Grad School: Higher Degrees of Debt

Annamarie Andriotis:

Graduate school, a path to higher learning and potentially higher income, increasingly lands students in higher debt brackets.

But while Congress searches for ways to alleviate the loan burden for undergrads, experts say little attention is being paid to master's students. In fact, lost in the debate over the nation's student loan debt topping the $1 trillion mark is that graduate students account for a third of that sum -- and that their indebtedness is likely about to grow much worse.

Beginning in July, subsidized Stafford loans will no longer be available to graduate students, a shift that experts say will force student borrowers into more expensive loans to cover tuition. These loans are the most popular type for graduate school, with more than one-third of all students signing up for them annually, because the government covers the interest payments during the years of enrollment. In contrast, other loans require students to pay the full cost.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at May 17, 2012 1:25 AM
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