Between 2000 and 2015, tuition at U.S. public colleges increased by 80% each year (McCarthy). At Northern New Mexico College, tuition increased by 359 percent between 2000 and 2015. This situation is also experienced at other colleges across the country and is creating panic among students (see Figure 1). While it is helpful and helps many people pursue a college education, the burden of student debt seems to discourage many and push them away. But even so, spending on college remains an investment that some hope will result in better-quality, better-paying jobs.FIGURE 1. Tuition increase from 2000 to 2015TYPES OF STUDENT LOANS As Pell Grants are phased out and an estimated 8 million low- and moderate-income students cannot afford to go to college, student loans become a necessity at a time when the cost of higher education is rapidly increasing. . In 1980, Pell Grants covered 77 percent of the cost of a four-year college education. However, these grants have declined and now cover less than a third of students' training (Flannery). Discounts similar to these are all