Poor Student No More

Here are some interesting statistics on student debt:

National Center for Education Statistics

Average Student Debt from Private 4-year institutions:
State with highest average debt - Arizona - $41,302
State with lowest average debt - Alaska - $10,197
State with highest percentage of students with debt - Alaska - 93%
State with lowest percentage of students with debt - Utah - 36%

Average Student Debt from Public 4-year institutions:
State with highest average debt - Alaska - $27,043
State with lowest average debt - Hawaii - $12,583
State with highest percentage of students with debt - South Dakota - 80%
State with lowest percentage of students with debt - Hawaii - 30%

Source: Calculations by the Project on Student Debt on student debt data from Petersons’s Undergraduate Financial Database, copyright 2007, 2008 Peterson’s, a Nelnet company; state and sector data from National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), Fall 2006.

Department of Education Statistics

Average cost of a 4-year university (public or private), including tuition, room and board 2007-2008: $19,362
Average cost of a 4-year public institution including tuition, room and board 2007-2008: $13,424
Average cost of a 4-year private institution including tuition, room and board 2007-2008: $30,393
*note - cost of 4-year university is consistently more than “other 4-year institutions.”  Explain the difference!

Total fall 2007 undergraduate enrollment in degree-granting institutions: 15,603,771
Total fall 2007 undergraduate enrollment in 4-year private institutions (full-time and part-time): 3,172,377
Total fall 2007 undergraduate enrollment in 4-year public institutions (full-time and part-time): 5,813,773

Source: Digest of Education Statistics 2008.  Institute of Education Sciences - National Center for Education Statistics.  U.S. Department of Education, March 2009.

Sallie Mae Student Debt Statistics

Total freshman enrollment in institutions: 2,707,213
Total freshman enrollment in their home state: 2,178,745
Total freshman enrollment out-of-state or out-of-country: 528,268

Percentage of undergraduates receiving aid 2005-2006: 70.3
Percentage receiving aid from public 4-year institutions: 76.6
Percentage receiving aid from private 4-year institutions: 85.4

Average amount of financial aid awarded to full-time, full-year undergraduates 2003-2004: $9,899
Federal Grants: $3,247
Federal Loans: $6,426
Private Grants: $4,828
Private Loans: $6,089
Work Study: $1,942

Number of undergraduates, full-time, full-year, all institutions 2003-2004: 7,824,000
Cumulative amount borrowed for undergraduate education 2003-2004 (average per student): $12,750

Percentage of undergraduate students who have credit cards 2008: 84%
Average number of credit cards 2008: 4.60
Percentage who have 4 or more cards: 50%
Average credit card debt: $3,173
Median credit card debt: $1,645
Estimated amount charged for direct education costs: $2,200

Source: “How Undergraduate Students Use Credit Cards.” Sallie Mae’s National Study of Usage Rates and Trends 2009.