The authors find that college students are borrowing more and taking on riskier forms of debt than ever before. If tuition increases continue to grow faster than inflation and family income and grant aid fails to keep pace, the authors project that more students will be left with few choices beyond student loans--and, increasingly, private loans.…

This article proposes that governing boards must carefully consider the implications of the admission and financial aid policy of awarding merit scholarships, without regard for student financial need. Such tuition discounting is seen as particularly problematic for private colleges, misleading to students, and potentially disastrous for…