By Lisa Grier

The message to our youth has been consistent: You need a college education to realize the American dream.

High schools rally to the call of preparing students for this next leap as they measure their aptitude and interests, tests and refine academic skills, offer Advanced Placement and Dual-Enrollment classes and aid in applying for scholarships.

Off they go to college with high hopes and dreams for a well paying career doing what the love- and like most; they will rely on loans to pay for that investment in their future incomes.

Fast-forward to graduation, and what should be an exciting culmination of four years of dedicated study is halted into a scary reality: a looming loan debt that will no doubt, catch many eager graduates with a sobering surprise.

"I owe how much? My minimum payment is what? How many years? I do not even have prospects on a job."

My daughter received a tearful call from a friend, following her financial exit information session, frantic and depressed--- she had accumulated a whopping $160,000 in student loan debt--- for a teaching degree from a state school.

I was stunned and could not figure out how she had accumulated such an enormous debt. My daughter explained that her friend had borrowed the maximum amount she could, covering tuition, housing, meal plan, books, along with spending money; worsened by the fact that she was forced to rely on private loans.

Neither she, nor her parents were eligible for government student loans due to poor credit. She never worked during school, and not a dime has been paid toward interest on those loans.

It deeply saddens me to know that her start in life begins on such a note. True, she got herself into this financial mess, but I cannot help but ask where her parents were? Didn’t anyone advise her about the debt she was taking on?

She has never worked at a job and currently has no job prospects. She has $60 to her name and will be unable to afford to move, should she find a teaching job. Her minimum monthly loan payment is $540 for many years to come.

No wonder she was crying! It made me want to cry. I shudder to think about her future and the enormity of her debt repayment.

Student loan debt now surpasses credit card debt and I surmise that this college graduate is not alone in her poor financial decisions.

I believe the next financial crisis is just around the corner as un- and under-employed college graduates will be financially paralyzed by their debt; entrapped in loan repayment hell they will forever be burdened by. Many will be unable to buy a home, start a family, or buy a car.

Parents, financial aid representatives, and schools need to do a better job in helping guide our young and eager students about the choices they are making when it comes to post-secondary education and the investment they make in choosing a career and the path to get there.

There seems to be some kind of weird denial about the financial realities of loans, interest accrual, and the stark economic realities of the current job market and costs of living.

My daughter walked away with $16,000 of debt and we were actively involved in the choice to go to a state school, she graduated high school with college credits, finished college a semester early, saving the costs of a final semester’s tuition, housing and meal plan, she worked part-time and I worked to pay for her loan from day one.

Keeping her debt under control was a team effort. She was hired by an advertising firm a month after graduation. She now has a great job in her field.

As parents, we breathe a huge sigh of relief and we are grateful for being able to be proud of her accomplishments without the fear of seeing her burdened by staggering loan debt.

Sky-rocketing tuition and related educational expenses need to be looked at squarely in the eye when students are narrowing down career choices and making college visits.

The truth is those four years will fly by and repaying those loans does not have to be a reality check that leaves your college graduate in a financial rut, relegated to a life living at home with their parents well into their thirties!

Planning, preparation, and paying for college is serious business and parents need to take the lead! The decisions you make now will have consequences for your child’s future.