In 2013 federal student loans surpassed $1 trillion for the first time. They have continued to grow, totaling $1.2 trillion in the third quarter of 2015, according to data from the U.S. Department of Education. Behind those rising student debts is a soaring cost of higher education.
From 2010 to 2015, tuition for four-year public colleges increased in every state, jumping by as much as 56 percent in Louisiana, the most of any state, and close to 40 percent in Arizona and Georgia, according to a report from the Urban Institute published on Nov. 1.