<p>This is depressing. Interesting, though, that it is high-tax states that also have some of the highest levels of student debt.</p>
<p>Well, PA and DE* seem to get the booby prize by being well represented here; NJ is also “competitive”.</p>
<p>Most people consider CA a high tax state, but none if its public schools is anywhere close to making this list; the highest average student debt level listed is $21,787 at CSU San Bernardino.</p>
<p>*DE has two public universities, both of which make this list.</p>
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<p>What attracts out-of-state students (particularly those who would need lots of debt) to the University of Delaware? It is not like 2/3 of the students go in majoring in chemical engineering (which appears to be the only major the school is regarded as standing out for).</p>
<p>UD attracts most of its OOS students from NJ, NY, etc…northeastern states with “less attractive” flagships. </p>
<p>It has a pretty good reputation as a very social school…and one with a gorgeous campus and idyllic “college town” setting.</p>
<p>Yes, U. Del is a very popular college among NJ, PA, MD and NY residents. For someone who loves UVa, it is a very good backup school, because it is a similar town and offers a similar size, similar academic offerings, a similarly attractive campus and similar social life. </p>
<p>Both of my kids were accepted to U. Del, but they choose to go elsewhere. </p>
<p>U. Del. also has a nursing programs that is one of the hardest in the northeast for admission, and that attracts over 1,000 applicants a year. U. Del also offers merit aid and need based aid to many out of state applicants, although they don’t promise to meet 100% of need OOS.</p>
<p>In that Indiana U. example above, most of the other aid is probably the PHEAA grant that is available to all lower and middle income residents of PA. who attend any in-state public or private college.</p>
<p>I’m in-state for PA, and of the 10 colleges where my daughter was accepted including several privates, Penn State ended up as one of the two universities with the highest net cost.</p>
<p>According to <a href=“http://www.pheaa.org/funding-opportunities/state-grant-program/pdf/2013-2014/Program-Manual.pdf[/url]”>http://www.pheaa.org/funding-opportunities/state-grant-program/pdf/2013-2014/Program-Manual.pdf</a> , the maximum PHEAA grant for 2013-2014 is $4,363.</p>
<p>BTW, the “Luther RICE university” listed above as one of the highest debt schools is NOT the RICE UNIVERSITY in Houston, TX, which is one of the lowest debt schools and has fantastic financial aid. One of my kids left RICE with no debt plus some, (had a no-loan, no-work-study financial aid package due to merit aid, won a small $ departmental award at graduation and also was awarded a post-graduation study grant that covered a year abroad.). Other kid graduated with about $8500 in loans, which is very manageable given his major. 
i don’t want folks to get the two RICE universities confused!</p>
<p>I think some kids assume the federal direct debt because they want to go to a school that costs more than they or the parents can afford. I suspect some if not many parents look the other way about student assumed federal loans and “count it” as financial aid. Colleges are expensive. As romanig said, Michigan universities can be very expensive especially Michigan, State and Tech. Michigan is the only one that “meets” need for in-state kids but uses Profile. The state give virtually nothing. I think I saw a $600 Michigan merit scholarship on his bursar statement, but that is sometimes there and some years not so that was a surprise this year. $600 doesn’t even cover books for the year let alone make a dent in $25,000 - 30,000 worth of COA at all three unis. Moving off campus helps especially in the UP and in Lansing, maybe not in A2. My third son stayed in state, but it was the most expensive for us after other unis discounted with merit, etc., albeit the most “highly regarded” of the unis where he was accepted. We had the kids take out federal direct loans to smooth out cash flow, but we’re paying them back…one chunk at a time as they graduate. It basically adds three more years of “college tuition payments” plus some interest if you pay it off over a year, but I can live with that.</p>
<p>I have about $32,000 in student loan debt myself, between undergrad and grad school…but I’m not scared pantsless about paying it off. Even assuming that all of my interest rates are 6.8% (which they aren’t) and a 10-year repayment schedule, my loan payments will be a bit over $350. I already have a job for after I graduate that will pay me a salary that will allow me to afford that, and I think most college graduates can expect a salary that will allow them to afford to pay off around $28,000 in student loans. (I already checked out income-based repayment, and it would only lower my monthly payments by about $30.)</p>
<p>My federal debt came about because of incidental expenses, btw. It’s not because I went to a school we couldn’t afford; on the contrary, I had a full merit scholarship. But I amassed about $9,000 of that debt in undergrad to pay for books and supplement some living costs, as well as to help finance my study abroad. Most of the debt was actually taken on in grad school, primarily to pay for security deposits and moving costs in my new city and to supplement my stipend during the very lean summers and my dissertation fellowship - I live in New York and the stipend is outrageously low compared to the cost of living. Still, I think I did pretty good if my grad + undergrad debt is equal to what the average student borrows just for undergrad.</p>
<p>I hate headlines like this. What’s the significance of a percentage of a group owing a certain amount in student loans if the percentage is only notable because of the amount and vice versa? Pick a round number, like 80% of students or $30,000 in student loans, and go from there, because these two figures mean nothing to me.</p>
<p>Yes it is really a truth but ,…:)</p>
<p>This is all great info. What is amazing, is to recognize how much our schools CAN provide students for F.O.U.R. yrs of lodging, counseling (as needed), internships and a (potentially) marketable degree.</p>
<p>I will prob owe around 35k so this makes me feel a little better.</p>
<p>3 year engineering degree at the local CSU: still cheaper than 1 year going away for a UC.
No loans necessary.</p>
<p>my graduated with Perkins loans of 9600 (2400 per year)
subsidized stafford loans 19000 (3500, 4500, 5500, 5500)</p>
<p>total 28600. Not bad for an education valued at over 200K </p>
<p>2 1/2 years after graduation, having applied ALL his income tax refunds from 2011 & 2012 to the loans, plus making monthly payments, he’s down to about $17K</p>
<p>totally doable.</p>
<p>having applied ALL his income tax refunds from 2011 & 2012 to the loans</p>
<p>What a great idea! Not sure most would be so disciplined, but what a great idea!</p>