Average student loan debt for the class of 2011 at Ohio university main campuses
Average debt Proportion with debt
Bowling Green State University $33,083 80%
Cleveland State University $19,199 47%
Kent State University $29,842 76%
Miami University $27,178 54%
Ohio State University $24,840 58%
Ohio University $26,909 69%
University of Cincinnati $27,593 67%
University of Toledo $28,438 72%
Wright State University $27,119 83%
Antioch University* $40,000 48%
Cedarville University* $27,279 67%
University of Dayton* $36,331 67%
*Private universities
Information for other universities not available
SOURCE: Project of Student Loan Debt
Ohio college graduates from the class of 2011 who borrowed to pay for their schooling took on more debt than any class before them — on average amassing $28,683 in loans as they pursued a four-year degree, according to the national Project on Student Loan Debt.
Ohio is among the nation’s “high-debt states,” ranking seventh for graduate’s average debt. The loan burden of those who borrow has increased 49 percent since 2005, when the project began estimating student debt and Ohio’s students owed $19,259 when they left school.
Even with rising costs, higher education advocates say there are compelling reasons why more Ohioans should get a degree. Nationwide, the unemployment rate for young high school graduates was double the rate for young people with a bachelor’s degree — 19.1 percent vs. 8.8 percent in 2011. And median weekly earnings were $415 higher for those with a four-year college education, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
“It’s never been more important to go to college and get an education. People have to understand: You can’t afford not to,” said Wright State President David Hopkins.
Ohioans owe more than average
The average debt for Ohio graduates is $2,000 higher than the national average of $26,600, according to newly-released data. Nationwide, two-thirds of students took on debt by the time they graduated. In Ohio, 68 percent borrowed.
Although young college graduates are less likely to be unemployed, many are underemployed and working part-time or in jobs that did not require a college education and offer low pay, according to The Institute for College Access & Success, the California-based nonprofit that runs the Project on Student Loan Debt. The project generally does not measure debt and borrowers at for-profit colleges, which typically have higher tuition than public and private non-profit schools. Americans owe more than $1 trillion in student loan debt.
Springfield native Mandi Cardosi graduated from Miami University in 2011 and faced student loan bills for seven months before finding a full-time job at a newspaper in West Virginia. Cardosi now pays $200 a month on her federal loans and her father helps with her private loans, she said. In total, she owes about $20,000 for her bachelor’s of arts degree in creative writing and journalism.
Cardosi said making loan payments before finding a job was stressful. “You feel like whatever job you’re going to get, it’s not going to be enough if you don’t have someone like parents or grandparents or anyone in your family that can help you. You just kind of feel like, ‘Well, that was kind of worthless.’ It’s a bit unsettling.”
Student loans are the one kind of consumer debt that is almost all but exempt from bankruptcy protections, meaning there is no relief for students even after years of hardship, said Rich Williams, higher education advocate for the U.S. Public Interest Research Groups. Unmanageable debt is a significant barrier to graduates who would like to buy a house or car, he said.
“Even ideas we associate with the American dream may be delayed because of high loan debt, including getting married, starting a family and saving for retirement.”
‘Scaring people’
There is a misunderstanding that higher debt loads are due to tuition increases run amok, Hopkins said. “That’s just not true. And it’s scaring people,” he said.
Hopkins said that fear could be a factor contributing to the 31,600 decrease in students enrolled in Ohio’s public colleges and universities this fall compared to last. In reality, Ohio has limited increases in tuition and fees to 3.5 percent in recent years, and the state is stressing opportunities for students to pursue degrees at a lower cost, said Chancellor Jim Petro.
“Students can save money by engaging in Advanced Placement coursework in high school, enrolling in three-year degrees or transferring community college credit to a four-year university to achieve their bachelor’s degree,” Petro said.
Hopkins said the increasing student debt is directly related to the great recession.
“National studies show that less than 30 percent of the student debt that we’re all talking about has anything to do with tuition and fees. Seventy percent of student debt in this country is the living expenses. Many people are taking loans that they wouldn’t typically because they’re trying to live, not just go to college,” he said.
Universities are relying more on tuition revenue because state support has fallen 18 percent in the last five years.
“Unfortunately, the increasing cost of tuition and fees to offset a continued decrease in state and federal support has left the student with a heavier financial burden,” said Sean Creighton, executive director of the Southwestern Ohio Council for Higher Education. “However, students have a competitive advantage in the marketplace and are better positioned to earn higher wages because of their college degree.”
Where to look
While Ohioans borrow more than the national average, the state’s student loan default rate (9.2 percent) is on par with the national average (9.1 percent), according to the U.S. Department of Education.
The rate “really reflects whether or not students can afford the debt they’re taking on,” said Janice Supplee, vice president of enrollment management at Cedarville University. Sixty-seven percent of Cedarville’s class of 2011 borrowed to pay for school, but the university’s student loan default rate is 0.8 percent, Supplee said.
“It represents that our graduates are able to get out in the workforce and get jobs,” she said. Nearly 94 percent of Cedarville’s 2011 graduates are employed or in graduate school.
Supplee said university officials talk with students about whether the debt load for students will be manageable with the career they are seeking.
Miami University holds one-on-one sessions and group meetings for students to see how much they have borrowed to date. The university also sends a reminder to students five months after they graduate that their federal loans will soon require monthly payments, said Brent Shock, director of student financial aid. Although Miami students who borrow take on more debt than the national average, the university was recently ranked 11th in the nation for return on tuition investment by Smartmoney.com, Shock added.
Students should also consider what aid is available to them when they look at the tuition sticker price. The University of Dayton said 94 percent of students receive financial aid. And six months after graduation, 95 percent had a job, were in graduate school, were engaged in community service or serving in the military.
Universities statewide are also offering more financial aid to students, and Wright State has money targeted specifically at middle-income families who do not qualify for federal help.
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