These 20 schools are behind a large amount of Americans' grad school debt
Student loan debt in the US continues to skyrocket, reaching a staggering $1.19 trillion as of the first quarter of 2015. That sets it far above car loans and credit card debt numbers which were $968 billion and $684 billion respectively.
Students come out of colleges or graduate schools with seemingly insurmountable debt, but surprisingly, the percentage of debt for graduate schools is not evenly distributed, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education.
Below are the 20 graduate schools that receive a large chunk of student loans. Interestingly, the list includes a mix of prestigious institutions, like the Ivy League's Columbia University, and for-profit schools, such as the University of Phoenix.
These 20 schools contribute to 12% of the graduate student population but receive 20% of student loans.
There has been increasing scrutiny on the debt that students subsume in pursuit of associate and bachelor's degrees, but conversations from lawmakers rarely veer in the direction of graduate programs.
But graduate school debt is actually contributing to a growing share of student debt. Though graduate students only make up 14% of higher ed enrollment, they owe about 40% of the outstanding student debt, Time reported last year.
That large share of the student debt burden necessitates more discussion about graduate program contribution to the growing levels of student loans.