How Student Debt is Dramatically Affecting Millennials' Lives Infographic

How Student Debt is Dramatically Affecting Millennials' Lives Infographic

Here are some things we know about Millennials: they have record amounts of student debt. They are renting or sharing, rather than buying. And they are pushing major life milestones, such as marriage, back further than ever.

While each of these statistics has myriad causes and effects, a new survey from the online education website Study.com finds that high levels of student debt has had a widespread and persistent impact on how many Millennials live their lives. In particular, Study.com recently polled recent college graduates on how much student debt they took on and what that meant for these students later in life. The How Student Debt is Dramatically Affecting Millennials' Lives Infographic presents the findings:

• 51% of survey respondents left college with more than $10,000 in debt. In comparison, a similar survey of Baby Boomers that we conducted found only 26% of Boomers graduated with a similar amount. A few recent graduates left school with more than $100,000 in debt, whereas when the Boomers graduated, this amount of debt was unheard of.
• This debt is affecting young graduates' lives: 42% report that debt affected their choice to pursue major purchases like a car or house, 28% reported debt affected major life decisions like marriage or children.
• 39% of survey respondents said they graduated with a lot of debt, which they felt would be hard to pay off.
• 79% of respondents said student loans were a major problem for young people in general; only 4% of respondents disagreed.
• Only 20% of respondents said they understood college tuition and debt well when they first started school.