The rising costs of college and the student loan industry that fuels it has been the subject of much debate and deliberation recently.
President Barack Obama recently embarked on a two-day "college affordability bus tour," where he laid out his three step plan to "connect financial aid to school performance, support academic innovation and competition, and make college affordable," aimed to help ensure college is available to all young Americans.
Over the last decade, the amount of student loans outstanding has quadrupled, even in the face of student loan reform through the 2010 Student and Fiscal Responsibility Act. This seemingly out-of-control industry impacts student, private lenders, and taxpayers!
To see which companies are holding the majority of the outstanding student debt, click the slideshow below. Also, if you're looking for more information on the country's debt problems, The Motley Fool's new free report, "Everything You Need to Know About the National Debt," walks you through step-by-step explanations about how the government spends your money, where it gets tax revenue from, the future of spending, and what a $16 trillion debt means for our future. Click here to read the full report!
