The total outstanding student loan debt in the United States has surpassed $1 trillion, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said. The number was much larger than estimated in numerous other studies, Rohit Chophra, CFPB’s student loan ombudsman, said March 21.
The staggering number came from the bureau’s first major study of the private student loan debt market. Chophra called the findings “sobering.”
Students earned $117 billion in federal student loan debt alone last year, the bureau found. That does not count private student loans, which do not have income-based repayment and deferment options like federal loans.
And it’s not just current students taking out loans that are contributing to the ballooning figure — it’s also the growing number of those who have already graduated and are unable to keep up with interest payments.
Suffolk Jewelers & Pawnbrokers helps both current students and graduates obtain loans outside of a bank or credit union. Suffolk does not run a credit check for a loan since the loans are based on collateral. And a collateral loan never affects your credit rating. Find out more about collateral loaning.