Minnesota college students have long been marked as some of the nation's most indebted. Turns out it's even worse than we knew.
The most complete picture of student loan debt in the state shows that 2010 graduates who borrowed had an average load of $29,800.
That total beats a previous estimate, probably because for the first time the number includes for-profit colleges. Their graduates borrowed more — $45,100, on average.
The new report from the Minnesota Office of Higher Education is part of a national push for better information about college graduates' growing debt. Minnesota's numbers are some of the most complete in the country, experts say.
The report also gives a first look at student loan debt for two-year degree earners. There, too, graduates of for-profit schools bore more debt, about $26,900, compared with $14,700 at public two-year colleges.
Together with default rates, which indicate whether graduates are paying back that debt, the data illustrate the burden and spotlight colleges where students are most indebted.
Students at the Art Institutes International Minnesota left with the state's biggest debt loads for two- and four-year degrees. Nine out of 10 of its associate-degree recipients had debt, with an average of $36,100. The average for bachelor's degrees: $55,200.
Julia Fristedt said she knew that attending the Art Institutes would be pricey and that the for-profit school's agenda "is not purely education." But she believed it would be worth it for the small class sizes and downtown Minneapolis campus, she said.