More students are graduating with larger debt burdens a part of their fiscal future. March 8, 2002: 1:59 p.m. ET
NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Many college students are not only leaving school with diplomas, but also unmanageable debt burdens.
In 1999-2000, 64 percent of college students graduated with student loan debt, and the average debt has nearly doubled during the last eight years to $16,928, according to a report from the State Public Interest Research Group's Higher Education Project.
Of that 64 percent, 39 percent of student borrowers leave school with unmanageable debt levels, meaning that their monthly payments are more than 8 percent of their monthly incomes.
Those students from lower-income households are also more likely to graduate from college with debt. In 1999-2000, 71 percent of students from households making less than $20,000 graduated with debt, compared to 44 percent of students from households making more than $100,000, the report stated.
About 55 percent of African-American students and 58 percent of Hispanic students graduated with unmanageable debt burdens.
The study said a decline in Pell grants, a move to paying for college with loans rather than savings, and inflation in tuition levels contribute to student's debt burdens.
<http://money.cnn.com/2002/03/08/college/q_studentdebt/index.htm> -- Yoshie
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