Education costs across the U.S. are at their highest, and may continue to rise for some time. The national average for college tuition is $31,395 for 4 year institutions, and $23,401 for 2 year institutions.(Per year.) This information is taken directly from http://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=76.
The Federal Pell Grant at maximum grants a student $5,550 per year. Therefore, unless a student is lucky, the debt acquired is staggering by the time he/she graduates. At the rate of $31,395 tuition per year, assuming that a student received a full Federal Pell Grant, a student would graduate with a $103,380 dollar debt, before considering taxes and interest rates. If the interest rate was as low as 6%, the amount would accrue an additional $6202.8 per year.
Please, assist us.