Private Student Loans Up 590 Percent in Ten Years

Rising tuition and a close relationship between schools and private lenders have helped boost the private student loan industry an astounding 590 percent in the last decade:

Costs related to higher education grew 79 percent at public schools and 65 percent at private schools in the last ten years, according to a recent report from College Board , a nonprofit organization dealing with higher education issues.

At the same time as costs increased, upper limits on federal loans remained stagnant until last year, for example, at $23,000 dollars for undergraduates.

This mostly affected graduate students and students at private colleges who spent more than the federal loan limit and were forced to rely on private loans, Project on Student Debt communications director Edie Irons said.

“A lot of people graduate from medical school with $200,000 dollars in debt,” she said. “Federal loans just weren’t available to that amount.”

Federal loan limits were increased this year in the Ensuring Continued Access to Student Loans Act , which earned bipartisan support in Washington.

Source: mndaily.com