Tusculum College students are graduating with much lower private student loan debt than students attending colleges and universities nationwide, according to a new study conducted by The Student Loan Report.
The recently published study looked into how much private student loan debt students have when they graduate. In this study, Tusculum College ranked 87 out of 800 private schools in the United States.
The Student Loan Report, created in 2015, covers all student loan news nationally and internationally.
According to the report, the average private student loan per graduate borrower is $17,954, with only seven percent of all students having private student loans.
“The cost of education has been on the rise over the past decade which leads many college students to fall back on private student loans after federal options are exhausted,” the report stated. “The Student Loan Report wanted to highlight (and call out) some of the schools that leaves students with the least (and most) private student loan debt.”
Private student loans are known for higher interest rates and less forgiving repayment programs, and are offered by banks, credit unions, state agencies, or schools.
“At Tusculum, we want to see our students improve their lives through education,” said Dr. Paul Pinckley, vice president for enrollment management, marketing and financial aid. “This means that students should leave with the least amount of debt from loans as possible. Higher education is an investment, but it’s the value equation that we hope our future students consider.”
The data for this report, according to The Student Loan Report, comes from Peterson’s Financial Aid dataset and pertains to the graduated class of 2016.
Because private student loans have become much more common and, therefore, more detrimental to the development of graduates, Tusculum has made it a priority to reduce the amount of private student debt that students graduate with, which leads to a more successful career.
By Sydney McCallister, freshman English and history major from Greeneville