Ah, graduation. A time for celebration and pride. A time for family and friends. A time to start paying back all those student loans. And the Class of 2013 has a lot to repay. Here are some sobering statistics:

• The average student loan debt burden for a graduating college student with a bachelor’s degree is now $30,000. That is the highest amount ever, and more than double what it was 20 years ago.
• Total student loan debt in the country is now estimated to be $986 billion, a huge increase over just the past few years. In fact, total student loan debt has tripled over the past decade.
• 70% of students graduating in 2013 are graduating with debt.

Don’t worry, it’s not all bad news. Unemployment rates for recent graduates are the lowest they have been since the Great Recession began. And the Class of 2013 is unlikely to hold the distinction as “most indebted” for long, since it is widely expected that the Class of 2014 will eclipse these accomplishments.

To read more about these numbers, click here, here, and here.

And if you are a recent graduate, check out my article that provides some tips for graduating student loan borrowers.