Minnesota College Grad Debt High Among Highest in the U.S.

By Brett Stolpestad

Student debt in Minnesota rose to a new high in 2011 with an average of $29,800, making Minnesota graduates some of the most indebted graduates in the nation, the Star Tribune reported.

The average for Minnesota grad debt has increased to $26,600 this year, an increase of five percent from the previous year, the Star Tribune reported.

The findings came from a report from The Institute for College Access and Success released Thursday, Oct. 8th. The reports revealed that Minnesota trails only Pennsylvania and New Hampshire in states with the highest amounts of graduate student debt, the Pioneer Press reported.

About 71 percent of college graduates took out loans from the state's private and public four-year universities and ended up with an average debt more than $3,000 dollars higher than the national average, the Star Tribune reported.