News

Study shows students face more loan debt, CSULB suffers less

Paying off school loans is a challenge for thousands of students nationwide, but according to a newly released report, students who come from upper-middle-income homes are going deeper into the red.

The Wall Street Journal report conducted an analysis of Federal Reserve data and found that upper-middle-income families experienced the largest percentage increase in student loan debt from 2007 to 2010.

The Wall Street Journal defined upper-middle-income families as families “with annual incomes of $94,535 to $205,335.”

For some students, like Michael Tocco, a freshman mechanical engineering major and scholarship recipient, the idea of paying for college is daunting. Tocco does not currently have any loans, and he said if he did, his attentions would be focused more towards his wallet than his studies.

“It would have been a combination of any type of loan … and job [to pay for college],” Tocco said. “My mind would have most likely be focused on payments and reducing debt.”

Total student debt in the United States is currently more than $1 trillion, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. But at Cal State Long Beach, the amount of debt students graduate with continues to be lower than other universities, according to Vice Provost for Planning and Budgets David Dowell.

“CSULB can be proud that our students finish with nearly the lowest debt on average of any college in the U.S.,” Dowell said. “We have been ranked lowest or second lowest in student debt in a couple of recent years.”

CSULB currently has a profile on the College Portrait of Undergraduate Education’s website. On the site, students can compare the cost of attending CSULB with the cost of attending other universities.

Nationally, public university students graduated with an average of $21,740 in debt, while CSULB students graduated with $14,822 in debt.

“We keep [information] posted on our website, and we’re among the first in the nation to make this information available,” President F. King Alexander said. “It was my hope that all colleges and universities in the country would follow our lead.”

But even with the low rates, some students, like sophomore Chloe Zomorodi, are still on edge about taking out loans.
“I worry about not being able to find a job that pays well enough … [to pay] back my loans,” she said.
 

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published.

Daily 49er newsletter

Instagram