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The Project on Student Debt recently reported that college seniors

who graduated in 2009 had an average of $24,000 in loan debt. That

average is up 6 percent from 2008. Students graduating in May and

December are graduating into an economy where unemployment for

recent college graduates has risen from 5.8 percent in 2008 to 8.7

percent in 2009. 

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Alabama was ranked 16 by the Project on Student Debt’s report,

meaning Alabama has the 16th highest average graduate debt. 

Approximately 51 percent of Alabama college students graduate with

debt averaging $24,009. This amount of debt equals a monthly

student loan payment of approximately $270.

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 “Graduating with debt stresses me out,” said Allyson Mack, a UNA

junior who will graduate in spring 2012. “I feel extra pressure to

find a good job in order to pay off my debt. With the economy the

way it is today, I feel the chances of finding a job are very

slim.” 

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UNA’s tuition is in the median range, and so is the amount of debt

student graduate with when they complete their degrees. In 2008,

the average UNA student graduated with $19,839 in debt, according

to the U.S. Department of Education. 

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The Department of Education also reported on how college graduates

are handling their debt. On average, 7 percent of graduates with

loans defaulted within two years of beginning payments. This means

that more than 238,000 of the 3.4 million students couldn’t pay

back the money they borrowed. 

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