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N.H. Students Graduate With Highest Debt Loads In Nation

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New data released today shows New Hampshire students graduating with the highest debt loads in the nation. 

According to a report from the Institute for College Access and Success, the Class of 2011 averaged $32,440 in debt.

It’s the second year in a row New Hampshire has had the highest average load. 

Tara Payne with the NH Higher Education Assistance Foundation says the numbers send a signal to students and parents.

"It unfortunately calls into question, I mean it has to, the value for the dollars that families are spending."

Payne says a lack of state funding drives tuition costs up. Last year lawmakers cut aid for the university system in half.

And that’s made tuition costs a political issue in New Hampshire. Both gubernatorial candidates have said they’d support returning some of the aid, but differ on how to do it. 

As a general assignment reporter, I pursue breaking news as well as investigative pieces across a range of topics. I’m drawn to stories that are big and timely, as well as those that may appear small but tell us something larger about the state we live in. I also love a good tip, a good character, or a story that involves a boat ride.
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