College On Credit- Response

This article was very disheartening, especially to a student who is beginning to look at colleges. However, I found it to be a very interesting idea that college education might be so heavily affected by this economic downfall. In this time, now is the worst time for college to become inaccessible to those who need it. In a world where a high school diploma hardly holds weight anymore, the idea that the mere cost of college would keep a student out of their hard earned education is terrifying. I've never thought of all the families who are struggling to heat their homes, let alone send a child to college. This country needs well educated college graduates now more than ever. We need a workforce that can be highly specialized and trained. It seems to me that the age of private colleges might have come to an end. As with the public school system, colleges may soon be going the same way.

College On Credit

College costs are becoming an often ignored factor of the economic recession.
Tuition costs are up 439% from the 1980s.
The average bill of college this year is $25,000.
Public universities are more affordable at $6,500 but still costly for some families.
More students are borrowing to finance their very own education.
Student debt has risen from $41 billion 10 years ago to $87 billion.
Two thirds who graduate from a four year program are in debt.
Although some colleges are starting to promise grants rather than loans, many colleges are stretching for money.
Many loans come from the government but as government funds are limited, much borrowing has turned to private sources.
Over the past academic year, $17.5 billion was borrowed from the private sector compared to $2.5 billion last year.
Private loans carry high interest rates. Up to 19%.
These loans are impossible to get out of even in the state of bankruptcy.
These loans are very tantalizing to desperate students and parents.