How About a Bailout for Debt-Strapped Students?

As details of a massive financial bailout are being hammered out in Washington, D.C., some educators are asking: Hey, what about college students? Senate negotiators raised the prospect of a little help for anyone facing tuition bills by slipping into the new bailout bill an extension of the tuition tax deduction that was set to expire at the end of this year.

But advisers gathered at last week's Seattle conference of the National Association of College Admissions Counselors said they are worried there are lots of students who are in just as much financial trouble as overextended homeowners, as rising student loan default rates indicate. The average college graduate owes almost $20,000. And many leave school owing more than $50,000. With today's economic troubles and growing unemployment, more young graduates may have trouble making their payments. So, if Congress is contemplating bailing out mortgages, college advisers are asking, why not student loans?