Editor’s note: The last names in this article were shortened to protect personal data.
As the saying goes, “You can take the person out of MSU, but you can’t take MSU out of the person.” And as MSU’s most recent alumni prepare to join the workforce, many of them will have an unpleasant part of MSU remaining with them: debt.
Total student loan debt, which reached $1 trillion nationally earlier this year, is a hot topic among students, university administration and politicians alike as college costs continue to rise.
Of the 9,407 seniors who graduated from MSU in 2011, the Office of Financial Aid reports 65 percent of them borrowed money in federal Stafford loans.
MSU’s average post-graduation debt is $23,725, slightly lower than the average debt among students at all Big Ten universities, which was $25,699 in fall 2011, according to The College Board.
Each borrower’s financial background is unique, and each person’s debts show a different portrait of the financial support and hardships of attending MSU.
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