Title: Crushed by debt?
Headings: Crushed by debt?
Feature
Crushed by debt?
Racking up debt
Competing for support
Finding solutions
Further resources
Need money?
Video
Letters to the Editor

Content: Psychology graduate students are experiencing the student debt crisis firsthand. Almost 90 percent of PsyD graduates and 61 percent of PhD grads are in debt when they finish graduate school, according to APA's 2009 Doctoral Employment Survey, the most recent data available. And psychology graduate students may be especially susceptible to debt. With assistantships, fellowships and grants less common in psychology than in other social sciences and the life sciences, psychology graduate students are often forced to pay their own way through school. Recognizing the financial drain on psychology graduate students, APA and APAGS are working to educate them about the salaries they should expect to earn after graduation. They're advocating for lower student loan interest rates. And they're offering tips on how students can achieve their goals without going bankrupt. "After 12 years in school, one might assume I'd be able to own a home, have children, live the American dream," says Turner. " But the loans are overwhelming." Racking up debt
The APA survey reveals that debt levels vary significantly depending on the kind of program graduate psychology students choose.