Consumer credit up due to student loans, schools take notice

With student loans and medical bills becoming very urgent and concerning increase expenditures for numerous Americans, borrowing has increased and consumer credit has spiked recently. CNBC reported that consumer credit jumped by 8.6 percent, totalling $17.7 billion, in January, bringing the borrowing market to $2.54 trillion, according to the Federal Reserve. The source noted that this is the largest leap in credit since 2004. The gain was due almost entirely to citizens seeking student loans from the federal government, the news source claimed. Revolving credit, consisting mostly of credit card debt, fell by 4.4 percent, CNBC said, while non-revolving credit that encompasses much larger loans like auto and student, rose by 14.7 percent. Due to such an increase in both consumer credit and student loan debt, many colleges have decided to freeze their tuition for the 2012 to 2013 school year. Perhaps the most well-known college to seek such a change, said the Boston Globe, is Massachusetts' private Mount Holyoke College, which will halt its charges at $41,270 per year.