Washington — The percentage of students taking out private loans has increased by nine percentage points over the past five years, from 5 percent to 14 percent, according to a new analysis of Education Department data that was released last week.
The biggest jump in borrowing occurred at for-profit institutions, where the share of students with private loans grew from 14 percent to 43 percent in the years from 2003-4 to 2007-8, according to the analysis, which was prepared by the Project on Student Debt. Both proprietary institutions and four-year private colleges had disproportionate shares of students who took out private loans during that five-year period.
Not surprisingly, students attending higher-cost colleges — those charging $10,000 or more a year in tuition and fees — were more likely to use private loans than were students attending less costly institutions.
Among students taking out private loans, 26 percent did not use federal loans, up from 22 percent in 2003-4. —Kelly Field
