Student Loan Debt Statistics
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With education loans being the primary source of federal student aid today, all students need debt management and financial literacy skills. Here are some important facts about undergraduate students, graduate students, minority students, and non-traditional students and their debt:
Undergraduate Students
- Number of undergraduate students attending 4-year schools in 2007: 8,986,150.
(Source: National Center for Education Statistics, Digest of Education Statistics 2008, 2009) - Between 2007 and 2018, undergraduate enrollment in 4-year colleges is expected to increase by 12%, while enrollment in 2-year colleges is expected to increase by 13%.
(Source: National Center for Education Statistics, Digest of Education Statistics 2008, 2009) - In each school year between 2000–2001 and 2006–2007, an estimated 60% of bachelor’s degree recipients borrowed to fund their education. Average debt per borrower rose 18%, from $19,300 to $22,700 over this time period. Average debt per bachelor’s degree recipient increased from $10,600 to $12,400.
(Source: The College Board, Trends in Student Aid, 2008) - In 2008, 84% of undergraduates had at least one credit card, up from 76% in 2004. The average number of cards has grown to 4.6 per student, and half of college students had four or more cards.
(Source: Sallie Mae, How Undergraduate Students Use Credit Cards, 2009) - Undergraduates are carrying record-high credit card balances. The average (mean) balance grew to $3,173, the highest in the years the study has been conducted. Median debt grew from 2004's $946 to $1,645. 21% of undergraduates had balances of between $3,000 and $7,000, also up from the last study.
(Source: Sallie Mae, How Undergraduate Students Use Credit Cards, 2009) - In 2007–2008, lenders provided about $17 billion in private loans, a 592% increase from a decade earlier.
(Source: The College Board, Trends in Student Aid, 2008) - Nonfederal student loans grew rapidly for most of the decade, increasing from 7% of education loans in 1997–1998 to 23% in 2005–2006. However, the growth in these loans, which carry no subsidy and generally have less favorable terms than federal loans, slowed in 2006–2007. Private loan volume declined slightly in inflation-adjusted dollars in 2007–2008 but still represents 23% of the total loan volume.
(Source: The College Board, Trends in Student Aid, 2008) - During the 2007–2008 school year, proprietary schools at all levels and private (nonprofit) 4-year schools had disproportionate numbers of students taking out private loans.
- Students attending proprietary schools composed about 9% of total undergraduates, and 27% of them took out private loans.
- Students attending private 4-year schools composed about 13% of total undergraduates, and 22% of them took out private loans.
- In contrast, the percentage of private loan borrowers who attend public 4-year schools (28%) is basically the same as the percentage of undergraduates overall who attend public 4-year schools (29%).
(Source:Project on Student Debt)
Graduate Students
This table shows the percentage borrowing and average amount of cumulative debt per borrower among graduate students according to degree program:
| Debt Burdens of Graduate Students by Degree Program | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Graduate Education Debt | All Education Debt (Graduate and Undergraduate) | |||
| Graduate and Professional Degree Programs | Percent Borrowing | Cumulative Debt | Percent Borrowing | Cumulative Debt |
| Total | 56.40% | $40,297 | 69.60% | $47,503 |
| Master’s Degree | 55.20% | $31,031 | 69.40% | $40,208 |
| Doctoral Degree | 45.80% | $57,860 | 56.30% | $58,967 |
| Professional Degree | 86.20% | $87,308 | 87.90% | $98,711 |
| Master of Business Administration (MBA) | 55.50% | $31,927 | 68.90% | $41,676 |
| Master of Social Work (MSW) | 72.30% | $35,516 | 77.70% | $49,017 |
| Master of Science (MS) | 49.80% | $30,684 | 63.50% | $40,362 |
| Master of Arts (MA) | 60.80% | $29,975 | 73.70% | $40,500 |
| PhD | 35.40% | $44,995 | 48.00% | $45,455 |
| EdD | 65.10% | $43,812 | 73.30% | $44,880 |
| Law (LLB or JD) | 88.60% | $80,081 | 88.60% | $92,937 |
| Medicine or Osteopathic Medicine | 81.90% | $119,424 | 83.20% | $127,272 |
| Pharmacy (PharmD) | 82.20% | $63,412 | 85.00% | $81,838 |
(Source: www.finaid.org)
- In 2006, 92% of graduate students had at least one credit card. This is a 4% decrease from the 96% who had credit cards in 2003.
(Source: Nellie Mae) - The average outstanding balance on graduate student credit cards is $8,612, an increase of 10% from the 2003 average of $7,831.
(Source: Nellie Mae)
Minority Students
| Debt Burdens of College Graduates by Race | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Group | Percentage Who Borrowed 1992–1993 | Percentage Who Borrowed 1999–2000 | Average Debt 1992–1993 | Average Debt 1999–2000 |
| American Indian | 66.2 | 78.4 | $13,300 | $16,800 |
| Asian | 42.7 | 60.5 | $13,500 | $17,900 |
| Black | 64.1 | 79.8 | $11,400 | $19,800 |
| White | 47.8 | 63.7 | $12,300 | $19,700 |
| Hispanic | 60.7 | 70.6 | $9,500 | $17,000 |
(Source: National Education Statistics, Debt Burden, 2005)
- Number of undergraduate Hispanic students in 2007: 1,915,900.
(Source: National Education Statistics, Digest of Education Statistics 2008, 2009) - The largest and fastest-growing minority group was Hispanics, who reached 46.9 million in 2008, up by 3.2% from 2007. In 2008, nearly one in six U.S. residents was Hispanic.
(Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census Bureau Estimates Nearly Half of Children Under Age 5 are Minorities, 2009) - In 2008, 34% of Hispanics were under 18, compared with 24% of the total U.S. population.
(Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census Bureau Estimates Nearly Half of Children Under Age 5 are Minorities, 2009) - By 2014, Hispanic students will account for 20.5% of all high school graduates.
(Source: The Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education) - In 2007, Hispanic students accounted for 8.7% of students enrolled at 4-year institutions. The majority of Hispanics (51%) attend 2-year institutions.
(Source: National Center for Education Statistics, Digest of Education Statistics 2008, 2009)
Non-traditional Students
- A 2007 study of large U.S. employers by Mercer Human Resource Consulting reported that 87% offered some type of educational assistance to employees. When small- to medium-sized employers are included, the share drops to about 35%, according to a 2004 study by the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL).
(Source: The Minnesota Private College Newsletter, Employers Offer Key Support for Higher Ed, 2008) - According to a 2008 study, 81% of organizations provide tuition assistance programs.
(Source: The Institute for Corporate Productivity, Study Finds Most Firms Provide Tuition Assistance But Don't Track the ROI, 2008)
