The rise in student loan debt has directed critical attention to the growing pace of college costs as well as the reliance on loans to finance those costs. For graduates entering the workforce in recent years, many are finding that they are unable to find the type of job they thought they were securing when they received their degree, if they are able to find a job at all. Consequently, more loans are going unpaid and student loan debt has become the only class of consumer debt where defaults are increasing. While debt is a clear indicator of the flaws in the current way that postsecondary education is financed, a less visible consequence is the number of students who never make it to college because they perceive it as financially out of reach or the attrition of students who cannot afford to persist. Students need a way to finance college that helps them build the expectation that college is an attainable goal and the resources to make it a reality without compromising their future financial well-being. This paper will examine current trends in college cost and college financing, the role of savings in increasing postsecondary access and completion, and present a framework for developing a pro-college savings agenda and specific policy recommendations to overcome obstacles currently faces by low-income students. (Contains 1 table, 73 footnotes and 52 endnotes.)