It is estimated that 20 million Americans attend college each year, and 60% of these students borrow to pay for their education each year (quoted in asa.org, “Student Loan Debt Statistics” ). Additionally, the fact that citizens continue to repay debt after college brings the total number of student loan borrowers to approximately 40 million – with a collective debt of $1 trillion (McCarthy, “10 Fun Facts About the Student Debt Crisis); a quarter of these borrowers owe more than $28,000, a tenth more than $54,000, 3.1% owe more than $100,000, "and 0.45% of borrowers, or 167,000 people, owe more than 200,000 $” (Haughwout, “Grading Student Loans”). Although some view this predicament as the result of laziness or carelessness, the majority of this large group are not at fault. Low-wage jobs, underemployment, and high unemployment rates have forced individuals seeking the "American dream," upward social mobility, and better education to choose debt, often at low prices. that they cannot and will not be able to afford. The huge amount of borrowed money is not only harming people's lives, productivity and living standards, but also the economy, and must be addressed. With society's emphasis on the need to obtain a college education to achieve a good-paying job, be considered successful, and have a better quality of life, everyone desires a degree and many attempt to get one. However, the typical middle-class family cannot afford to go to college without incurring moderate debt and depending largely on scholarships and grants that they or their children can send. Lower-class families find it extremely difficult to obtain a college degree, living in low-income neighborhoods with poor public schools does not produce the competitive middle of paper young adults living in their parents' home. Pew Research and Social and Demographic Trends. Pew Research Center, August 1, 2013. Web. April 4, 2014. Gage, Caroline Salas, Janet Lorin. “Student loans, the next big threat to the American economy? Bloomberg Business Week. Bloomberg, January 16, 2014. Web. April 5, 2014.Haughwout, Andrew, Meta Brown, Donghoon Lee, Maricar Mabutas, Wilbert van der Klaauw. “Student loan scoring.” » Liberty Street Economy. Federal Reserve Bank of New York, March 5, 2012. Web. April 4, 2014. McCarthy, Kyle. “10 Fun Facts About the Student Debt Crisis.” » Huffington Post. The HuffingtonPost.com, January 22, 2014. Web. April 3, 2014. “Student Debt Statistics.” ASA.org. Help for American students. Internet. April 4, 2014. “How Much Does a College Education Cost?” » University data. The National Association for College Admissions Counseling. Internet. April 6. 2014.