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A Snapshot of Federal Student Loan Debt (CRS Report for Congress)

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Release Date Revised Dec. 2, 2022
Report Number IF10158
Report Type In Focus
Authors David P. Smole
Source Agency Congressional Research Service
Older Revisions
  • Premium   Revised Feb. 4, 2019 (2 pages, $24.95) add
  • Premium   March 23, 2015 (2 pages, $24.95) add
Summary:

A growing reliance on federal student loans to finance increasingly costly postsecondary education expenses has resulted in borrowers accumulating larger amounts of student loan debt. By a number of metrics, the debt being incurred by current borrowers is considerably larger than amounts incurred by past cohorts. Many borrowers also are taking advantage of repayment flexibilities that allow them to extend the period over which they repay their loans, but which may lead to larger overall amounts paid due to increased interest expenses. In aggregate terms, the federal student loan portfolio has grown considerably in recent years and the outstanding balance of federal student loans now exceeds $1 trillion—more than a tenfold increase over the outstanding balance two decades ago.