Recent graduates from private colleges and universities walked away from commencement with an average of $28,100 in student debt, according to The College Board. But not every school leaves its alumni so far in the hole.
When history tallies up the biggest losers of the Great Recession, it's not hard to guess who will top the list. Facing a brutal job market, plummeting wages, and a mountain of debt, many recent college grads have fallen behind before they've officially started their careers.
President Obama recently announced a plan to provide relief to student loan borrowers, but for the millions already in default on such loans, that help comes too late. Failure to repay those loans can wreck your finances permanently. Casey Zimmerman Thompson is a cautionary tale: More than two decades ago, she borrowed just $7,100.
Between rising tuition and a weak job market, some pundits argue that higher education isn't worth the money anymore. But college grads on average earn more than twice as much as workers with only a high school diploma. So how can you get a degree without spending the rest of your life in debt?
A report released on Thursday by the Institute for College Access & Success's Project on Student Debt shows that members of the class of 2010 who took out loans to finance their educations owed an average of $25,250 in student debt at graduation -- a 5% increase from the year before.
So your resident college student is knee-deep in student loans, tuition, fees and rent payments. But infusing her bank account will sap the funds you have earmarked for your retirement. What's a concerned parent to do? Help her start building up some savings of her own. Here's how:
The amount of student loan debt in America will exceed $1 trillion this year, and this week, President Obama acted to ease the burden on millions of college graduates. Which states need that help the most? 24/7 Wall Street breaks down the 10 states with the worst levels of student debt.
The Obama administration estimates that close to 8 million borrowers will be affected by its new student loan initiative. That's not even a quarter of those paying down college debt, but with nearly $1 trillion owed, it's still a big deal. Here's what you need to know about the plan.
How do you avoid sending your kid off into the world without a pile of student loan debt? One key is to figure out the real, bottom-line price of a specific college -- before you apply. DailyFinance's Laura Rowley explains.
Oct. 29 is the deadline for U.S. colleges to put "net price calculators" on their websites -- tools intended to estimate the real cost of attending for each specific student. But the most widely adopted calculator is inaccurate -- to the tune of thousands of dollars, experts say.
A 52-year-old single mom needs to save for retirement, but her cash flow is strangled by rising student loan payments for herself and her sons. How can she minimize her loan payments and free up cash for retirement savings? DailyFinance's Laura Rowley offers some tips.
When you graduate college, you've got six months before you have to start repaying your student loans. For members of the class of 2011, that grace period ends soon, but all too many of them haven't found jobs and can't afford to start making those payments. We asked John Ulzheimer of SmartCredit.com to discuss their options.
When students drop out of college, it's not just disappointing for them and their parents -- it's also bad news for Uncle Sam, and even for their next-door neighbors. According to a new report, a single year's worth of dropouts cost the nation $4.5 billion in lost income, and lost federal and state income taxes.
Worried about how to pay for college? The Princeton Review this week released its financial-aid ratings for more than 600 U.S. colleges. Find out which ones came out on top.
For years, credit card companies have targeted college students to gain access to a lucrative source of profits: student debt. And despite laws designed to stop the practice, colleges and universities are still taking huge payments from card companies -- at your kids' expense.