Student loans climb: top 10 states with the highest college debt

Going to college or university isn't cheap, and with an average debt of $29,400, many graduates will be paying for their student loans long after graduation day. These states are home to the highest average student debts among loan-carrying, graduating seniors in 2012, according to The Institute for College Access and Success (TICAS). Can you guess which state had the highest? 

8. New Jersey

Mel Evans/AP/File
A person walks with an umbrella at Princeton University in Princeton, N.J., Monday, Dec. 9, 2013. Seniors who graduated from the school in 2012 had an average debt of $5,096.

Average debt: $29,287

Students with debt: 65 percent

Felician College was highest among New Jersey schools that reported graduating seniors with debt – an average of $38,598 per student in 2012. That figure was roughly $3,500 higher than the public school with the highest debt, Rowan University.

Princeton University reported the lowest average debt in the state, at 5,096. Less than one-quarter of Princeton seniors owed money when they finished school, according to the survey.

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