This week, collegemeasure.org released data alerting that graduates of public and private colleges in the U.S of Historically Black Colleges and Universities are more likely to defaulton student loans than any other race. According to their data, 42 percent of the 116 colleges and universities with a default rate of 10 percent or higher are HBCUs, HBCUs have the highest sudent loan default rate among all public colleges in 19 states, and eight of the top 10 colleges and universities around the country with the highest student loan default rates are HBCUs. As a recent HBCU graduate, these numbers are not only depressing, but it further confirms my belief that a financial literacy class should be mandatory all four years of college. Are HBCU’s Adding To Black America’s Economic Crisis?Words from a broke HBCU grad
From my experience attending Hampton University, an all black private college located in Virginia, many students took out student loans to cover all four years of the almost $30,000 annual admission. When students were issued refund checks, often times it was when they happily spent most of it on food, living off campus, and personal entertainment. A conversation about saving refund checks or submitting money that was not needed to cover loans back to the loan company was rare to never. Speaking to friends now who are recent graduates are finding it difficult to find full time employment. Many graduates say they feel like they are being financially taken advantage of in the corporate world because employers know how difficult the job market currently is.
I am interested to know how people who have graduated from all black colleges or who are currently attending one to see what their experiences have been like paying back their student loan debt. Why do you think the numbers of non-debt repayment is so high among HBCU grads?
Comment by Compound Egret on December 8, 2010 at 9:52pm 
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