The notorious image of being buried beneath debt post-graduation has become more prevalent each year due to the exponential growth in tuition rates. Since 1978, the U.S. has seen a 1,120 percent increase in college tuition and fees.

53

The percentage of students graduating from the University of Oregon with tuition and fees debt.

$22,736

The average debt a UO graduate is stuck with upon walking.

$26,600.

The national average for student loan debt held by university graduates.  According to the U.S. Department of Education, more than 62 percent of graduates from public universities and 72 percent of private nonprofit graduates exit with student loans.

But despite these soaring costs, which include classes, books and room and board, students also continue to dole out cash for all the other college “necessities.”

$500

This is how much the average college student spends per  year on alcohol and curbs their late-night hunger by spending up to $1,820 on fast food.

After four years, the costs of just these two categories alone can peak at an extra $7,460. For the average Duck exiting with debt, that bumps up the expenditures to $30,196, and that cost does not even begin to include the money students spend on other luxuries.