College-Related Debt Takes A Heavy Toll On Graduates

Debt-ridden college graduates are much less likely to live happy financial and physical lives, according to a Gallup study. Gallup noted that debt-free students were only slightly more likely than indebted graduates to thrive socially, but were much more likely to thrive in four other elements of well-being, including purpose, financially, community and physically. Graduates who were the deepest in debt -- $50,000 or more – were far less likely to thrive than graduates who took out no loans, by 15 percentage points in financial well-being and 10 points in physical well-being.