What do 15 extra pounds, never-opened philosophy textbooks and large amounts of debt have in common?
They all likely belong to young adults who graduated from top dollar universities throughout the country.
The average student loan debt for graduating seniors nationwide is $21,000. The national default rate among these graduates is 4.6 percent, according to the Project on Student Debt, an initiative of the Institute for College Access and Success, an independent organization.
A majority of Fairfield students are all too familiar with borrowing loans; 60 percent of them are forced to borrow, according to Erin Chiaro, director of Financial Aid. The average undergraduate debt for a member of the class of 2007 is $31,984.
With Fairfield’s ever-increasing tuition rates, students who are not fortunate enough to receive scholarship money from the school or privileged enough to have their parents fully fund their educations are forced to take major loans in order to advance their academic careers.
Some students at Fairfield said the school can, and should, do a lot more to alleviate this burden.
“With the amount we have to pay to go here, I think the school should give more aid to students. I know most schools like Fairfield are expensive, but the administration can do more to help,” said Katie Gindek ’10.
Sam Olyaei ’11 agreed, saying, “I have about $2,500 worth of student loans per year to help me go here. I think maybe the school can loan money, instead of private organizations, to help save students some money, especially because of the tuition here.”
Diana Maus ’10 said the tuition rate at Fairfield is high even for a private school, which tend to be more expensive than their public counterparts.
“Even compared to similar universities, it’s real expensive to go here,” said Maus. “When I graduate, I’m going to have over $100,000 in loans to pay back.”
Despite the negative opinions of students, Fairfield officials say they are taking steps to ensure that its graduates will not slip into financial trouble after graduation.
“Fairfield has tried to deliberately slow the pace of tuition increases, and the school claims it has, to every extent possible,” said Associate Vice President for Enrollment Management Judith Dobai. She also said that the University has, “experienced lower increases this past year than the national average for private colleges.”
According to Dobai, “The school has also increased the financial aid budget by 32.8 percent in the past three years.”
Even the NYPD is taking notice of this national epidemic of graduate debt and has offered to off set amounts of loans for any graduate who joins and stays with the force for at least five years.
Colleges in the Northeast tend to be more expensive than in any other region in the country. One national tuition ranking, done by Forbes, found that six of the top 10 most expensive colleges are located in either New York or Connecticut, according to Dobai.
To combat this trend, Dobai said the University is putting more funds into its financial aid program and tweaking loans and awards so that students have less to pay back upon graduation.
Fairfield takes 23 percent more money out of its “institutional” funds for scholarships than the national average, said Dobai.
Unfortunately, high tuitions and their corresponding loans are making college a more difficult decision for students in positions similar to Maus.
“I’m going to have so much debt once I graduate that I am seriously thinking of transferring,” she said. “I don’t know if I would be able to pay all the money I am going to owe when I’m done.”
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