Americans Look Abroad to Avoid Student Loan Blues

By Bobbi Dempsey. Frustrated by the lack of affordable college options at home, American students are increasingly looking beyond our borders for ways to get an education without jeopardizing their financial future. Universities in Canada and even farther afield offer comparable quality at a lower cost -- but you have to know where to look.
When you run the numbers, it's no wonder U.S. students are looking abroad. Two-thirds of college seniors who graduated in 2011 had student loan debt, with an average of $26,600 per borrower, according to the Project on Student Debt. That represents a 5 percent increase from just a year earlier -- an annual rate of growth that has become standard in recent years. The reason students need to borrow so much money? Soaring tuition costs. Statistics from the U.S. Department of Education show that annual prices for undergraduate tuition, room and board at public institutions rose 42 percent to more than $13,600, and prices at private not-for-profit institutions rose 31 percent (after adjusting for inflation) to $36,300 for the period between 2000-01 and 2010-11. More...