Alex Palmer's student loans are tipping the scale at about $36,000, which is more than $26,000 above the national average, according to data recently released by The National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES).
Palmer (senior-public relations) is one of the 66 percent of college students that received financial aid during the 2007-08 school year, according to the recent data.
According to the study, the total average amount of aid received was $9,100 per student.
"That seems really low," Pia Capra (junior-information sciences and technology) said. "I know people who could easily double, if not triple, that amount."
At University Park, the average undergraduate student receives $9,698 in financial aid.
Palmer agreed with Capra and said he thinks the average amount of money needed for most students would be about $20,000 per year. If it weren't for the loans, Palmer said, he would not be in school.
"I was raised by a single mother, and the only reason why I am able to be in school is because of loan systems like the [Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)]," Palmer said. "I will have to pay for all of them, but they were taken out in my parent's name, like most people probably do."
Palmer said he thinks his numbers are high because his family was never able to create a college fund for him, but believes other students do not have to rely on loans because they have other sources available.
While students are worrying about their current aid, those who have graduated are also having difficulty with repaying student loans. The U.S. Department of Education reported a jump in student loan defaults from 5.2 percent last year to 6.9 percent this year.
But 33 percent of students go through college without any form of financial aid, according to the NCES study. Capra, who is a New Jersey native, is part of this minority: Her parents pay for school out of their pockets. However, with the current state of the economy, she may be forced to take out student loans for the next semester, she said.
She said she doesn't expect too much federal help if she applies, because her family makes too much money to be considered.
"This is the first semester we struggled to pay," Capra said "We may have to take out the loans to cover the out-of-state tuition difference."
