5 facts about student loans
One-in-four U.S. adults under 40 have student loan debt. And how much borrowers owe on student loans varies widely by education level.
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One-in-four U.S. adults under 40 have student loan debt. And how much borrowers owe on student loans varies widely by education level.
Americans have mixed views on the importance of having a degree. 47% say the cost is worth it only if someone doesn’t have to take out loans.
College graduates without a college-educated parent have lower incomes and less wealth, on average, than those with a parent who has a bachelor’s or higher degree.
In 2012, a record 69% of the nation’s new college graduates had taken out student loans to finance their education. Graduates from more affluent families are much more likely to borrow today than 20 years ago.
More people are having trouble keeping up with their student-loan payments than in years past, several studies show.
A record 37% of young households had outstanding student loans in 2010 and a median student debt of $13,000.
Student debt burdens are weighing on the economic fortunes of today’s young adults. Among the college-educated, those with outstanding student debt are lagging far behind those who are debt free in terms of household wealth.
Outstanding household debt increased $241 billion during last October-December, the biggest quarterly jump since 2007.
U.S. families are relying less on their own resources and more on outside sources (scholarships, loans and the like) to pay for college.
About one out of five of the nation’s households owed student debt in 2010, more than double the share two decades earlier.
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