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SALT LAKE CITY -- The latest student loan figures give a fresh snapshot of what many experts call an alarming reliance on borrowed money to pay for college.
Figures compiled by The Project on Student Debt show members of the class of 2010 who took out student loans owed on average $25,250 upon graduation, a 5 percent increase from the class of 2009.
Related:
Avoid these common student financial aid mistakes
When it comes to paying for college, many parents and students may end up spending more than necessary because they made some common mistakes when seeking financial aid."It's ridiculous," one student said. "I have to pay a couple hundred just in books alone."
Roughly two-thirds of the class of 2010 borrowed for college, and they faced a 9.1 percent unemployment rate for new college graduates. That's still less than half the rate for people with just a high school diploma.
The figures do not include students at for-profit colleges, where students borrow nearly 50 percent more.
Students in the Northeast and Midwest generally had substantially higher debts than those in the West.
Complaints about student debt have been front and center at a number of the Occupy Wall Street protests.
Financial aid counselors said many students make the same mistake - they don't apply for scholarships or free federal aid, because they don't think they qualify. They say apply for everything and apply early -students could get money they don't have to pay back.
Written by Associated Press with contributions from Mary Richards.
