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Many college graduates enter poor job market deep in debt

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By Christopher Magan, Staff Writer Updated 11:27 AM Friday, June 11, 2010

DAYTON — This weekend local colleges will award degrees to 4,000 students looking to start careers in an uncertain job market and begin paying off the cost of their education.

The typical student at a four-year college graduates with roughly $23,000 in student loan debt. Graduates of two-year schools accumulate about half that amount, according to federal loan data. That’s an increase of about 24 percent over the past six years.

Affordability is a key part of Ohio’s 10-year plan to increase access to college and graduation rates. Much of that plan depends on community colleges, like Sinclair, which will award a record 1,700 associate degrees tonight, June 11. The typical student leaves Sinclair with only $2,500 in student loans, college officials said.

Cost control is also important at Wright State. The school recently converted money typically used for loans into grants last year to help reduce student debt in a tough economy. The average WSU student graduates with loans totaling roughly $21,000.

In 2008, 67 percent of seniors graduating from four-year colleges had borrowed funds of some kind.

Leaving school with more than $20,000 in debt doesn’t bother Oakwood resident Leslie Jacobs, a 22-year-old communications major at Wright State. She’s hoping to find a local job in public relations.

“You can’t put a price on your education. It is one of the best investments you can make,” Jacobs said.