The Plural of Anecdote is Data

Too often we hear horror stories in the media about some unlucky college graduate with $100,000+ in student loan debt. Although these people exist, they are few and far between, according to Hamilton Place Strategies. The DC-based public relations firm analyzed over 100 news stories published over a three month period. The study's findings were quite compelling: the average student debt balance of those featured in media stories was $85,400--nearly three times the actual average student debt balance per borrower. According to the report, "If the anecdotes were a random sample, there would be a 0.000007 percent chance reporters would get this result."