The College Fix

Last year’s college graduates were immediately saddled with an average of $24,000 in debt upon leaving their undergraduate careers behind, an increase of 6 percent from the previous year, according to a recent report from the Institute for College Access and Success.

The institute’s report, titled “Student Debt and the Class of 2009,” also shows that the unemployment rate for graduates was 8.7 percent in 2009, an increase from 5.8 percent in 2008 and the highest annual rate on record.

Members of the University’s class of 2009 had an average total debt of $19,939, and for those students who took need-based loans specifically, $15,571, said Scott Miller, associate director of student financial services at the University, The previous year, the average debt was $19,016 and $14,849 for students who took need-based loans, he said. The amount of debt at the University has probably gone up by about the same percentage each year, he added.

Both the institute and the University rely on data collected from the Common Data Set, a self-reported survey from colleges nationwide. Matt Reed, the project’s program director, attributed the increase in student debt to college costs rising without financial aid and grants keeping up.

“And it’s not just tuition,” Reed said. “There are other costs such as room and board, living expenses, books and supplies.”

Read the full story at the Daily Cavalier.

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