The number of college students taking out loans is highest in nine years

This women has just seen her student loan bill.

According to an annual nationwide survey released today, about two-thirds of incoming students said they had “some” or “major” concern about their ability to pay for their education.

The percentage of those with “some” concern — 55.4 — was at its highest level since 1971. The number of students taking out loans was at its highest in nine years, at 53.3 percent. The number whose fathers were unemployed — 4.5 percent — was the highest in the history of the survey. The number of students whose mothers were unemployed was higher — 7.9 percent — and at its highest since 1979.

“What all this points to is that they are going to be graduating with a larger debt burden than students in the past,” Mr. Pryor told the NYT. More fun stats below!

Why I Have a Job: the PhD who sells cashmere when not crusading against student debt

The face ready to take on the student loan system.

Name: Ms. C. Cryn Johannsen

Major: B.A. in History with honors, University of Kansas; German Language Studies, Goethe Institute, Munich, Germany; M.A. in the Social Sciences, University of Chicago; M.A. and Ph.D. research in the intellectual and cultural history of Modern Europe, Brown University; Exchange Scholar, German Intellectual History, Harvard University

What I do all day: Too many things to list, but here it goes: I am a salesclerk, an advocate for people struggling to pay their student loan debt, a freelance writer, a legislative researcher for United Professionals, and also the creator of Education Matters.  I  like to tell customers at the high end dept. store about my background. I think some of them are horrified when I say that I went to an Ivy, while others are sympathetic. It’s shocking how nasty rich people can be. Oh, well . . .I used to teach these people’s kids as a grad student (and it was an honor and a privilege), now I sell them fancy cashmere sweaters. As of February, I’ll be teaching English and History at a private institute abroad.