Student loans are currently at an all time high. While loan free graduates can immediately begin starting their life, indebted graduates have to spend years paying principal and interest on loans. The standard time that students take to repay loans tend to be 10 years, but can be much longer.

A 2012 Pew Research Center analysis of government data, found that nearly 40% of households, led by someone 35 or younger, have student debt.

Of the nearly 20 million Americans who attend college each year, about 12 million of them are forced to take out loans, according to the Almanac of Higher Education. Estimates show that the average four year graduate rakes up between $26,000 to $29,000 in loan. Increasing tuition seems to be the major cause due to reduced state funding and other campus costs.

But college graduates do have something to look forward to. Young adults, ages 25 to 32, who work full time, earn anywhere around $45,500 a year. That’s $17,500 more than people who only have a high school diploma.

I believe it’s high time that states begin to re-think college financing options to bring debt down and graduation rates up!