public four-year institutions rose in 34 states over the past year, but only modestly. But since the 2007-08 school year, average annual published tuition has risen by $2,068 nationally, or 29 percent, above the rate of inflation.
Meanwhile, federal financial aid also has risen. The federal Pell Grant program -- the nation's primary student grant aid program -- more than doubled the aid it distributed between the 2007-08 and 2013-14 school years, even after adjusting for inflation. (Whether these gains will be sustained is in question; the recently approved budget agreement threatens deep cuts to education funding, including Pell Grants.)
The increase in federal financial aid has helped many students and families pay for recent tuition hikes, but because grants and tax credits rarely cover the full cost of college attendance, most students -- and low-income students in particular -- borrow money. Debt has risen since the start of the recession for college and university students collectively. By the fourth quarter of 2014, across public, private, and for-profit institutions, students held $1.16 trillion in student debt -- eclipsing both car loans and credit card debt.
The share of students graduating from public universities with debt has risen. Between the 2007-08 and 2012-13 school years, the share of students graduating from a public four-year institution with debt rose from 55 to 59 percent. At the same time, the average amount of debt held by the average bachelor's degree recipient with loans at a public four-year institution grew 16 percent -- from $22,000 to $25,600 (in 2013 dollars).
The rise in student debt has important implications for the economy. While debt is a crucial tool for financing higher education, excessive debt can impose considerable costs on both students and society as a whole, as graduates may put off attending graduate school, buying a home, or saving for retirement.
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US Department of Education offers college loan solution on Twitter:
US Dept of Education @usedgov · May 17
TIP: To save money on your student loans, consider paying some student loan interest while you're still in school.
With these bills not even being forgiven through Bankruptcy,
any millionaire worth his capitalistic reputation is probably buying stock in 'for-profit Debtor's Prisons'.
I wonder if Prisons can be outsourced to Sri Lanka or China too.
I am not surprised that we have such situation with student debt in our country. I think that students just can’t pay more than they pay today. Price for college tuition hold stay the same, otherwise youth will just drown in debt! Attending and studying in college should be much more affordable than it is today. Lots of students don’t know what to do because they have to choose between their future career opportunities and getting in debt. Everything wouldn’t be so bad if all the graduates would have a chance to get employed and work on decent job. But unfortunately, many of young people use pay attention to this service to make payments on their loans and don’t know anything about their future.
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