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20 Schools Are Responsible for One-Fifth of All Federal Graduate Student Loan Debt

July 21, 2015 | Adam S. Minsky, Esq. Articles Current Events

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Around $32 billion in federal student loans are disbursed to graduate students every year. That’s a drop in the bucket compared to the total amount of outstanding student loan debt – somewhere around $1.3 trillion – but at $32 billion per year and rising, graduate students are increasingly becoming some of the most overburdened student loan borrowers.

A new study by the Center for American Progress found that a group of 20 universities was responsible for one fifth of the total amount of federal graduate student loans disbursed during 2013-2014 academic year. That’s about $6.5 billion, disbursed in one academic year, by only 20 universities. Despite their disproportionate share of graduate student loans (there are a lot of graduate programs at a lot of universities), these 20 schools only educated about 12% of all graduate students. In other words, their share of the student debt load is not at all proportional to the number of students they are educating in their graduate programs. Even more surprising is that the majority of the debt is not attributable to medical or law degree programs (which typically have the highest student loan debt burdens); rather, the majority of the student debt is funding Master’s degree programs.

What is particularly fascinating to me is the diversity of schools represented on this list. Some are prestigious, highly-ranked non-profit universities. Others are massive for-profit degree mills whose presence on this list wouldn’t surprise too many people. There’s even a public state university on the list. It seems that across the board, the “best” and “worst” schools, public and private schools, non-profit and for-profit schools, are all contributing to the massive student loan debt burden that we have in this country.

Here’s the list of the 20 universities, starting with the highest amount of federal graduate student loans disbursed during the 2013-2014 academic year (over $756 million) to the lowest (more than $185 million):

  1. Walden University
  2. Nova Southeastern University
  3. University of Phoenix
  4. New York University
  5. University of Southern California
  6. Capella University
  7. Liberty University
  8. Midwestern University
  9. Grand Canyon University
  10. Strayer University
  11. Columbia University
  12. St. George’s University
  13. Kaplan University
  14. Ross University
  15. Georgetown University
  16. DeVry University
  17. George Washington University
  18. Agrosy University
  19. Rutgers University
  20. Western University of Health Sciences

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About Adam S. Minsky, Esq.

Adam S. Minsky founded the first law office in Massachusetts devoted entirely to assisting student loan borrowers, and he is one of the only attorneys in the country practicing in this area of law. He provides counsel, legal assistance, and direct advocacy for borrowers on a variety of student loan-related matters. He regularly speaks to students, graduates, and advocates about the latest developments in higher education financing.

Books by Adam S. Minsky

The Student Loan Handbook for Law Students and Attorneys

The Student Loan Handbook for Law Students and Attorneys

Student Loan Debt 101

Student Loan Debt 101: The Definitive Guide to Understanding and Managing Your Student Loans

Student Loans for Parents and Cosigners

The Student Loan Guide for Parents and Cosigners

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