R.I. graduates average $24K in debt

PROVIDENCE – Rhode Island college seniors who graduated in 2008 carried an average student loan debt of $24,973, ninth highest in the country, according to a new report.
Students in the Washington, D.C., and Iowa graduated with the highest average debt levels: $29,793 and $28,174, respectively, said the report by the Project on Student Debt.
Those in Utah had the lowest average debt at $13,041.
Nationally, the average student loan debt climbed 6 percent over four years to $18,650 in 2008, the report said.
“With debt and unemployment at record levels, young college graduates may feel stuck between a rock and hard place,” said Lauren Asher, president of the Institute for College Access & Success, which oversees the Project on Student Debt. “Rising student debt is a serious problem, but struggling borrowers do have options to help manage their federal student loan debt, such as unemployment deferments and the new Income-Based Repayment program.”
Five of the six New England states appear on the top-10 list of those with the highest debt, and Massachusetts ranked 16th, with an average student loan debt of $23,125.
The report noted the high concentration of Northeast states with high debt averages, saying that it was likely because those states tend to have more students attending more-expensive private colleges.
Connecticut ranked third, with an average student loan debt of $26,138; New Hampshire fifth at $25,785; Vermont eighth at $25,047; and Maine 10th at $24,916.
The Project on Student Debt said 69 percent of the class of 2008 in Rhode Island graduated with debt, ranking it ninth in the country.