Millions of college students in the US are continuously struggling with their loan debts. For instance, two (2) in three (3) of college students who graduated in 2018, will have to pay more in terms of debt as compared to those before them.
On average, any bachelor degree holder has accrued student loan debt of nearly twenty-nine thousand and two hundred dollars (US$29,200). These figures are worrying as they are the highest to have ever been recorded in the US.
College students face new debt reality
College students are facing increased average debts on an annual basis. For instance, those learners who graduated in 2018 had to deal with a two percent (2%) increase as compared to their 2017 counterparts.
According to the Institute for College Access and Success, the student loan debt of those who graduated in 2017 stood at twenty-eight thousand and five hundred dollars (US$28,500).
On the other hand, the entire student loan debt in the US stands at one trillion six hundred billion dollars (US$1.6T).
Notably, it has soared at an alarming rate, and this has made various stakeholders concerned. For instance, Bernie Sanders, the Vermont Senator, seeks to transform the lives of college students. For example, he has proposed considerable plans to eliminate student loan debt.
As a result, Bernie Sanders has been calling for tuition-free college.
New aid programs to help college students
Some learning institutions have come up with strategies meant to reduce the financial burden of college students. For instance, the University of Virginia and University of Michigan have developed new aid programs intended at easing the burden of middle and low-income students.
On the other hand, in New York, those residents earning up to one hundred and twenty-five dollars (US$125,000) annually are presented with free tuition.
College students across the US face different average debts. For instance, those from Connecticut have the highest at over thirty-eight thousand dollars (US$38,650), whereas those from Utah have the lowest at over nineteen thousand dollars (US$19,750).
