Average Student Debt Climbing: $29,400 for Class of 2012
College graduates who borrowed for bachelor’s degrees granted in 2012 had an average student loan debt of $29,400, according to a new report from the Project on Student Debt at The Institute for College Access & Success (TICAS). Seven in 10 college seniors (71%) who graduated last year had student loan debt. Even though the financial crisis caused a steep decline in private education lending while these borrowers were in school, one-fifth of their debt was in private loans, which are typically more costly and provide fewer consumer protections and repayment options than safer federal loans. From 2008 to 2012, average debt (federal and private loans combined) increased an average of six percent each year.
