Schooled!

The next time you see a college student, buy her a drink for putting our fine state on the map. A report just released by the Project on Student Debt ranks the graduating seniors of Minnesota's public and private colleges among the highest in the country for average debt burden carried into that jungle we call the "real world."

According to the study, 72 percent of Minnesota grads have student loan debt when they collect their cap and gown, and they owe an average of $23,000 each. That percentage won Minnesota the bronze medal for proportion of college students graduating with debt. Damn you, South Dakota and New Mexico (82 percent and 76 percent respectively)—we'll get you next year.

If you are looking to celebrate this news, expect the best parties at the art schools. At St. Paul's College of Visual Arts, students are leaving with an average debt of $48,926. At the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, the average graduate load is $41,153.

Across the country, the Project on Student Debt reports that the average debt for graduating seniors in the United States went up 8 percent in the last year, while starting salaries rose roughly 4 percent. So don't expect much from these kids now that they are free from the shackles of campus leisure. They've busted their humps making Minnesota what it is and now they must rest—at one of their three jobs.