The Walking Debt

THE WALKING DEBT The Importance of Study: What are the student loan issues? We examine young peoples' opinions and the facts. 'How important is higher education for people in the U.S. today?" A) of young people surveyed say that obtaining a college education is more important now than when their parents were growing up. 79% $2.1 m $4.4 m B) Some experts say going to college does pay over a lifetime. $1.2 m W High school graduate $2.5 m $3.4 m Bachelor's Master's Doctoral Professional degree degree degree degree D) Nowadays, graduation doesn't guarantee employment. 9.1% C) Other experts say careful analysis leads to other figures. Actual College Graduate Lifetime Earnings Unemployment rate for recent graduates $1.47 m $1.65 m ?? 2010 recent graduates faced the highest unemployment rate for young college graduates in recent history. Study Affordability: 'How affordable is higher education in the U.S. today?" 76% of young people surveyed believe it has gotten harder to afford college in the last five years. B) of young people surveyed believe students graduate with a manageable amount of student loan debt. Only 21% C) DEBT DEBT $22,900: Average student debt of new college graduates in 2011. $7,000: Average student debt of new college graduates in 2000. The average student debt in 2010 is 47% more than in 2000, even when adjusted for inflation. D) The average payment for 2011 graduate is $263.00 using the current federal loan interest rate which is locked in at 6.8%. E) 8.8% of 2-year cohort students (320,000 young people) defaulted on their debt by the end of 2010! SYATES USAID USAID Financial Aid: FROM THE AMERICAN PEOPLE ONAL "Should the government provide more financial aid for students?' B) The existing Pell Grant is invaluable financial aid for low income students. Unlike a loan, it does not need to be repaid. The maximum grant for A) Nearly 9 in 10 young people support increasing financial aid and making student loans more affordable. They believe this would also improve the economy. 2011-12 is $5,550. C) To reduce the U.S. deficit, some politicians propose 2012 fiscal cuts that would affect the pell Grant. D) 75% of young people do not want to see Pell Grants cut as a way to reduce the deficit. HTTP://WWW.TOPCOLLEGESONLINE.ORG References: Study Affordability: a) http://ticas.org/pub_view.php?idx=D793 b) http://ticas.org/pub_view.php?idx-D793 c) http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2011/05/07/number-of-the-week- class-of-2011-most-indebted-ever/ d) http://www.kiplinger.com/infographics/student_debt_vs_average_ income/images/maplarge.gif http://www.aie.org/paying-for-college/finance-tools/college-loan-calculator.cfm e) http://projectonstudentdebt.org/pub_view.php?idx=780 Financial Aid: The Importance of Study: a) http://ticas.org/pub_view.php?idx=793 b) http://www.census.gov/prod/2002pubs/p23-210.pdf." c) http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703822404575019082819966538.html d)http://projectonstudentdebt.org/pub_view.php?idx=791 a) http://ticas.org/pub_view.php?idx=793 b) http://www.ed.gov/programs/fpg/index.html c) http://www.tnr.com/blog/jonathan- cohn/96613/republican-job-- training-pell-grant-cuts-workforce-skill-cantor d) http://ticas.org/pub_view.php?idx=793 %24