According to a new study, many students in New York are burdened with more loan debts than other states after graduating college.
The study by WalletHub places New York near the bottom of a list of states that are friendly to student finances for high debt, high unemployment, and low home ownership figures.
Jill Gonzalez from WalletHub says all these factors work together to paint a bad picture for graduating students.
“For people ages 25 to 34 years old, the unemployment rate is now 7.8 percent,” she said. “So of course that unemployment rate then snowballs into that student debt rate. Right now, 14 percent of all borrowers are past due or in default on their student loans.”
Gonzalez said one thing that could help is if students were taught more about personal finances.
“Because so many students are going off to college now, they’re not weighing their options beforehand, they’re not realizing the differences between loans and grants, what you have to pay back and what you don’t,” she said. “I think instituting that curriculum in middle school or high school, before they’re even looking at college, could go a long way.”
New York ranks seventh-highest among all 50 states when it comes to the amount of debt students have to shoulder after college.
