The cost of college is a significant burden on Americans today.

College student loan debt now surpasses $1 trillion, more than Americans owe on their credit cards and cars. The average college senior owes more than $25,000. Given that the unemployment rate among recent college graduates is at a record high of 9.1 percent, many new grads will have a tough time paying that back. Unsurprisingly, student loan default rates have been rising, from 7 percent in 2009 to nearly 9 percent in 2010. This translates into more than 320,000 defaults out of nearly 4 million student borrowers.