U.S. college students, current and former, owe about $1.3 trillion for student loans. A survey by a company which connects those students with loan companies finds that nearly half expect their debt to be forgiven.
They shouldn't think that, says Lone Star College economics professor Hank Lewis.
“One of the things every student is required to sign if they receive a student loan,” Lewis says, “is an acknowledgement that they understand that it definitely has to be repaid.”
That doesn’t register with many students.
“It will go in one ear and out the other, and they'll totally forget,” he says, “then they sometimes think there's going to be some kind of forgiveness in the future and those are the students I'm a little more concerned about.”
Lewis says some public service jobs -- like teaching -- can qualify them for at least a partial forgiveness of the loan debit. Fewer than 10 percent of graduating students qualify until the existing restrictions.