It’s already 2017 and Americans seem to be burdened more by student education debt than ever before. That Americans already owe around $1.3 trillion is stale news now and that this debt amount is spread among 45 million borrowers is also something known to our citizens. The average 2016 class of graduates has $38,198 in the form of student loan debt, which is up from 6% since last year. If we break this down at a more granular level, there will arise questions like whether or not student loans are being used to attend private or public universities. What is the percentage of graduates who hold education debt?

This year, many more students have defaulted on their college loans than what the American government ever believed. The Department of Education claimed that they had mostly inflated student loan repayment rates at most trade schools and colleges and that now they have offered the updated numbers.

What does the new analysis say?

As per the new analysis, way more than 1000 trade schools and colleges which is equivalent to the quarter of the total, half of the students were unable to pay back even $1 of their total debt amount throughout a span of 7 years. Such changes have significant connotations for government policy and there are even some lawmakers who have promoted the idea of penalizing colleges where more than average students weren’t able to pay back their student loans.

Did the problem stem out from a technical programming blunder?

No, this is not at all the first time when there have been issues related to data which have had an impact on the Department of Education. As per a recent government report, there were too many criticisms on the way in which departments track information including student loan forgiveness and its implications on budget.

This is entirely a quality control problem with the Department of Education which has been facing enough controversies for other data issues. An eminent professor has said that the department requires to be audited daily so that they can stop the occurence of such problems.

Student loan debt facts that’ll shock you

If you want to take a close look at the general picture of the student loan debt landscape, you should know some of the most recent statistics and what they indicate.

• $1.3 trillion in the form of total student loan debt in the US
• 44 million Americans bear a heavy burden of student loan debt
• Delinquency rates of student loans are at 12.1%
• Median student loan payments for a month is $205
• Average student loan payments for a month are $352

Clearly, as to what is shown by the above mentioned student loan debt statistics, it is gradually becoming a huge burden to bear the cost of attending college. What steps are you taking to pay off your student loan debt? Do share your opinions on student loan debt with us.