#Average american finances 2015 professional#

Noteĭespite these advantages, student debt is a financial obligation for many graduates and, depending on the size of the debt, it may delay certain important life transitions, such as starting a family, building investments or purchasing a home. Note For example, postsecondary graduates often have access to higher-paying jobs, and are better protected from unemployment and underemployment. Factors associated with slower debt repayment included having a large amount of student debt at graduation, living in the Atlantic provinces or in Quebec, graduating at an older age, and having a disability.Įarning a postsecondary qualification brings many advantages to young Canadian graduates entering the labour market, and ensures a good return for each dollar spent on education. Having a smaller debt size at graduation, having a higher employment income, living in Ontario and being in a couple with no children was associated with faster student debt repayment.This proportion was similar across levels of study. Overall, 64% of the graduates in 2015 who graduated with student debt still had an outstanding debt after three years.Among those who graduated with student debt in 2015, most (74%) reported that they had government-sponsored student loans. Three in four students who graduated with student debt in 2015 had loans from only one source.

#Average american finances 2015 professional#

College graduates had the lowest amount ($11,500 in 2015) of median student debt and professional graduates the highest ($60,300 in 2015).

The proportion of graduates with student debt varied little between 20, and the median amount of student debt at graduation also remained relatively stable in real terms during this period.

This proportion was lower among graduates with a doctorate degree (36%) and higher among graduates with a professional degree (i.e., bachelor’s degree or university certificate or diploma above a bachelor’s degree in law, medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine, optometry or pharmacy) (85%).

Approximately half of graduates who graduated in 2015 reported that they had student debt when they completed their program.

Also, focussing on the 2015 cohort of graduates, the study examines the debt by field of study and by sources of financing, as well as the link between the characteristics of the students with student debt at graduation and the reduction of their debt three years after. Using data from the last four cycles of the National Graduates Survey (NGS), this study examines changes in the proportion of students with student debt over time, as well as the median amount of debt at graduation.