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Wyoming students’ debt 5th lowest in country

Wyoming has the fifth lowest average debt in the nation for students who graduated from college in 2012. That’s according to a recently published study by the Institute for College Access and Success. In Wyoming the average debt was just over $21,000.

Director of Student Financial Aid at the University of Wyoming, Joanna Carter, says there are several things that keep borrowing relatively low at UW.

“The tuition at the Community colleges as well as the University of Wyoming would be very reasonable compared to national rates,” says Carter. “And also our students are hardworking students. We have students that work, there’s some savings they bring to it, of course we have the wonderful Hathaway program here in Wyoming which helps to offset some costs for students as well. Many of our students qualify for Hathaway.”

At UW, 47-percent of students graduate with debt. Nationwide, 71-percent of students leave college with debt.

Irina Zhorov is a reporter for Wyoming Public Radio. She earned her BA from the University of Pennsylvania and an MFA from the University of Wyoming. In between, she worked as a photographer and writer for Philadelphia-area and national publications. Her professional interests revolve around environmental and energy reporting and she's reported on mining issues from Wyoming, Mexico, and Bolivia. She's been supported by the Dick and Lynn Cheney Grant for International Study, the Eleanor K. Kambouris Grant, and the Social Justice Research Center Research Grant for her work on Bolivian mining and Uzbek alpinism. Her work has appeared on Voice of America, National Native News, and in Indian Country Today, among other publications.
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