25 Sobering Facts about the Student Loan Crisis in the United States
There are almost 20 million students in professional schools and colleges across the United States. With the cost of education bulging over the year, the student loan crisis that exists is quite a historic one. Here are 25 sobering facts about the student loan crisis.
1. The student loan debt is a gigantic 1.2 trillion at the moment. Since just 2008, the number has increased by about 84 percent and to make things even worse, the number is constantly rising given the increased number of students seeking higher education.
2. The student loan debt in the United States has surpassed the credit card debt and it is almost impossible to shed the private or federal student loan debt via bankruptcy.
3. The number of Americans paying off their student loans debts has ballooned to 40 million people as compared to the 29 million Americans in 2008.
4. The tuition fee for public colleges in the United States is more than 3 times more expensive as compared to the tuition fee in 1985.
5. The cost of textbooks required in college has, also, increased by an insane 1041% in just 20 years. This is more than thrice the rate at which inflation has risen.
6. About 71 percent of students graduating from 4-year colleges have student loan debts. Approximately 15 percent of the students that graduate from graduate and professional schools leave the schools with student loan balances of six figures.
7. The average student loan debt figure for a college senior graduating from a public school was $25,550 as per 2012.
8. The average student loan debt for a senior graduating from a private non-profit college in the year 2012 was at $32,300
9. The average student loan for a senior graduating from a private for-profit college in the same year 2012 stood at $39,950.
10. According to Pew Research Center, about 4 in every 10 households in the United States is led by a person under 40 years of age who is still paying off their student loan debt currently.
11. The median net worth households led by your persons with student debt loan is lower than that of young households with no student loan debts and those of people who have only attained high school education, by about 20 percent.
12. Among people who have attained college education, the median net worth of households with young families led by graduates who have no burden of the student loan debt is higher than the median net worth of households with young families led by graduates with student debt loans by seven times.
13. While the student loan debt has grown to a huge figure in just a few years, the story is not the same when it come to the salaries of young college graduates. The figure has actually declined when compared to the figures of 2005.
14. According to CNN, approximately 0.26 million Americans who have a professional or a college degree made at or even below the federal minimum wage in 2013 and the number has most likely risen.
15. According to Bay Citizen, the rate at which graduate students defaulted on their loan almost doubled in a period of 5 years between 2005 and 2010.
16. Most of the students who have defaulted on their student loan debts are mostly students who graduated from “for-profit” colleges.
17. In 2014, 7 million American defaulted on their student loans. As a result, they may be ineligible for some of the government jobs, basing on the Huffington Post.
18. Student loan debts have been a huge barrier to millennials, hindering them from progression in other life milestones like owning houses and cars.
19. The Student loan debts are, also, causing more young people to consider settling in a marriage and establishing a home much later and delaying the major purchases.
20. As per 2013, about 35 percent of loan borrowers who were under 30 years of age were behind on their student loan payments by at least 90 days.
21. A survey showed than 27 percent of graduate students who have student loan debts moved back into their homes to stay with their parents after college instead of living on their own.
22. A survey showed that about 70 percent of the people who graduated from college wish they would have put in more time – while still in college – preparing for life in the “real world”.
23. Surprisingly, most of the Americans who are or were in college and obtained the student loan did not use the funds to pay for their college fees. Instead, most people used most of the loan money to pay their personal bills and on other personal luxuries that they did not need that much or did not need at all.
24. Only 28 percent of the population of the United States are aware that the United States government holds the power to withhold tax refunds and garnish wages if one does not repay their student loan debt.
25. According to the projections of The Congressional Budget Office, the Federal Government, in 2013, made about $50 Billion from student loan debt. That figure is in excess of 5 billion compared to the amount that ExxonMobile made in that year.