When the studying was over, Georgia's class of 2010 college graduates owed an average of nearly $19,000 in student loan debt.
But for the 55 percent of Georgia grads with student loan debt, college was still a better deal than in dozens of other states, according to a report published Thursday by The Project on Student Debt. Georgia ranked No. 44 in the state-by-state list of debt owed.
"Georgia remains one of the best education values in the country, and especially in the Southeast," Tracy Ireland, spokesman for the Georgia Student Finance Commission, told the AJC.
Still, in a struggling economy, student loan repayment can seem as hard as earning the degree itself.
After graduating from Etowah High School, Melissa Bennett says her family tried to talk her into staying close to home for college.
But that wasn't happening, Bennett said. She was headed to the University of Georgia, even if she had to pay for it herself.
This month, the 2010 graduate will be making her first of many college loan payments. Bennett, 23, owes a little over $22,000 for her four-year diploma. And many of her classmates are right there with her.
"If I had to pay for any school, I wanted to go to the one I wanted to go," Bennett told the AJC. "Even though it’s going to take forever to pay back.”
Nationwide, graduates carried an average debt load of $25,250, up 5 percent from the previous year and the highest amount on record. Georgians carried less loan debt than the national average, which indicates nearly two-thirds of 2010 graduates needed college loans to complete their 4-year degrees.
New Hampshire topped the list, with 74 percent of graduates owing an average of $31,048, according to the study's findings. The majority of the states where students owed the most are in the northeastern U.S. In Utah, where college debts were the lowest, grads owed $15,509, followed by Hawaii at $15,550.
The loans mom and dad got for junior's education were not included in the report. Bennett said her mom borrowed money to cover costs for her freshman year. For-profit schools were also not included in the research.
It's no secret that it typically costs more money to attend a private college or university rather than a public one. But those attending state schools still accumulate loan debt, even if degrees are a better deal in Georgia.
Southern Polytechnic State University graduates owed an average of $24,360 in loans, according to the report's findings on Georgia colleges and universities. It cost about $15,448 a year -- including tuition, room and board -- to attend the Cobb County university.
Among the state's largest public universities, Georgia Tech grads borrowed $21,838, Georgia State's borrowed $20,336, and University of Georgia grads needed $15,938. Graduates of Kennesaw State University, in contrast, owed less than a $1,000 each, on average.
But are all 4-year degrees equal? Not at all, according to Georgia Tech officials.
The Atlanta university was ranked No. 1 on SmartMoney magazine's list of 50 best colleges based on return of tuition investment. It cost more than $87,000 to attend Tech, but the median first-year salary for graduates is $57,300, according to the report.
So which Georgia graduates owed the most? The Savannah College of Art and Design holds the honor, with diploma holders owing $39,066. Total cost to attend the school is just over $40,000 a year.
Graduates' debt loads at Georgia's other private colleges and universities averaged nearly $31,000 at Shorter University, $30,460 at Mercer University, and around $26,000 at Agnes Scott College and Emory University. Berry College graduates owed an average of $12,412, despite the $36,000 total price tag a year to attend the Rome school.
Families with young children should begin the process of planning for college early in order to explore the various options for funding the education, Ireland said. Searching for financial aid options can help avoid the sticker shock down the road, he said.
The good news for graduates like Bennett? She has a job in her field. Many of her classmates don't.
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