Did You Know?

With the country battling its way through an historic economic downturn, it's worth noting that the country's students are not immune to the debt that has plagued both individuals and businesses alike. In fact, according to the Project on Student Debt, nearly two-thirds of students at four-year colleges and universities had student loan debt in 2004. That's a significant increase from 1993, when less than 50 percent of four-year graduates had student loans. What's more, a 2006 report from the College Board titled "Trends in Student Aid" found that better than 60 percent of graduates from public universities had student loans, dispelling the rumor that students who attend public universities, which generally offer lower tuition to in-state residents than their private counterparts, do not need to take out loans to afford higher education. Public university graduates also saw the size of their debts grow between 1993 and 2004, as the average debt level increased from just over $8,000 in 1993 to more than $17,000 by 2004. Accounting for inflation, that's an increase of 65 percent. Overall, 25 percent of graduating borrowers in 2004 carried more than $25,000 in debt.