Over half of college students feel that they face tougher financial pressures than young people did in previous generations. About 30% of students frequently worry about their debt.  Although the percentage of people ages 22 to 29 with debt has declined, their total debt is up 10% from five years ago, to an average $16,120.  Every type of debt, from credit cards to college to personal loans, has risen.

Student-loan balances rose 16% to an average of $14,379; revolving debt, including credit cards, surged 24% to $5,781; and total installment debt, including student and personal loans, rose 4% to $17,208. The fastest-growing group of financially-troubled college students owes $20,000 or more in student-loan debt.

Debt has forced some young people to change their career plans. Of those surveyed, 22% say they've taken a job they otherwise wouldn't have because they needed more money to pay off student-loan debt. Three out of ten students have delayed or discontinued further education because they have too much debt already.  Of these college students, 26% have put off buying a home for the same reason, just as a smaller percentage say they've put off marrying (11%) or having children (14%).