Despite the common belief, the College Board reports that the majority of students do not graduate from college with an overwhelming amount of debt. In fact, many graduate without any debt at all, while others graduate with what the College Board considers to be “manageable.” Let’s take a closer look at some of these statistics, which will likely make you feel a bit more confident in your ability to get the college education you need without winding up buried in debt.

· 34% of those students who earned a bachelors degree during the 2007-8 school year graduated without any debt at all

· 41% of students who earned any type of degree or certificate in the 2007-2008 school year graduated without any debt

· 50% of full-time students took out a federal loan in during the 2007-8 school year

· 19% of students took out a private loan to pay for their college expenses

· Many students took out federal loans and private loans, with the average private loan being $7,809 and the average federal loan being $5,432.

· The median loan debt for those who did borrow money to earn a bachelor’s degree was $19,999, which is up 5% when compared to four years earlier

· The median loan debt for those who borrowed money in order to earn any type of degree was $15,123, which is up by 11% when compared to four years earlier

· The greatest increase in loan debt was seen in those students attending for-profit colleges and for those who were working toward earning certificates or two-year degrees

· About 6% of those who earned a degree or certificate borrowed more than $40,000

· Approximately 10% of those who earned a bachelor’s degree borrowed $40,000 or more

· Students earning certificates from for-profit programs had a median loan debt of $9,744, which was up by 30% when compared to four years earlier

· Students earning a bachelor’s degree at for-profit institutions had a median loan debt of $32,653, which was up by 23% when compared to four years earlier

· The median loan debt for those earning a bachelor’s degree at a private four year college was $22,375, which was up by only 5% when compared to four years earlier.

· Students pursuing a certificate or associate degree typically accumulated about half the debt as those pursuing a bachelor’s degree

Ironically, the College Board found that for-profit schools are receiving a disproportionate amount of financial aid from the federal government. Whereas these schools only educated approximately 7% of undergrads in 2006, they receive about 19% of Pell grant monies.