I thought you would be interested in this story I found on MSN:
Why America’s $1.5 trillion student loan crisis has spiraled out of control
“With the growth in student loans continuing to soar, politicians and borrowers are struggling with an issue that’s become both a financial and political problem.
Presidential candidates are proposing to cancel student debt and make public college free, state legislators are cracking down on student-loan companies and, recently, government agencies have offered another approach — teaching students and borrowers more about finances.
The Treasury Department recommended earlier this month that colleges should require students to take financial-literacy courses and representatives from the Department of Education told a group of financial-aid professionals this week that the agency is planning to add robust financial literacy tools to the app students can use to apply for financial aid and manage their student loans.
These proposals come after years of colleges across the country experimenting with ways to teach their students good financial habits and provide them with more information about their loans.
The idea behind these efforts is to help students manage their finances while they’re in school and once they graduate.
Ultimately, it’s a laudable goal to help college students better understand their loans and their finances, but the question of how much to emphasize financial education underpins a broader debate about student debt,
its causes, consequences — and possible solutions.
Robert Kelchen, a Seton Hall University professor who studies higher education finance, said lawmakers and experts often ask whether people are making bad financial decisions or if they simply don’t have enough money.
“The answer is probably some of both — but it’s hard to tell how much is a literacy issue versus how much is a lack of money issue.”
Is providing students and families with more information enough to curb our nation’s $1.5 trillion student loan problem? So far, the research indicates that it’s probably not.
Here’s why:”
Continue reading here: http://a.msn.com/00/en-us/AADvLZO?ocid=se
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