In 2010, the average student loan debt for a college graduate with a bachelor’s degree was just shy of $24,000. New Jersey was mid pack, ranking #21 on the list of highest student debt (1st place equaling most debt). For 2011, the debt number jumped significantly pushing the state to the 10th highest student debt average in the nation. The $3,800 increase amounts to a 16% change in over a single year and creeps ever closer to that $30,000 mark.
College officials say they’re doing as much as they can to aid students by finding scholarships, grants and financial aid. They have also realized that allowing banks to solicit student on campus with credit cards might not be such a good idea either. But, the reduction in state funding makes qualifying for aid difficult and reduces the overall amount awarded to students. Centenary College of New Jersey released numbers saying that 100% of their graduating students carried a debt average well over the state and national average, $40,000.
Princeton on the other hand, which has a annual cost of over $50,000 a year had a very low debt ratio. Less than one quarter of the students were carrying an average debt of just $5,000. Much of this has to do with the enormous amount of financial aid the school is able to offer. Princeton take pride in the fact that for the last 11 years it has been able to replace all loan based financial aid awards with grants that nearly cover the students entire tuition.
Even though Pell Grants and state aid programs have increased in some cases, the vast majority of students don’t qualify for the programs designed to target low income families. With less state and federal aid, higher expenses and the climbing of tuition prices, continual increases in student debt is something that we will be seeing more of in the near future.