A 2018 Federal Reserve report confirms that black https://badcreditloanshelp.net/payday-loans-fl/ and Hispanic borrowers are much more likely than white borrowers to fall behind on their loan payments. And white borrowers are three times more likely to have paid off their debt than black or Hispanic borrowers.
Student loan debt by gender
Women tend to borrow more money for college than men. An estimated 41% of female undergraduates took on debt during the 201516 academic year, according to the American Association of University Women (AAUW), compared to 35% of male undergraduates. In fact, the AAUW estimates that females hold almost two-thirds of total outstanding U.S. student debt — close to $929 billion as of early 2019. And, as of 2016, women with bachelor’s degrees had an average of $21,619 in outstanding debt. For men, however, the average debt was just $18,880.
Part of the reason why women carry more outstanding debt boils down to the gender wage gap. Since women are likely to earn less than their male counterparts, they often have a harder time getting ahead on their student loans.
Female college graduates with full-time jobs start out earning 18% less than their male counterparts one year after graduation. By four years post-graduation, that gap reaches 20%. As such, women are slower to repay what they owe.
Total federal student loan debt
S. Department of Education and private loans given out by banks and other non-government lenders. An estimated 92% of student loans are federal according to academic data firm MeasureOne. Of the 44.7 million borrowers with student loan debt, 43 million owe money in federal loans.
Federal Direct Loans are government-funded student loans offered to undergraduates, graduate students, and parents of college students. These loans can be subsidized or unsubsidized, and of the three categories above, Direct Loans are the only type that still exists.
FFEL loans were once issued under the Federal Family Education Loan program, and those loans were private ones subsidized and guaranteed by the federal government. That program ended in 2010. Perkins Loans, meanwhile, were government loans that featured a lengthy grace period and a low fixed interest rate, but they stopped being issued in 2017.
Total private student loan debt
Private loans comprise an estimated 7.71% of total outstanding U.S. student loan debt, according to MeasureOne. And that’s a good thing, because private loans don’t come with the same protections as federal loans, making it easier for borrowers to fall behind.
To date, there’s $ billion in outstanding private student loan debt. That ount of federal student debt out there, but it’s important to note that private student loan debt has been increasing year over year.
Student loan repayment status
Not everyone who takes out student loans can make good on those payments. Unfortunately, skipping payments can wreak havoc on a borrower’s credit score, making it more difficult to get approved for future financing. Not only that, but those who default on their student debt risk having their wages garnished, thereby creating a serious financial hardship.
The Federal Reserve reported in 2018 that, among borrowers who took out student loans to fund their own education, 20% were behind on their payments. Those who didn’t complete their degrees were the most likely to fall behind.
Federal student loan repayment
Federal loan borrowers are considered to be in default once they go 270 days without making a payment. As of the first quarter of 2019, there are an estimated 5.2 million federal student loan borrowers in default. By contrast, 18.6 million borrowers are current on their federal loan payments.