Vt., N.H., high in student loan burden
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Published: November 11, 2008
BURLINGTON (AP) — A new national survey ranks New Hampshire second — behind Iowa — and Vermont fourth, behind Alaska, in the amount of debt students pile up getting through college.
The Project on Student Debt says that after four years of college, the average Iowa student graduates with $26,208 in debt. In New Hampshire, the figure is $25,211; Alaska's is $24,970 and Vermont's is $24,329.
There's concern in Vermont that student debt loads may prompt young people to leave the state. Some find it easier to pay a $300 or $400 monthly student loan bill with the higher salaries they can earn in New York or Boston.
Underlying college costs are cited as the cause. They jumped 6 percent at Vermont's public colleges from 2006 to 2007.
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