8% of Florida students default on school loans
Six months after graduation, those first student loan bills start arriving and for a Florida student in 2009, the average amount owed was about $21,000, according to the California-based Institute for College Access & Success. In this market, many graduates are unable to get the high-paying jobs needed to pay that debt.
Student loan debt nationwide now tops $913 billion and surpassed credit card debt for the first time last year, a study from college financial aid website FinAid has found.