College students are increasingly in debt after graduating.
Fifty-eight percent of college students in Virginia graduate with debt, according to a new study on higher-education borrowing trends, owing an average of $19,747.
Tuition at state schools ranges from around $6,000 to $9,000 per year.
Students at Randolph-Macon and Washington & Lee who borrow to pay for their schooling graduate with the highest levels of debt in the state, about $23,500 on average. Graduates of William and Mary owe the least in Virginia, $12,800 on average.
That debt can be particularly burdensome, the study found, noting that the unemployment rate for college graduates ages 20 to 24 is above 10 percent.
The report, produced by the Institute for College Access & Success, found that nationwide student borrowing crept up 6 percent in the last four years to an average of $23,200.
Virginia is about in the middle of the pack, with half the states showing students who owe more, and half showing students owing less.
Among graduates of public, four-year schools, 62 percent had college loans. Seventy-two percent of private, nonprofit college graduates owed money upon graduating, the report found.
Virginia’s students owe less, as a whole, than their counterparts in the North East, where schools are more expensive.
The study also showed average borrowing amounts for specific schools.
Of local interest from lowest debt to highest:
William and Mary:
Average debt of graduates in 2008: $12,859
Proportion of graduates with debt: 39 percent
Full-time enrollment: 5,703
2007-2008 in-state tuition: $9,164
James Madison University:
Average debt of graduates in 2008: $18,547
Proportion of graduates with debt in 2008: 54 percent
2007-2008 in-state tuition: $6,666
Virginia Commonwealth University:
Average debt: not available
Proportion of graduates with debt in 2008: 61 percent
2007-2008 in-state tuition: $6,196
University of Virginia:
Average debt of graduates in 2008: $19,016
Proportion of graduates with debt: 33 percent
2007-2008 in-state tuition: $8,690
University of Richmond:
Average debt of graduates: $20,915
Proportion of graduates with debt: 43 percent
2007-2008 tuition: $37,610
Virginia Tech:
Average debt of graduates: $21,678
Proportion of graduates with debt in 2008: 52 percent
2007-2008 in-state tuition: $7,397
Randolph-Macon College:
Average debt of graduates: $23,564
Proportion of graduates with debt in 2008: 72 percent
2007-2008 tuition: $26,830
Washington and Lee University:
Average debt of graduates in 2008: $23,616
Proportion of graduates with debt: 33 percent
2007-2008 tuition: $35,445
Aaron Kremer is the BizSense editor. Please send news tips to Editor@richmondbizsense.com.
This article fails to mention the dramatic changes which occurred at Washington and Lee University in 2007. Thanks to an alumni gift of $100 million, W&L now meets all demonstrated financial need through grants, scholarships, and work-study positions — no loans. The generous financial aid program allows students to graduate debt-free. While this gift would not have significantly impacted the Class of 2008, it transformed financial aid and debt-load for subsequent classes. For 2009-2010, W&L awarded over $29 million in assistance to 65% of the student body. This article is very misleading in its omission of this news.
http://www.wlu.edu/x3769.xml
http://www.wlu.edu/x437.xml