GOFFSTOWN — Saint Anselm College junior Dana Hazeltine rattled off his yearly student loan tab: $17,500 his freshman year, $17,500 as a sophomore, $23,000 this year and probably another $20,000 next year. About $78,000 in all.

“That’s a lot of money,” the chemical engineering major from Dover said on a sun-splashed afternoon on the leafy campus last week.

But Hazeltine liked his chances of repaying the money.

“I’m going to come out of school making $70,000 a year,” he said, explaining he might have attended the less expensive University of New Hampshire if he had pursued a less lucrative career. “It would be a lot harder if I was, like, a teacher making $30,000.”

Hazeltine attends school in a state that recently ranked tops in average student debt.

New Hampshire students who borrowed for college and earned bachelor’s degrees in 2011 graduated with an average $32,440 in student loan debt, compared to $26,600 nationally, according to the Institute for College Access & Success. That represents an increase of $1,392 for New Hampshire students over the previous year, and a boost of $1,350 nationwide.

“They’re willing to take it on because it’s the best economic decision they can ever make,” said Thomas Horgan, president and CEO of the NH College & University Council, which represents 17 higher education institutions with more than 70,000 students, including the University of New Hampshire and Southern New Hampshire University.

“You can take on a $30,000 car loan and pay $500 a month for five years to pay it off. And at the end of five years, you’ve got a depreciated asset. Or you can take on $25,000 or $30,000 in student loans. You have an appreciating asset that’s going to appreciate throughout your lifetime.”

State to blame

Horgan blamed state budget cuts for boosting student debt levels.

A separate report released last week said New Hampshire provided the lowest state appropriation for higher education per $1,000 in personal income for 2011-12 school year. New Hampshire provided $1.39 compared to $5.63 nationwide, according to the College Board’s report, “Trends in College Pricing Southern New Hampshire University.

“You can take on a $30,000 car loan and pay $500 a month for five years to pay it off. And at the end of five years, you’ve got a depreciated asset. Or you can take on $25,000 or $30,000 in student loans. You have an appreciating asset that’s going to appreciate throughout your lifetime.”

State to blame

Horgan blamed state budget cuts for boosting student debt levels.

A separate report released last week said New Hampshire provided the lowest state appropriation for higher education per $1,000 in personal income for 2011-12 school year. New Hampshire provided $1.39 compared to $5.63 nationwide, according to the College Board’s report, “Trends in College Pricing 2012.”

New Hampshire’s appropriations also recorded the largest five-year decline by percentage in appropriations, a 42 percent cut versus 16 percent nationwide, the study said.

Judged against other flagship universities of each state, UNH, at $16,422, ranked as the second most expensive for in-state tuition and fees for the 2012-13 school year, behind only Penn State University-University Park at $17,266, according to the College Board report.

Elizabeth Keuffel, director of financial aid at Saint Anselm College, said budget cuts and the weak economy have boosted student debt.

“Much of it has to do with the fact we are a state that has a live-free-or-die attitude, so it’s really on the individual to support it, where we don’t put our resources into our educational system like other states do,” Keuffel said.

Tighter credit and lower house values also have put a squeeze on some parents borrowing money.

“Families don’t have the savings vehicles they used in the past,” Keuffel said. “Home equity was a major piece of the puzzle. What’s happening is the students end up shouldering the burden.”

Heavy debt

The debt report said 2011 grads from Saint Anselm who had loans averaged $38,356 in debt. The total cost of attending the school for last year was $45,705, according to the report. At UNH, the average indebtedness totaled $34,194 with the total cost of attendance for in-state students listed at $26,850 last year.

Brenna Cleary, a biology senior, estimates her parents took out about $50,000 in loans, and she owes another $30,000.

“It’s kind of so big, it’s not real,” said the Lowell, Mass., resident. She hopes to repay her parents someday.

Cleary has joined the U.S. Army and will report for basic training nine days after graduating in the spring. She is planning for the Army to pick up part of the tab for her further education in the medical field.

She knows friends who graduated college last May who are working as wait staff and living at home.

“They don’t make enough to start paying back school,” Cleary said.

Jessica Jordan, who’s majoring in biology at Saint Anselm, said her parents keep track of her student loans.

“I haven’t paid too much (attention) to my financial situation,” said the junior from Marshfield, Mass.

Asked how much debt she has racked up, she said: “I have no idea.”

She added, “It’s going to take a long time definitely” to repay what she borrowed, but she was confident her education would lead to a good-paying job to allow her to do so.

Tyler Cotnoir, a sophomore biology student, estimated he will accumulate $46,000 in loans as an undergraduate before he attends graduate school.

“If I get to do my dream job, I won’t be very concerned. I want to be a surgeon. I’ll be pretty well off,” said the Berlin resident.

He hopes a hospital employing him will help pay some of his loans, and he plans to “live with my parents for a few years to get on my feet.”

As far as discussing student loans with fellow students, Cotnoir said: “People don’t really talk about their debt.”

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Mike Cousineau may be reached at mcousineau@unionleader.com.