Student Loan Debt Grows For Graduate Degrees

As if the rapid growth in the student loan debt industry wasn’t already wreaking havoc on the wallets of graduates, a new study suggests that the growth rate and loan balance is growing the fastest among graduate level degrees.   The loan debt balance jumped by 70% for master’s degrees since 2004 alone.

Higher Education, Higher Price

Recent analysis of the student loan debt problems revealed that debt among graduate students rose the fastest since 2004. While one explanation could be that a 2005 congressional move allowing graduate students borrow a near unlimited amount of money, others point towards the overall financial hardship of putting oneself through additional years of education.

The study found that more than one in 10 student loan balances is more than 90 days delinquent, the majority with interest rates higher than the average credit card. While a little over half of undergraduates exit with an average of $25,000 or higher, two-thirds of graduates students exit with debt most near double that of an undergraduate. The average debt balances by graduate degree are:

• $38, 579 for MBAs
• $111,307 for Pharmacy
• $121,889 for Law
• $163, 154 for Medical

Although graduate degrees typically mean higher pay, the overall financial burden balances out to be about the same with the additional price tag on the student loan balance.