While college is known to be a drain on students’ energy, UF graduates have less strain on their wallets.
A study released this month by the Institute for College Access and Success found that the average debt for students who graduated in 2011 was about $26,000, putting Florida near the bottom of the list.
The state with the highest graduating debt was New Hampshire, with about $32,000. Hawaii and Utah had the lowest, with about $17,000. Florida had an average student debt of $23,000.
“Two-thirds of students nationally graduate with student-loan debt,” said Steve Orlando, UF spokesman, in an email. “At UF, two-thirds of students graduate without debt.”
Fifty-one percent of Florida students who graduated in 2011 had debt from student loans.
Orlando said UF graduates have an average debt of about $17,000.
Students who choose to take out loans do so because they don’t get enough money to cover their expenses from Federal Pell Grants and other scholarships.
Family, youth and community sciences junior Valerie Valcourt, 20, said she took out a loan once she started school because her scholarships didn’t cover food and housing.
She said she’ll graduate with about $20,000 in debt.
“Once you get past the 20s, it gets really bad,” she said.
Orlando said the university encourages students to graduate in a timely manner to avoid extra debt.
“Our four-year graduation rate is 65 percent, and our six-year graduation rate is 83 percent,” he said. “The more quickly you graduate, the less time you have to build up debt.”
Scholarships such as Federal Pell Grants are not providing students money for Summer terms. Only loans are available.
UF students have also seen a tuition increase this year.
Orlando said there has been an increase in the amount of student loan debt as tuition rises. But he said UF students still graduate with less debt than the national average.
He said more than 96 percent of UF freshmen qualify for Bright Futures.
“UF’s tuition, $6,143 a year, is much lower than the national average for public universities of more than $8,200,” Orlando said.
UF sociology junior Luisa Jorge, 24, said she has not had to take out a loan yet because scholarships have covered all her expenses so far.
Jorge works part time now but said because of the tuition raise, she expects to take out a loan for $2,500 next semester. More core classes mean more expenses and less time for her job, she said.
Political science sophomore Marine Robbins, 19, said she took out a loan, too.
“I chose to go to UF because the financial opportunity was better for me here,” she said. “Comparatively speaking, Florida is still a cheap state.”
