student debt load

Surging above $1 trillion, U.S. student loan debt has surpassed credit card and auto-loan debt. This debt explosion jeopardizes the fragile recovery, increases the burden on taxpayers and possibly sets the stage for a new economic crisis.

How do you avoid sending your kid off into the world without a pile of student loan debt? One key is to figure out the real, bottom-line price of a specific college -- before you apply. DailyFinance's Laura Rowley explains.

The average college student spends $500 per year on alcohol, says Rachel Barrington of the University of Wisconsin. With the average student taking five years to graduate and borrowing about $23,000, that means that more than 10% of all college loans go to finance alcohol consumption.

Ask anyone you know where the smartest people go to college. Chances are you'll get all the same answers: Harvard, MIT, Yale, etc. But what's smarter than saving $100,000 and getting an education that is just as good, and perhaps even better, than you can get at many top universities?

When Ashley Overhouse's parents found out that the cost of her first year at the University of California-Santa Cruz would be almost 8% higher than they'd thought, she says they had an understandable reaction: "They freaked." Ashley's parents aren't alone. As tuitions and fees continue to rise both...