Heavy debt loads are weighing heavily on today's college graduates just
as they start out on their careers, according to a new survey.
In the survey by
AllianceBernstein Investments, 34% of the responding graduates say they
have sold possessions to make ends meet.
Also, 42% say they
live paycheck-to-paycheck and 27% say they have delayed getting a
medical or dental procedure because of tight finances.
"Large amounts of
college debt put graduates in a hole that can take years, even decades,
from which to emerge," said Richard A. Davies, senior managing director
of retirement and college savings plans with AllianceBernstein.
"Funding a college
education isn't just about those four years-it's about a young adult's
ability to start a family, buy a house and, ultimately, even to one day
retire," he said.
The Internet
survey of 1,508 graduates aged 21 to 35 found that 34% of graduates
with college debt have sold possessions such as furniture, clothing and
CDs to make ends meet-compared to only 17% of those without debt.
The debt is partly
due to increasing higher education costs, with recent surveys showing
that the costs for attending a private four-year university have risen
5.3% annually over the past decade, according to the survey.
Of those paying
off college debt, 39% said it will take them more than 10 years.
Forty-three percent of graduates with debt used a credit card to pay
tuition and other college expenses, according to the survey.