Student debt levels off at UW-Madison

Undergraduate student loan debt at the university is leveling off, according to the Office of Student Financial Services.

Average loan debt for students who earned their bachelor’s degrees in the 1999-2000 academic year was $15,950, up just $35 from the previous year. In 1998-99, average undergraduate student loan debt actually dropped to $15,915 from the 1997-98 figure of $16,721.

The actual number of students graduating with loan debt decreased as well. Of the 5,462 undergraduates who completed their degrees this spring, 2,515 graduated with some student loan debt amount. In 1998-99, 2,551 bachelor’s degree graduates out of 5,550 finished with some loan debt.

As a percentage, the number of undergraduates with student loan debt upon graduation remained constant: 46 percent in 1999-2000, 45.9 percent the year before. In 1997-98, the percentage was 46.5 percent.

“Undergraduate student loan debt has leveled off,” says Steve Van Ess, director of student financial services. “This may be due, in part, to the fact that the federal government has not increased the annual or cumulative loan limits in recent years.”

Van Ess cautions that there is some evidence of growing credit card and other debt among students that is not reflected in the annual student debt report prepared by his office.

The average student loan debt loads for other students who graduated from the university in 1999-2000, compared to 1998-99, are as follows: Master’s degree, $23,576, down from $24,352; Ph.D., $28,780, up from $23,742; Law, $50,298, up from $44,715; Medicine, $102,253, up from $94,142; Veterinary Medicine, $59,697, down from $60,398. Average debt from student loans for students graduating from the doctor of pharmacy program in 1999-2000 was $29,599; previous years’ figures were not available.

Van Ess’ office also announced that student loan default rates at UW–Madison continue to track much lower than state and national averages.

The default rate on the Stafford Loan, the most common form of student loan, was 2.1 percent among UW–Madison students in 1997-98, the most recent year for which figures are available. Wisconsin’s default rate was 4.7 percent, while the national average was 6.9 percent.

“UW-Madison borrowers continue to take their loan repayment responsibilities seriously and do an excellent job of repaying their student loans,” Van Ess says. “UW-Madison admits highly qualified students with an excellent chance of academic success and provides them with a quality education. They are then able to find reasonable employment and repay their student loans.”

Van Ess says the nation’s strong economy is helping keep the student loan default rate low as well