Will US College Debt Reach $1 Trillion This Year?

Ive been reading a few articles about the ever increasing college debt in the US that came out within the past year.

Heres a short, general article.

The class of 2011: Highest College Debt Ever

Richmond, Va— Colleges and Universities across the country have been increasing the cost of attendance incessantly during the last several years. While the cost increases, graduates are finding it tough to land jobs and those who do, aren’t making as much money.

According to the US Department of Education, the average amount of debt for a college graduate sits at nearly $23,000, making the class of 2011, the most indebted in US history

Heres another article with a bit more information.

www.ajc.com...

The beginning talks about someone in debt, but this is a major part

If only those numbers referred to the purchase of a home. Rather, these are student loan debts, one of the few categories of borrowing that is still on the rise.

The amount borrowed per full-time student grew by 5 percent a year, adjusted for inflation, from 2000 to 2010, according to the College Board Advocacy & Policy Center.

On the flip side, more students are attending college, while need-based grants haven’t kept pace with increasing tuition rates. Kantrowitz expects the outstanding total of all U.S. student debt to top $1 trillion this year, he said.

Americans now owe more 
on student loans — roughly 
$1 trillion — than on their credit card balances.

From what I see, I do believe that the US college debt will hit, if not pass $1 trillion this year. Heres the 2 things I pulled from this that dont really look too good.

1- Tuition rates are still rising, becoming even more expensive next year, and the years after that.
2- Grants cant keep up with tuition rates increasing.
3- Enrollment is increasing.

Im interested in seeing the numbers of the college debt to the housing bubble crash. (Cant find the numbers at the moment)

Is it just me or do I see another "bubble" being blown up at the moment?

I think the really important part of the article, is the fact that those who do go and graduate still have a hard time finding a job and making more money. Back in the day a degree is what set you apart from the rest of the job seekers, nowadays everyone has one.

So you spend money you don't have, on something that might not necessarily get you a job or more money? The saying was a degree would get you a great job and more money, i don't think that holds true toady in these times. A degree almost seems worthless when factoring in the gains/returns.

$6,500 of that is mine. That sucks too. now I got to pay it all back starting in a few months.

S&F because this directly relates to me, I believe.

reply to post by Naptown317

I think the really important part of the article, is the fact that those who do go and graduate still have a hard time finding a job and making more money.

Agreed. Also have to factor in how slow job growth has been latley (not much at all), and also the amount of people graduating at the moment (and the increasing enrollment numbers).

Plus, if those 2 factors stay the same for the next years, it will be even worse than now. More unemployed once graduating college, plus even more debt added. Its becoming a lose-lose situation.

4 years in undergrad - 56,000 odd dollars.
Coming Law School - 200,000 odd dollars

OH BOY, THANK YOU FOR THIS WONDERFUL FUTURE BABY BOOMERS AND OLDER GENERATIONS!

How can we continue to do this any longer. I feel lost, almost without a future. The law market is over-saturated and a simple BA in Political Science isn't cutting it. The future is dark, and it looks like I'll have to make my own light. I swear, if I get in any position where I can change this whole thing around...I'll make sure that no one has to want for anything again, because if the first world is struggling this much, imagine everywhere else.

This # has got to go.

reply to post by TheOneElectric


coast to coast did a thing on this a few days ago...
it all starts with the education dept and colleges encouraging the gov't to expand the loans....once the loans are expanding, well, the colleges see fit to increase their tuition, because, well, why not. the scale they use to determine the default rate doesn't reflect the real default rate, and that is what is looked at to decide weather or not the loans should be increased or not. add to that the fact that education has become big business with profit being the goal and quality education being a secondary issue, along with most of the consumer protections being stripped from these loans, so, who cares if the education will actually increase the person's earning potential or if they will be able to ever pay off the loan.. well, you have the makings of a nice disaster....
that was all according to the guy on coast to coast, relayed to the best of my ability drawing from memory. but well, you want to cost of education to go down??? replace the consumer protections and allow these loans to be included in bankruptcy like just about every other type of debt.
otherwise, the schools, and the gov't are making more money from these kids defaulting on these loans than they would if the k ids were successful and paid them off in a timely manner.
don't blame the boomers and the older generation for this, this is greedy gov't politicians, greedy bankers, greedy colleges and universities, working in collusion with one another.....
and well, let's not forget the greedy corps....
I'd would of loved to have my kids in college, but I wouldn't help them destroy their lives before they even began living!! when they came to me wanting me to cosign the l oan and I called the college, they laughed at me when I suggested that the kid work part time, save, and take a few courses a semester....gee, it worked when I was in college!!!
seems that it just doesn't work that way anymore!!
my mom called the people who were running the show educated fools, don't think she had any idea just how true that phrase would become, because now, well, you're a fool if you put yourself in that kind of debt for a mere promise!! my kids are doing better than many of those educated fools that graduated high school with them.

oh, and well, if someone can get access to coast to coast archives, there is an organization out there that is offering a nice sum of money for young people who have an idea that they believe they can get off the ground....they'll help you get it off the ground, but you have to promise not to enroll in a college.....

I'll see if I can find time to listen to that show again and get a little more info on that one.

reply to post by buni11687


A related video:

Why does one have to go to college?
I went into the Military, got paid to learn and work in a trade.
Great paying jobs in that career field and provides a stepping stone into the Tech area as a whole. Also paid into and used the GI Bill.
Amount of College debt and/or student loan debt? $0.00
Amount of Tech Certifications I have since 1997? 20+.

College has become for those looking to be either lawyers or doctors. Sorry, but that is just the way it is.

State buget games are to blame.
No one is watching their own state budgets.

Here is one person who is trying to point out what really matters.
Like usual the mind controlled people of America just resent him before he opens his mouth.
Some of the smartest people on the planet are in that room,
but look at how surly the audience is,
scratching their socks and resenting him for his money.

Yet he presents facts,
illustrates the hypocracy of the system,
and even offers a step towards a solution.

around 5:30 minutes in he even uses the phrase "young vs old"

This isn't about personal choice,
it's about a rigged system.
The only personal choice I see is when
people decide which individual person they
are going to blindly hate for no tangible reason than
it is the popular thing to do; everyone is doing it.


David Grouchy