A college education can change the course of your life. This
investment in your future has the power to open doors of
opportunity to professional and personal fulfillment. But, for
most students, those opportunities come with a cost: the burden
of student debt. Yes, the cost of tuition is rising and with it
debt loads. But college enrollment is growing, too, and so is
the income gap between those who have degrees and those who do
not. Numbers tell this story. Tuition costs soar Tuitions are
rising like a lost balloon on a summer day. A four-year public
university now costs on average $8,000 per year, excluding room
and board. That number jumps to $28,000 per year for students
attending four-year private institutions. Debt-free students
unusual Sixty-six percent of 2011 graduates began their post-
school life with student-loan debt, with the average loan amount
totaling more than $26,000. By comparison, in 1993, less than
half of all students graduated with debt, and that debt averaged
$14,500. Right now, combi