The University of Vermont's Independent Voice Since 1883

The Vermont Cynic

The University of Vermont's Independent Voice Since 1883

The Vermont Cynic

The University of Vermont's Independent Voice Since 1883

The Vermont Cynic

$1 trillion in the red

  Debt from federal loan programs is piling higher and higher for students everywhere.               By the end of 2001, the total amount owed on outstanding student loans will reach an unprecedented $1 trillion, according to a report by USA Today.   In 2010 alone, total student borrowing crossed the $100 billion mark, the report stated.   On average, the amount of money that full-time, undergraduate students borrow rose 63 percent from a decade earlier; from $1,836 per student to $4,963 in 2010, according to the report.   Compounding the problem is the increasing number of students in default – those more than nine months behind on payments – which rose from 6.7 percent in 2007 to 8.8 percent in 2009, according to the most recent federal data.                  The highest recorded default rates are at for-profit schools that cater to lower-income students, the report stated.   The University of Phoenix is the nation’s largest for-profit school, generating 88 percent of its revenue from federal programs last year.  The majority of that money comes from student loans.               The USA Today report stated that Americans now owe more on student loans than on credit cards, citing the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the U.S. Department of Education and private sources.  

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$1 trillion in the red