One third of millennials regret going to college, according to a Wells Fargo study reported by Forbes. The graduates, ages 22 to 32, say that they would have been better off working than taking on student loan debt.
Student debt now exceeds credit card debt in the United States, reports Forbes. According to a report by Fidelity Investments, 70 percent of students from the college class of 2013 will have incurred $35,200 worth of credit and student loan debt when they graduate, reports Business Insider.
Millennials appear to regret a lack of understanding of their personal finances and planning for their student debt burden. The Wells Fargo survey cited by Forbes found that 79 percent of millennials think personal finance should be taught in high school, with topics such as basic investing and how loans work at the top of their list. Business Insider notes that nearly 40 percent of graduates said they regret not saving or strategizing early enough for higher education.
Student loan delinquencies are also occurring at higher rates, according to Forbes. The number of borrowers who are at least 90 days late on student loan payments has jumped from 8.5 percent in 2011 to 11.7 percent today.
Additionally, millennials with student loan debt are delaying major purchases like homes and cars, according to a recent study from the New York Federal Reserve. The study reports that for the first time in at least a decade, 30-year-olds with no history of student loans are more likely to have a mortgage than those who had student loans. The researchers found a similar trend in car debt among 25-year-olds.
According to Forbes, over half of the millennials from the Wells Fargo survey say debt is their biggest financial concern. Forty-two percent call it “overwhelming.”
EMAIL: dmerling@deseretnews.com