Just over 30 percent of America’s college students with student loan debt admit that they plan to fritter away part of their federally-subsidized loan funds to pay for sun-and-beer-soaked spring break trips this year.
LendEDU, a student loan marketplace website, documented this startling fact in a nationwide survey of 500 students currently attending America’s colleges and universities.
The survey shows that 30.6 percent of debt-laden students say they are using student loan funds to pay for airfare and hotels, and to generally party hard on a super-fun vacation during their post-mid-term breaks.
Data from Orbitz obtained by LendEDU shows that 55 percent of America’s college students travel to some exciting destination for spring break. That 55 percent equates to 11,275,000 students taking vacations at some point.
LendEDU estimates that nearly 2.4 million cash-strapped students enrolled in U.S. colleges and universities will spend student loan money on thrilling adventures this year.
“Considering the severity of the student loan crisis in the United States right now, this number is severely disappointing,” LendEDU said in a statement sent to The Daily Caller.
Daytona Beach, South Padre Island, Cancun, Puerto Vallarta and Las Vegas are among the most popular spring break destinations among America’s college students, according to Travel Channel.
The LendEDU poll also shows that 23.8 percent of America’s college students admit to using student loan funds to buy beer and liquor.
Just under 7 percent are willing to say they use their student loans to buy drugs.
And 5.6 percent say they gamble or bet on sporting events with student loan funds.
Last week, LendEDU released data from the same 500-student survey showing that nearly half of all America’s college students have deluded themselves into believing that the federal government will forgive their student loans in spite of the fact that the federal government forgives only a very low percentage of student loans.
In reality, only about 10 percent of all college graduates will ever see any portion of their student loans forgiven under current loan forgiveness law.
Nearly 70 percent of all college students in the United States take on student loan debt.
Student loan debt continues to rise annually in the United States. Some 44 million Americans hold a grand total of $1.31 trillion in student loan debt, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported earlier this month.
To put this $1.31 trillion figure in perspective: The enormity of the U.S. student loan mess is almost as big as the entire economy of Russia, where the nominal gross-domestic product is $1.33 trillion annually.
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