Total Student Debt
Tops $10,000 When Leaving School
The vast
majority of Canadians with student debt find education is worth the investment
Toronto, September
5th – In a random sampling of public opinion taken by The Forum
Poll™ among 1,163 Canadians 16 years of age or older who attended a
postsecondary education institution, 1 in 2 (48%) were left with a total
student debt of $1-$10,000 at the time of leaving their postsecondary
institution, regardless of whether they graduated or not. Over one quarter (27%)
were left with a total student debt of between $10,001-$20,000 upon leaving
school and 1 in 10 (10%) were left with $20,001-$30,000. 6% were left with
$30,001-$40,000 in total student debt.
1 in 10 (8%)
were left with a total student debt of $40,001+ when leaving their postsecondary
institution, whether they graduated or not.
Those from
Ontario and Alberta are most likely to have the highest student debt when
leaving postsecondary education (57% for both with $10,000+ in student debt)
followed by those in the Atlantic (53% with $10,000+ in student debt).
Those who
self-identify with the LGBTQ2SIAP+ community are likely to have a higher student
debt when leaving school (66% with 10,000+ in student debt, compared to 50%).
Furthermore,
1 in 10 (9%) LGBTQ2SIAP+ community members have $70,000+ in student debt when leaving
school, considerably higher than those who don't self-identify with this community (1%).
The
majority do not owe today
When asked whether they still have
student debt owing today, three quarters (76%) of all respondents indicated
they owed $0 in total student debt. 1 in 10 (9%) owe $1-$10,000 and 7% owe
$10,001-$20,000. 7% also owe $20,000+.
Those from
Ontario and Alberta are most likely to still owe student debt today (18% for
both with $10,000+) followed by those in the Atlantic (16% with $10,000+).
Those who
self-identify with the LGBTQ2SIAP+ community are more likely to have $10,000+
in student debt owing today (31%, compared to 13%).
1 in 5
took 8+ years to pay off their student debt and 1 in 10 will be student debt
free within one year
When asking those who currently have $0 in student
debt approximately how long it took to pay off, one third (32%) indicated 1-3
years. 3 in 10 (28%) indicated 4-7 years and one quarter (24%) took less than
one year.
1 in 5 (17%) took 8+
years to pay off their student debt.
Of those respondents
who are still paying off their student debt, 4 in 10 (39%) say it will take
them an additional 4-7 years to pay off, while 3 in 10 (28%) approximate 8+
years. One in four (26%) still need 1-3 years to pay off their student debt and
7% will pay off their debt within 1 year.
Those living in the
Atlantic were more likely to take the longest to pay off their debt – 23% took
8+ years compared to the rest of the Country at 16% taking 8+ years.
Of those who still
have student debt owing today, those from the Atlantic were also more likely to
say it will take another 8+ years to pay it off when compared with the rest of
the country (41%, compared to 28%).
Two thirds find a student loan to be
very important in continuing education after high school
When asking respondents whether a student
loan was important in allowing them to continue their education after high school,
two thirds (68%) indicated this was “very” important followed by 2 in 10 (18%)
finding this to be “somewhat important”.
7% found a student loan to be somewhat
unimportant to allowing them to continue their education and 6% found a student
loan to be not at all important.
Those who identify with the LGBTQ2SIAP+
community were more likely to find a student loan to be “very” important when
compared to those who don’t self-identify (76% LGBTQ2SIAP+ community, 68% non).
Majority find investment in education
worth it
9 in 10 (88%) agree the investment they made
in their education was worth it for their personal growth, while 8 in 10 (81%)
agree the investment they made in their education was worth it for their career
advancement.
Younger respondents were less likely to feel
this way. Those under 44 were more likely to say investing in education was not
worth it for career advancement (26%, compared to 13% for those 45+) or
personal growth (18%, compared to 7% for those 45+).
One quarter are taking a second job to
pay off their student debt
Of all respondents surveyed, one in four
(24%) indicated they took a second job to pay off their student debt, whereas
three quarters (76%) did not.
Furthermore, one third (35%) have not
significantly changed their lifestyle because of their student debt.
Those who self-identify with the LGBTQ2SIAP+
community were more likely to indicate they took a second job to pay off their
debt when compared to those who don’t self-identify (28% LGBTQ2SIAP+ community,
compared to 23% for non-self-identifying). This group was also significantly
more likely to indicate they’ve changed their lifestyle because of their
student debt (48%, compared to 33%).
Females were also more likely to indicate
they changed their lifestyle when compared to male respondents (38%, compared
to 30% for males).
Student debt effects career plans
When asked if significant changes were made
to career plans because of their student debt, over 1 in 5 (22%) indicated
there had been.
Those who self-identify with the LGBTQ2SIAP+
community were more likely to indicate significant changes were made to career
plans because of student debt (31% compared to 20%).
Over half have additional debt
When asked whether
they had other debt in addition to their student debt, over 1 in 2 (52%)
respondents indicated they did.
Those who self-identify with the LGBTQ2SIAP+
community are more likely to have additional debt other than their student debt
when compared to those who don’t self-identify (59%, compared to
52%).
1 in 10 self-identify with the LGBTQ2SIAP+
community
When asked if
respondents identified with the LGBTQ2SIAP+ community including, but not
limited to, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning,
two-spirit, intersex, asexual, or pansexual, 1 in 10 (9%) indicated they had.
Younger respondents were more likely to
identify with the LGBTQ2SIAP+ community when compared to older respondents (13%
average for 16-44, compared to 6% for 45+).
“The vast majority of Canadians say that
their post-secondary education was a worthwhile investment, regardless of the
cost,” said Dr. Lorne Bozinoff, President of Forum Research. “Amongst those who
self-identify as LGBTQ2SIAP+, three-quarters said that a student loan was
“very” important to their ability to continue their education after high
school, considerably above the average.”
Lorne Bozinoff,
Ph.D. is the president and founder of Forum Research. He can be reached at
lbozinoff@forumresearch.com or at (416) 960-9603.
