<P> The lent amount, often referred to as a student loan or the debts may be owed to the school (or the bank) if the student has dropped classes and withdrawn from the school . Withdrawing from a school, especially if a low (or no - income student) has withdrawn with a failing grade, could deprive the student of the ability of further attendance by disqualifying the student of necessary financial aid . Student loans also differ in many countries in the strict laws regulating renegotiating and bankruptcy . Due payments may be a retroactive penalty for services rendered by the school to the individual, including room and board . </P> <P> As with most other types of debt, student debt may be considered defaulted after a given period of non-response to requests by the school or the lender for information, payment or negotiation . At that point, the debt is turned over to a Student Loan Guarantor or a collection agency . </P> <P> In the United States, the "Congress created a rule called the' Cohort Default rate' . Annually the Department of Education evaluates the proportions of students who have received student loans and have withdrawn from a college, and have a defaulted on their federal government backed loans ." If that nonpayment (default) rate is too high, the college will be refused the privilege of having government financial aid available to their students . Also you cannot get federal financial aid if you dont have a passing grade or if you are not showing them you are committed . According to Adam Looney, and Constantine Yannelis with the Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, in 2011, "borrowers at for - profit and 2 - year institutions represented almost half of student - loan borrowers leaving school and starting to repay loans, and accounted for 70 percent of student loan defaults ." This rule was an instantaneous achievement,' there were more than fifteen hundred for profit colleges were pushed out of the system' . Colleges have to change their funding habits to get in line with the government guidelines . Many colleges are continuously forced to lower their nonpayment rates, down ." The number of defaulters has not changed, it is just the way the government tracks them . </P> <P> Many factors are accountable for student debt . The growing problem of student debt has become more prominent, inspiring numerous documentaries that examine the causes and effects . One factor is amount of interest on the loans . Another factor is the new guidelines developed by the federal government . There are now new rules deciding who can borrow, as well as how much debt they can take on . Colleges and universities have been increasing the costs for students to attend their schools subsequently increasing the amount of debt these students take on as student loans . Reports have shown that borrowers who finished college in the early 1990s were able to manage their student loans without an enormous burden . The average debt increased 58% since in the seven years from 2005 to 2012 . The debt for students in the United States rose from $17,233 in 2005 to $27,253 in 2012 . Some blame the economy for the debt increases, but in the same 7 - year period credit card debt and auto debt have decreased . According to the American Center for Progress' report on the Student Debt Crisis, within the past three decades the cost of attaining a college degree has drastically increased by more than 1,000 percent . If student debt had stayed constant with inflation since 1992, graduates would not be facing this level of student debt . Newer data, as of 2018, reflects an even larger crisis and cumulative level of student debt . As of 2018, a total of 44.2 Million borrowers now owe a total of over $1.5 Trillion in student debt . In addition to more borrowers, and the total amount owed having more than doubled (up 250%) from $600 Billion to $1.5 Trillion in 10 years, according to Forbes Magazine, the rate of delinquency greater than 90 days, or default, has doubled to over 11% nationwide, according to the Federal Reserve . </P>

How much is the us student loan debt