It is well known that college education is expensive. However, apart from the tuition and the other educational expenses, it has been found that most of the students spend lavishly on unnecessary and superficial things that go on to burden most of the students with huge debts. The economic realities of the costs of a college education were highlighted in “Business Week” magazine under the title, “Thirty & Broke, the Real Price of a College Education Today,” datelined November 14, 2005. The findings of this article reveal that indebtedness is growing among the students over the years. For instance, in 1992-93, 24.8 students earning degree at a public college graduated with debt.

In 2003-2004, 58 percent students from a public college graduated with debt. The median amount of these indebted students in 1992-93 was $8,226, while the same in 2003-2004 was $14,671. The figures, both for the percentage of students that were in debt and the median amount, were considerably higher for students studying in private college (ebsco.com). The question to be asked is “”Why do college students accumulate so much debt during college and how does it impact their future?” Student debt is the effect with a large number of consequences, while the student debt itself could be the result of a large number of causes. We shall in this paper examine the causes leading to student debt, and also briefly discuss the impact of student debt. In any causal relationship, a cause leads to an effect, which is itself the cause of further effect.

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