.. is a lot of money.

It’s also an estimate in “outstanding federal and private student-loan debt, says Mark Kantrowitz of FinAid.org, a Web site that tracks financial-aid issues—and only 40% of that debt is actively being repaid.” According to the Wall Street Journal, “the rest is in default, or in deferment, which means that payments and interest are halted, or in “forbearance,” which means payments are halted while interest accrues.”

Citing an unusual case (med student that admits to “missing several payments”) – the point is clear: Students are heading into the real world with real debt. Student loans can become unwieldy and near impossible to pay back in a timely fashion. So off we go into our futures with debt up to our ears and adding more to the pile: mortgages, cars, credit cards, and so forth.

Is there a solution to this mess in the foreseeable future? If so, what?

Check out the rest of the article here.