Student loan debt now exceeds credit cards
Eight thousand dollars and climbing. The debt counter keeps on turning for college freshman Allison Clevlend.
The 18-year-old University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh student has started her higher education under a new reality where debt sometimes has the final say over where she goes and what she does.
“Oshkosh was my last choice of school, but I didn’t get the financial aid I need,” said Clevlend, who lives at home and works part time to limit her need to borrow.
“I’m looking beyond college,” she said.
Total student loan debt now exceeds total credit card debt in this country, according to Mark Kantrowitz, publisher of FinAid.org, a website that provides information about student aid and scholarships.
College graduates owe more than $850 billion in student loans, according to FinAid.org. The Federal Reserve estimates Americans owe about $828 billion in revolving credit, including credit card debt.
The change, which first happened in June, reflects the culmination of multiple trends: Consumers are paying down their credit cards, more students are going to college than ever and tuition continues to outpace financial aid.
“We have students who are living off their loans. When you get to that point, it’s no wonder students are having to borrow the maximum,” said Beatriz Contreras, director of financial aid at UWO. “That was not the intention of financial aid when it was started.”
http://www.thenorthwestern.com/article/20101020/OSH0101/101020089/Student-loan-debt-now-exceeds-credit-cards