Physical Therapist Student Loan Debt

The cost of higher education in the United States is big news. One major reason for the media attention is rising student loan debt. Concerns about rising student loan debt are being voiced at the federal government level¹ and by political candidates,^2,3 institutions of higher education,⁴ professional organizations,^5,6 and, of course, consumers.⁷

There seems to be little agreement on the reasons for escalating costs, although there is nearly universal agreement that the costs are out of control. Various authors have argued for and against the effects of several factors on increasing costs, including growing numbers of institutional administrators,^8,9 increasing federal regulation,¹⁰ new campus buildings to attract students,^9,11 rising costs of employee health insurance,¹² costs of intercollegiate sports,⁹ and an increasing proportion of professors staying beyond traditional retirement age.¹³ State support for public institutions has declined over the past 2 to 3 decades,^9,14,15 and both public and private institutions saw declines in gifts and endowments during the recent recession.⁹ Consequently, institutions have charged students more to make up for budget deficits.¹⁵ The result is that over the past 3 decades, tuition and fees have increased approximately 210% at 4-year public universities and by approximately 130% at private 4-year nonprofit institutions,⁹ while median household income has increased by approximately 2%.¹⁵ Although tuition increases have been accompanied by expansion of financial aid packages, increasing proportions of those packages are in the form of loans.^9,16 Taken together, these forces have caused higher education costs to outstrip the capacity of many family budgets, requiring more borrowing than in the past.

Consequences of high student loan debt are reported to include delays in starting families, …