Over 1 million individuals are currently in debt for more than $200,000 in federal student loans.

• The number of borrowers with large federal student loan debts is increasing.
• According to Wayne Johnson, who served as the chief operating officer of the Office of Federal Student Aid from 2017 to 2019, a significant number of individuals owe the federal government over $2 million in federal student loans.

The number of borrowers with large federal student loan debts is increasing.

The number of borrowers with federal student loan balances between $100,000 and $200,000 increased from 1.8 million to 2.4 million in the second quarter of 2024, as per data from the U.S. Department of Education.

The number of individuals with a federal student loan balance of over $200,000 increased from 600,000 to 1 million.

During his tenure as chief operating officer of the Office of Federal Student Aid from 2017 to 2019, Wayne Johnson witnessed some astonishing account balances while working at the Education Department.

Johnson stated that a significant amount of individuals owe the federal government more than $2 million in student loans.

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In 2018, a Wall Street Journal article focused on a physician whose bank account exceeded $1 million.

The U.S. Department of Education did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Why more borrowers have big balances

Betsy Mayotte, president of The Institute of Student Loan Advisors, stated that multiple factors have led to an increase in the number of borrowers with six-figure student loan debt.

Mayotte stated that the cost of higher education has significantly increased over the years.

With financial aid, families typically pay less than the annual sticker price for certain schools, which now nears $100,000 after factoring in tuition, fees, room and board, and other expenses.

According to experts, graduate students typically have the highest federal student loan debts.

Graduate students have no borrowing limits on federal student loans, as they can borrow as much as a program costs.

Johnson, a candidate for Congress in Georgia, stated that due to the government policy, schools have less concern about affordability when setting their prices.

Johnson stated that nearly every college views their graduate programs as a source of revenue.

Dentists with $300,000 student debt balances

According to higher education expert Mark Kantrowitz, over 10% of graduate and professional students have federal and private student loan debt of $100,000 or more, while less than 1% of students borrow above that amount for bachelor's degree programs.

On average, dental program graduates owed approximately $307,000 in debt in 2019-2020, according to Kantrowitz, while veterinarians had about $170,000 in debt.

The large debts can be huge stressors on graduates.

According to Kantrowitz's analysis of the 2012 follow-up to the 2008 Baccalaureate & Beyond longitudinal study by the National Center for Education Statistics, nearly 80% of those with a debt balance between $130,000 and $139,000 reported feeling a "high" or "very high" amount of stress, compared to around 25% among those with a balance under $10,000.

Parents saddled with student debt

Parents, in addition to graduate students, can also borrow unlimited amounts in Parent Plus loans, Johnson stated.

Between 2000 and 2016, the annual Parent Plus disbursements tripled, reaching more than $15 billion from about $5 billion, according to a 2022 report by the Century Foundation.

The Foundation stated that low-income and low-wealth parents who take out loans to help their children achieve upward mobility through higher education may unintentionally put themselves at risk of downward mobility, a consequence that no family should have to endure in the pursuit of college opportunities.