Allison Gray handled her approximate $35,000 tuition and fees at Point Park because she won several scholarships, but she still managed to rack up $28,000 in debt by the time she graduated last spring.
After spending two years at a community college, Courtney Brenner transferred to University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg, but soon learned she was attending one of the highest priced public universities in America, which will cause her to incur almost $30,000 in student debt.
Even with a scholarship to play water polo at Penn State University, Kevin McDermott still has to worry about being $20,000 in debt to attend the high priced state school.
They are examples of why a major study ranked Pennsylvania third in the nation for highest public student loan debts with the class of 2013 accumulating an average of $32,528.
“I’m not paying [the] majority of my tuition because of water polo,” McDermott said over a phone interview. “Otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to be here.”
The study, conducted by The Institute for College Access and Success (TICAS), is compiled by state-to-state averages and identify high and low debt schools. They use figures provided voluntarily by more than half of all public and nonprofit bachelor’s degrees granting four-year colleges.
TICAS’s report stated “as more students borrow and borrow more, concerns about the effects of student loan debt—for individuals and the broader economy—have risen.”
Experts reflect on the correlation of the higher education and largest public universities.
The University of Pittsburgh and Penn State University are ranked first and second on the list of most costly public universities in the nation, with the average student debt of $34,623 and $35,430 compared to Point Park’s tuition rate, which ranked sixth amongst the list of private universities.
Gray was able to cut back some expenses her sophomore and junior year by working in the Office for Campus Life, now known as Residence Life.
Residence Life provides all student employees with free room and board.
“I appreciated the University for housing me for those two years,” Gray said.
Going to a community college is not uncommon for many people who are unsure of what exactly they want to study.
“I chose [Community College of Allegheny County] for two years to get my general education out of the way,” Brenner said. “I saved a lot, but with the Greensburg tuition and average debt so high, it will be interesting to see how much I’ll owe back.”
Receiving his partial water polo scholarship was the only way McDermott was able to call himself a Nittany Lion.
“I’ve always dreamed of attending PSU, but I knew my family would never have the money,” McDermott said. “My scholarship means everything to me. It gave me my chance to follow my dreams.”
In an article written by the Trib Total Media, a student aid expert named Mark Kantrowitz has repeatedly testified to Congress pertaining to this topic. He said the average starting salary for a bachelor’s degree across the country is $40,000 to $45,000. With those figures only being averages, a student is going to struggle to repay those loans back. For instance, $30,000 in debt at a 6.8% interest rate on a 10 year loan term will cause an average student to have to pay $345.24 a month.
Pennsylvania actually lowered its student debt from the year prior. The TICAS report came back in 2012 as PA ranking second in the states for highest average student debt. It’s only a matter of time to see how the report comes back for 2014.