By Eduardo Landa
Staff Writer
Cal State Dominguez Hills students graduate with some of the lowest student loan debt in California.
CSUDH’s average student debt per borrower is $16,362, fifth lowest in the state, according to a report by LendEDU.
CSU Bakersfield, Fullerton, Long Beach and Los Angeles are the only universities in California where students carry less debt.
California students as a whole have an average debt of $22,191, the third lowest in the country, according to a 2017 ValuePenguin report.
Nevertheless, 54% of California students are in student loan debt, which is a lot lower than No. 50 New Hampshire, where 76% of students are with an average of $36,101 in debt, according to the report. Utah ranked No.1, the lowest for loan debt.
While the average amount of debt per student at CSUDH has gone up from $16,768 since 2013, the percentage of students graduating with debt has gone down from 60% in 2013.
Financial aid could be making the difference. According to the Institute for College Access & Success’s Project on Student Debt, 60% of CSUDH students received Pell grants during the 2013-14 academic year.
This may contribute to the low percentage of students who are in debt, as many qualify for grants and don’t have to take out loans – or as many loans — to pay for tuition.
One CSUDH student who is not in debt is Silvia Deanda, a communications major.
“Other people my age go to other CSU schools, and they are like $30,000 to $40,000 in debt,” she said.
Delores Lee, financial aid director for CSUDH, believes student debt is low because out of the $139 million dollars in all aid, $84 million of it funds grants and scholarships.
A “large portion of students don’t rely on loans,” Lee said.
Lee also says state and federal government raise Cal and Pell grants every year, which help ease debt burdens.
She believes student debt will continue to go down if the federal and state governments can continue to provide financial resources.
“It depends on investment of federal and state governments,” Lee said.
With the resources provided by the financial aid office through its website, csudh.financialaidtv.com/. Lee believes students will be more educated and prevent themselves from getting into debt.
