New Globe and Mail Article on Student Loans -
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Female students are more likely than their male classmates to borrow money for higher education, and when they do, the amounts they borrow are larger, new numbers from the federal government show.
The Canada Student Loans Program is expected to release its most recent report, for the 2004-2005 year, as early as next week. It has already been tabled in the House of Commons.
The report shows that about 40 per cent of all full-time students who attended postsecondary institutions during this period used the federal portion of the student loan system, roughly the same as in previous years.
What has been increasing is the number of women who make use of the program. Their numbers have increased steadily, as has the amounts of their average loan. Sixty per cent of federal loans to full-time students went to women, who account for about 55 per cent of all postsecondary students. About 68 per cent of loans to part-time students were given to women.
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The average loan to a female full-time student was $4,882, compared with $4,751 for men.
When it comes to repayments, the report shows that women also are more likely to ask for interest relief - 64 per cent of all relief requests come from women.
Part of the reason for the higher loan levels among women is because they are more likely to attend university rather than college, a program official said. University graduates experienced higher debt levels - an average of $14,342 compared with $8,845 for their college counterparts. (Numbers in the report are for the federal government's portion of student aid. Students also may have loans from provincial governments or private institutions.)
"Clearly women are looking more than ever to get an education, and that is a positive thing," said Julian Benedict, a founder of the Coalition for Student Loan Fairness, a Vancouver-based group working to reduce interest rates on student loans and streamline the complex student aid system.
But Mr. Benedict said his group is concerned about the rising debt levels of women graduates, given that many of them also are primary caregivers. "Now they have the added pressure of student debt."
The value of the federal loan plan was $10.6-billion during the period, an increase of $13.7-million from the previous year.
The report shows that most loans - 56 per cent - went to university students, followed by college students with 33 per cent.
The report also shows that defaults on federal loans have decreased to 25.4 per cent from 37.7 per cent in 2001. University graduates are the least likely to default on loans, followed by college graduates and those from private institutions.
