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The following statistics about cumulative education debt at graduation were calculated using the data analysis system for the 2003-2004 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS) conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) at the US Department of Education. The 2003-2004 NPSAS surveyed 80,000 undergraduate students and 11,000 graduate and professional students. These statistics are not necessarily available from published NPSAS reports.

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These statistics reflect the weights as revised by NCES in June 2009. The original data had been incorrectly weighted according to gross loan commitments instead of net loan disbursements. In most cases this leads to lower cumulative debt figures in 2003-04.

Few students can afford to pay for college without some form of education financing. Two-thirds (64.5%) of 4-year undergraduate students graduated with a Bachelor's degree and some debt in 2003-04, and the average student loan debt among graduating seniors was $18,630 (excluding PLUS Loans but including Stafford, Perkins, state, college and private loans). (The median is $16,751. One quarter of undergraduate students borrow $24,140 or more, and one tenth borrow $35,000 or more.) For federal student loan debt (excluding PLUS Loans), the figures are 60.8% and $16,402. Average cumulative debt increases by about 3% or approximately $550 a year. When one includes PLUS loans in the total, 64.5% of 4-year undergraduate students graduated with some debt in 2003-04, and the average cumulative debt incurred is $21,159. (Approximately one in ten (10.4%) parents borrow PLUS loans for their children's college education, with a cumulative PLUS loan debt of $16,086.)

The following table shows the percentage of students borrowing and average cumulative debt per borrower (excluding PLUS Loans) at graduation according to type of educational institution but not restricted by degree program.

	Undergraduate Education Debt
Institution Level & Control	Percent Borrowing	Cumulative Debt
Overall Total (4, 2 and < 2 year)	53.5%	$15,258
Public	45.0%	$14,206
Private Non-Profit	69.7%	$20,525
Private For-Profit	85.6%	$11,688
4-year Total	64.5%	$18,417
4-year Public	60.5%	$16,732
4-year Private Non-Profit	70.9%	$20,891
4-year Private For-Profit	85.5%	$22,961
2-year Total	33.8%	$9,409
2-year Public	29.0%	$8,805
2-year Private Non-Profit	63.4%	$11,183
2-year Private For-Profit	90.2%	$11,665
< 2-year Total	70.1%	$7,257
< 2-year Public	28.6%	$7,185
< 2-year Private Non-Profit	18.1%	$3,774
< 2-year Private For-Profit	83.4%	$7,305

Graduate and professional students borrow even more, with the additional debt for a graduate degree ranging from $26,000 to $105,000. The median additional debt is $22,000 for a Master's degree, $40,542 for a doctoral degree and $69,515 for a professional degree. A quarter of graduate and professional students borrow more than $33,835 for a Master's degree, more than $75,747 for a doctoral degree and more than $104,370 for a professional degree. At the 90th percentile cumulative debt for graduate and professional degrees exceeds $50,000 for a Master's degree, $103,175 for a doctoral degree and $140,000 for a professional degree.

The following table shows the percentage borrowing and average amount of cumulative debt per borrower among graduating students according to degree program. It provides the amounts borrowed for just the graduate education and also the combined totals for undergraduate and graduate education.

	Graduate Education Debt		All Education Debt (Grad & Undergrad)
Graduate & Professional Degree Programs	Percent Borrowing	Cumulative Debt	Percent Borrowing	Cumulative Debt
Total	56.0%	$37,310	68.2%	$42,000
Master's Degree	53.2%	$27,003	66.8%	$32,603
Doctoral Degree	48.8%	$48,712	57.8%	$51,637
Professional Degree	85.0%	$77,854	87.2%	$88,437
Master of Business Administration (MBA)	49.0%	$34,033	61.5%	$39,270
Master of Social Work (MSW)	76.1%	$26,257	80.7%	$37,181
Master of Science (MS)	43.0%	$27,751	59.0%	$31,965
Master of Arts (MA)	57.4%	$25,807	70.1%	$34,107
PhD	37.8%	$39,186	47.1%	$41,655
EdD	52.8%	$48,502	65.1%	$47,246
Law (LLB or JD)	86.5%	$70,431	88.4%	$80,627
Medicine or Osteopathic Medicine	93.5%	$105,476	93.5%	$117,520