In August 2022, President Biden announced his plan for student loan forgiveness, sparking euphoria from many borrowers and criticism from those who felt the move didn’t go far enough to ease the financial burden. However, the implementation of the plan was not easy. As millions of borrower applications pour in, and the student loan debt crisis surpasses $1.74 trillion, student loan forgiveness is expected to hit a roadblock, or more.
Several court cases have continued to stall forgiveness efforts, tying debt cancellation enforcement into legal purgatory. The high volume of applications has also created a backlog of approximately 2 million applicants, resulting in wait times in excess of three months. Further delaying the loan forgiveness process for many applicants are ongoing proceedings in a $6 billion settlement against a group of universities, many of which are private for-profit institutions accused of defrauding students and others. misconduct. Several universities named in the settlement have appealed the decision.
As college tuition continues to decline due to various factors (lack of affordability, fear of debt, and doubts about the value of a degree, among others), making an informed decision about which college to attend has taken on an even greater sense of urgency. . Stacker ranked the 35 colleges with the highest median debt after graduation, using Department of Education data on more than 5,200 US colleges for the 2020-21 school year.
This analysis only includes loans accrued at the graduating credential-granting school; does not include private loans, parent loans, or loans originated at other schools for transfer students. Average annual costs, compiled by the DOE, include tuition, housing, materials, and fees, minus average grants and scholarships awarded. They are listed, along with the estimated enrollment, but are not taken into account in the ranking.
Many schools on the list are for-profit private schools, which have long been embroiled in allegations of predatory lending behavior. Religious schools and art and design institutions are also frequent additions. Only one school on the list is a public university.
Read on to find out where college grads rack up the most student debt.
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