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OPINION
Education

Class of 2015 carries most debt. So what's tuition fix? Your Say Interactive

Eileen Rivers
USA TODAY Opinion
Despite the cost, a majority says college has paid off or will pay off, according to a Pew Research Center survey.

Nearly three-quarters (70%) of the Class of 2015 will graduate with student loan debt, with the average load reaching $35,051, the highest of any graduating class in U.S. history, according to an analysis by Mark Kantrowitz, senior vice president and publisher of Edvisors.com. The company attempts to give college students and families insight on preparing and paying for college. Some of his data was based on the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study.

So what's the solution to rising tuition costs and debt burdens that are placing college out of reach for a growing number of high school graduates? A look at the solutions from our readers in response to our #tellusatoday question on Twitter, comments from USA TODAY Opinion's Facebook page and the national conversation captured in the interactive graphics. Leave your view in the informal surveys below.

How bad is it?

Students are taking on loans to match the rising cost of tuition at an alarming rate. During the 1992-93 school year, less than half of college students (45.5%) graduated with loan debt. This year, a little more than 70% of students graduated with loans, and a bit more than 17% of graduating students' parents have loans.

Tie the loan amounts to the students' majors and prospective incomes so that they don't get in over their heads. Nobody should be able to borrow more than twice the average starting salary in their field (and even that amount is absurd, but it would be a step in the right direction).

—Shea Han

Yet, an overwhelming percentage of Millennials say the cost of their education was worth it. Nearly two-thirds of that generation (62%) say that their education has paid off.

Not everyone needs college. Learn a trade, earn a certificate and go to work.

—Adria Lewis

Force colleges to tell their graduates how much a job in their chosen field will pay as well as the likelihood of landing a job.

—John R. Tibbetts

Where's the help for students?

Administrative hires are outpacing student enrollment at private colleges and universities, causing some to wonder whether the solution lies in freezing (or even cutting) the rate of new hires. Other suggestions: Cut athletic program funding and retire tenured faculty. What's your solution?

Cut funding to athletics and let them survive on their income and cut administrative positions to reduce cost; no reason our country should have any tuition cost for passing students.

—Mark Hasty

The billions and billions wasted on war and propping up Muslim countries could be better spent educating American citizens.

—Steve Poirier

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