Alabama college grads average $24K in debt

A new study shows that graduates of Alabama colleges in 2010 averaged $24,821 in student loan debt when they left school, making Alabama the state with the 14th-highest debt average.

The study, “Student Debt and the Class of 2010,” is conducted by The Project on Student Debt, an initiative of The Institute for College Access & Success. The organization has conducted similar studies since the 2000 to 2001 school year. Results indicate that the average debt burden for Alabama college graduates has increased during that time.

Those who attended the University of Alabama averaged $26,701 in debt, while Auburn University grads had an average of $23,491 in debt.

The study also listed Alabama A&M University ($31,863) and Alabama State University ($29,795) on its national list of high-debt public colleges and universities.

Auburn University’s average student loan debt has ranged from $18,069 to $34,398 since the study was first conducted.

Chris Christian, a 2004 AU graduate who now lives in Gadsden, said he worked full time throughout college and saved money by attending junior college for two years. Despite that, he still accrued about $12,000 in student loan debt by the time he graduated. He’s still paying off his loans, but only by choice, he said.

“I would have to say that a possible reason Alabamians acquire more debt is that they don’t know of other options to fund school other than student loans,” Christian said in an email to the Opelika-Auburn News.

Data also shows that Alabama had the highest average student loan debt in 2010 compared to its four neighboring states: Florida ($21,184), Georgia ($18,888), Mississippi ($22,142) and Tennessee ($19,957).

Mike Reynolds, Auburn University’s executive director of student financial services, attributed part of the disparity between Alabama and its neighbors to the presence of scholarships funded by lotteries or casinos in those states.

With a large proportion of out-of-state students at AU, Reynolds said they sometimes resort to taking out private loans with high interest rates to cover expenses and tuition.

“We certainly want students to reach their higher education goals, but we’re very cautious to explain to them about student loan debt,” Reynolds said. “Is the profession that you’re wanting to get into, is it going to allow you to pay back $90,000?”

Nationally, the study estimates that two-thirds of college students who graduated in 2010 had student loan debt. The average debt was $25,250. At the campus level, average student loan debt for schools ranged from $950 to $55,250.

The study examined data from just more than half of public and private nonprofit, four-year schools. The study says it represents three-quarters of 2010 graduates.