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The collapse of the financial sector recently was actually felt by people only after it happened. There is another financial crisis that is gradually creeping up waiting to take us unawares. Combined with the current 9.8 percent unemployment rate, the college loan crisis is going to soon become overwhelming.

In the recent collapse, as we all know, mortgages played a major role. Similarly, the college loan scenario is all set to shake the foundation all over again. Only about a third of our college student’s graduate without being saddled with debts. Estimates show that in the year 2008, 206,000 students graduated burdened with a debt of over $40,000. The figures continue to rise and are a major cause of concern today.

More numbers of families are forced to take out college loans in order to b able to afford sending their children to school. Though the past twenty years or so have seen a rise of 23 percent in median income, college tuition fee has increased over four times that. The need to take student loans is further intensified due to the tough economic conditions.

Today it is not difficult coming across parents who have lost their jobs but do not want to sacrifice their children’s dreams. They reach out for college loans which in fact is the only way out to ensure a bright future for their kids.

Students take huge debts to pay for skyrocketing college tuition fees as they are time and again brain washed that college education is the only way out if they want to be successful in life. Many of them graduate and are left without a job for years. They continue to look for jobs and the debtors continue to seek them out for repayment.

This situation will in turn make college loans difficult to obtain in future which will prevent deserving students from obtaining college education due to lack of funds. Both for students as well as for our country as a whole, this is a catastrophic situation. If America wants to maintain its current rate of number of adults with college degrees, then it has to necessarily avert the college loan crisis.

The situation however seems to be lost. States are struggling to balance their budgets and government cannot continue enhancing aid as it is impractical. The only area that can be worked upon is the cost of education itself. It is time to take a deep look at why college costs have skyrocketed dramatically over the past three decades.

A few causes could include higher fuel, labor and technology costs apart from increased numbers of students attending college today. This means increased associated costs such as faculty, tuition and housing and increased financial aid.

A distant hope is also provided by the online classes. The year 2008 saw a rise of 17 percent in the number of students opting for at least one online class. Online classes cut down hugely on costs and allow students to study from the comfort of their homes. They no longer need to spend on commuting to college or pay for housing and classroom space.

Maybe student loan debacle will force skeptical educators to consider online education as a viable alternative to expensive college education?