It's possible that at least a few of the students who’ve been racking up college debt shouldn’t have been there in the first place

off to take Biff’s and penelope’s examinations

"AI has destroyed Kenyan jobs because American college students no longer hire them to write fake college essays" is not a framing I expected even the NYT to have pic.twitter.com/7DlifkjLE2

— Trevor McKendrick (@TrevMcKendrick) September 7, 2026

AI Overview

Total outstanding student loan debt in the United States is approximately $1.86 trillion.

Education Data Initiative

Breakdown of the Debt

• Federal Student Loans: About $1.72 trillion, which makes up roughly 91% of all student debt.

• Private Student Loans: About $138.8 billion to $166 billion, which makes up the remaining 7% to 9%.

• Total Borrowers: Roughly 42.6 million Americans hold federal student loan debt.

• Average Balances: The average federal debt per borrower is about $40,467, while total balances including private loans can average up to $43,521