New Hampshire Students Hold The Highest Average Student Debt In The Nation

In this April 30, 2012, file photo, students walk across campus at the University of Vermont in Burlington, Vt. The sticker price of in-state tuition at four-year public universities climbed about $400 this fall, an increase of nearly 5 percent that brought the average to $8,655. That’s a modest increase compared to recent years but still painful for families with stagnant incomes after a prolonged economic slump. New Hampshire and Vermont have the highest published in-state tuition charges, at around $14,000 each. Wyoming has the lowest at $4,287, followed by Utah at $5,595.
CREDIT: AP Photo/Toby Talbot

The national average for student debt in 2011 was $26,000 per borrower. However, New Hampshire is ranked number one on the Project on Student Debt website with the highest state average of about $32,440 per borrower. That’s $6,440 more than the national average.

The recent article Report: Soaring Debt in NH a Result of Many Factors, gives a brief summary of a new report that addresses why student debt tends to be higher in the state of New Hampshire. According to the report, the reason is due to multiple factors.

The first reason that is addressed in article is the lack of low-cost public colleges in the state of New Hampshire. The average in-state cost for four-year public college is $14,576 and $6,752 for a two-year public college. In comparison to the national average of college tuition is $8,655 for public four-year and $3,131 for public two-year institutions.

Another reason is that New Hampshire has a higher average income of $63,280 compared to the national average of $51,371. The $11,909 difference makes it more difficult to receive need-based grants than in other states.

According to the report prepared by Polecon Research, “High tuition and low levels of grant aid at New Hampshire’s public colleges contribute significantly to high debt levels among college students from New Hampshire because they eliminate or reduce the effectiveness of a primary path by which students limit college costs and student debt—attending a low-cost, in-state, public college.”

The report does not suggest any possible solutions to avoid high debt for colleges or students; however, it did point out that the tuition for in-state institutions would be frozen for the next two years. This will be the first time the tuition has not increased in 25 years for New Hampshire students.

A major concern is that if the issue is not resolved sooner than later, it will discourage many individuals from attending college in the state and is considered as an unwise decision with inevitable consequences.

—Rhonda Brown.