Students graduating from New Hampshire colleges and universities continue to leave with some of the highest average debt loads in the country.
On average, students who graduated with a bachelor’s degree from a Granite State higher education institution last year walked away with an average debt of $25,785, according to The Project on Student Debt, a nonprofit organization.
That was the fifth-highest average debt among the 50 states and Washington, D.C., according to the report “Student Debt and the Class of 2008,” an annual state-by-state ranking of student debts loads.
New Hampshire has ranked second in the past two studies, which looked at graduates from 2006 and 2007. Students graduating from New Hampshire in 2007 left college with a similar average debt of $25,211.
Despite the national average increasing by about 6 percent, there was only a minimal increase in New Hampshire’s average from 2007 to 2008, which led to its dropping in the rankings from second to fifth.
Washington, D.C. topped the most recent list, with an average student debt of $29,793. Iowa ranked second with $28,174. Connecticut and New York rounded out the top five.
Students graduating from the University of New Hampshire in Durham in 2008 left with an average debt of $27,516.
Suzy Allen, director of financial aid for UNH, said her department works with students to help them graduate with as little debt as possible. Most students are going to need federal loans, but more often, students are turning to alternative sources, such as banks, to pay for their education, she said.
“With alternative loans, they are not backed by the federal government and the interest rates are typically higher,” she said. “They’re the least attractive loans for students, but in many cases, a very necessary loan for them.”
Going into the 2009-10 school year, the direct costs of attendance (tuition, fees, room and board) increased by 6.2 percent for in-state UNH students, to $21,617 a year.
Allen said the university has increased its aid for students who need assistance in paying for college.
“There’s still only limited resources,” she said. “With the economy the way it is, we’re seeing more and more needy students.”
The study gets its figures from estimates voluntarily provided by both public and private higher education institutions. Locally, Rivier College and Daniel Webster College did not provide data.
Graduates of Thomas More College in Merrimack left with an average debt of $16,667 last year.
The study also found that despite ever-increasing costs of college and student debt, it’s getting harder for college graduates to find work, especially during the recession.
The unemployment rate for college graduates ages 20 to 24 was 7.6 percent in the third quarter of 2008. By the third quarter of 2009, that figure had risen to 10.6 percent.
Plymouth State University graduates left with an average debt of $26,636 last year. At UNH-Manchester, graduates left with debt of $18,919.
Although they pay the highest tuition in the state, Dartmouth College graduates left with average debt of only $22,126 last year. Tuition at Dartmouth for the 2007-08 school year was $35,178 for in-state students.
Thomas Horgan, president of the New Hampshire College & University Council, said one of the driving factors for student debt being so high in New Hampshire is a lack of resources from the state.
“It’s no secret that New Hampshire usually ranks last in state appropriations and support to public education institutions,” he said.
Colleges and universities have been putting more money toward assisting students with financial need, he said. The University System of New Hampshire increased funding for financial aid by 14 percent this year.
“The pressure on the colleges to provide additional financial aid is probably at the highest it’s ever been,” he said. “That puts pressure on the operating budgets.”
At Keene State College, students graduated with an average debt of $24,995 last year. College officials at Keene State said they offer students debt counseling and have been encouraging students to meet one-on-one with someone in financial services before graduating.
Carol Stanmore, associate director of student financial services at Keene, said in an e-mail that she is seeing more students reach out to her department than ever before.
“I find during the course of our conversations many families are struggling due to one or both of the parents being recently laid-off from work or becoming underemployed,” she wrote.
Keene State recently organized a fundraising campaign to help students pay for college who were facing unforeseen circumstances due to the economy. The college has been able raise $195,850.
Horgan said the rising costs of college and the lack of financial support from the state is leading to fewer young people pursuing higher education. It is critical for leaders in higher education in the state to communicate with policymakers to figure out a solution, he said.
“If we don’t, we will truly put the New Hampshire advantage in jeopardy,” he said.
The report issued by The Project on Student Debt can be found at www.projecton studentdebt.org.
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