US: national student loan debt higher than credit card debt

By Matthew Plant – Financial specialist

According to the Federal Reserve`s G.19 Consumer Credit June report, student loan debt in the US has surpassed the nation`s credit card debt, lsureveille.com reports.

In total, student debt has reached more than $830bn - $665bn from federal student loans and a further $168bn from private loans. And according to Mark Kantrowitz, publisher of FinAid.org and Fastweb.com, this is higher than the nation`s $826.5bn credit card debt.

Mr. Kantrowitz commented: "There has been significant growth in the total amount of student loan debt outstanding. About $300 billion in new student loan debt has been made in the last four years."

Associate Director of Undergraduate Admissions and Student Aid, Amy Marix, said that the `state of the economy has contributed to the growing debt`.

The news comes at a time when, in the UK, the tuition fees students pay for their university education are expected to rise - meaning students could graduate UK universities with debts of around £25,000.

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