Although tuition costs continue to rise and student loan debt remains at sky-high levels, a college education still offers higher earning potential and greater financial opportunity in the long run. Yet without ways to help mitigate the extravagant costs, fewer families can afford to enroll their children in college. According to the College Board, the average cost of tuition and fees at a private, nonprofit, four-year university was $31,231 in 2015. For public four-year schools, tuition and fees accumulated to about $9,139 this year.1
American families and students still realize the long-term benefits of a college degree, which leaves many students and families forced to borrow funds to meet the steep costs. The total cost of borrowed funds from loan programs averages $100 billion a year, and the outstanding total student debt stands at more than $1.2 trillion. Forty million borrowers incur an average balance of $29,000, and with the average entry level position paying $42,963,2 and a high unemployment rate of 11.9 percent for recent college graduates ages 20-24,3 they are left holding debt with limited means to repay.4