ITT: the overpriced tuition needs to be addressed.

While I do agree, this IMO is not the bigger issue. While I am all for increasing the education level in the country the increase in student loans is a reaction to an increase in competition. There is virtually no way you can make it in America these days with just a HS diploma, couple this with people looking down on those w/ anything less than a college degree. Getting a college education make you competitive in the job market, so it makes sense to go to college. Then you need to factor in the prestige of the schools as well. Colleges are just reacting to the demand in education. It is simple supply/demand economics. Increase the demand (i.e. need for a higher education) and the college (i.e. the suppliers of the education) will increase the price.

One thing we desperately need in this country is an educational reform of the K-12 curriculum. School districts have focused more on "teaching" to pass state exams in order to get more money, which in turn lines the pockets of the district board members. We need to reform these curriculums to teach how to learn and then start letting kids in HS discover the type of career pathway for them after graduation. But that starts with all of us realizing many important things humans need opposed to just overlooking a few b/c it either makes you feel uncomfortable thinking about these issues, which you do not want to see in your perfect little bubble, or it is not relevant to you.