Issue Date: 11/14/05
The rising tide of student debt
By Charreah Jackson
KRT News Service
KRT News Service
For many students college comes with a hefty price tag. As grants have declined and the cost of college has steadily increased, graduates are left with a degree in one hand and many loans in the other.
In the 2002-'03 school year, loans made up 80 percent of financial aid packages and 20 percent were grants - a big difference from the 20-percent loans to 80-percent grants ratio seen in 1975-'76, according to the United States Student Association Foundation.
The Center for Economic and Policy Research says the major cause of increasing student debt and that shift from grants to loans is the rising cost of college.
"I have been awarding students grants for 30 years," said Steven E. Brooks, executive director of the North Carolina State Education Assistance Authority. "I would like to see more Pell Grants awarded, but the funding has not kept up with the increasing cost of college and number of students applying."
As student debt has continued to grow, the USSA pioneered the campaign "Stop the Raid on Student Aid." The 59-year-old organization is trying to make students aware of proposed legislation that could increase the interest rate cap by more than 25 percent and includes cuts that could trim $9 billion from student aid.
"Currently we are experiencing a worst-case scenario for students," said Jasmine Harris, USSA legislative director. "First, you have an increasingly small portion of the cost of college being covered by grants, and second, students are forced to take (out) increasing amounts of loans. Their disproportionately high debt upon graduation prohibits them from participating in the economy and all it has to offer. It's a lose-lose situation."
The average senior graduated with $17,600 in debt in 2004, according to CEPR.
Though cost and loans are rising as grants remain stagnant, the College Board found that tuition increases at public universities were not as large as they had been in the last two years.
In the 2002-'03 school year, loans made up 80 percent of financial aid packages and 20 percent were grants - a big difference from the 20-percent loans to 80-percent grants ratio seen in 1975-'76, according to the United States Student Association Foundation.
The Center for Economic and Policy Research says the major cause of increasing student debt and that shift from grants to loans is the rising cost of college.
"I have been awarding students grants for 30 years," said Steven E. Brooks, executive director of the North Carolina State Education Assistance Authority. "I would like to see more Pell Grants awarded, but the funding has not kept up with the increasing cost of college and number of students applying."
As student debt has continued to grow, the USSA pioneered the campaign "Stop the Raid on Student Aid." The 59-year-old organization is trying to make students aware of proposed legislation that could increase the interest rate cap by more than 25 percent and includes cuts that could trim $9 billion from student aid.
"Currently we are experiencing a worst-case scenario for students," said Jasmine Harris, USSA legislative director. "First, you have an increasingly small portion of the cost of college being covered by grants, and second, students are forced to take (out) increasing amounts of loans. Their disproportionately high debt upon graduation prohibits them from participating in the economy and all it has to offer. It's a lose-lose situation."
The average senior graduated with $17,600 in debt in 2004, according to CEPR.
Though cost and loans are rising as grants remain stagnant, the College Board found that tuition increases at public universities were not as large as they had been in the last two years.