College enrollment, loans increasing

Debt collection agents are being overrun with cases involving people defaulting on student loans, a trend that will probably continue to occur as more young adults take out loans to pay for tuition and other school expenses. West Virginia University's Daily Athenaeum reported that while Vice President Joe Biden encouraged higher education enrollment during a recent college newspaper conference call, tuition has risen approximately 300 percent in 20 years. Simply entering into college or pursuing a graduate degree of any sort can drive students into debt before they enter into the workforce. A 2010 New York Times article noted that the college enrollment rate in the United States is steadily increasing despite the recession and is at its highest numbers since 1959, with approximately 70 percent of 2009 high school graduates attending a university. There has been a 45.1 percent increase in the last 50 years. As enrollment increases, so does the number of students and parents taking out loans. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recently released findings that student loan debt hit the $1 trillion mark in late 2011.