The extent to which an individual's total debt capacity is absorbed at the point of college graduation is examined, along with the graduate's self-imposed debt limits and the debt limits established by the marketplace. The findings are based on the a survey of creditors and the consumers who had student loans. Attention is also directed to data revealing the debt-use patterns of consumers who filed for personal bankruptcy; levels of cumulative student borrowing and starting salaries in various professions in 1981; the proportion of the debt capacity that will have been absorbed by student borrowing; college costs, borrowing patterns, starting salaries, and debt burdens projected to 1988; and implications of borrowing for postsecondary education and consequent consumption patterns of college graduates. Conclusions include the following: (1) there are limits set on the aggregate amounts of debts that consumers may assume; (2) consumers most likely to be affected by debt limits are those who plan to enter the poorly-paid vocations, such as nursing or teaching; and (3) in the future there may be a lowering of aggregate credit limits and an increase in the average size of student loans owed following graduation. A questionnaire is appended. (SW)