A degree from an accredited college or university shows a potential employer that you are able to think critically and solve tough problems. The more you learn, the higher your salary becomes!

A college degree is an extremely worthwhile investment in your future. In fact, on average people who graduate from college make over $1,000,000 more during their lifetime than those with just a high school degree.

The U.S. Department of Education has released some disheartening news for California college students and their parents: nearly one out of every 12 California college graduates who has graduated in the past couple of years is in default. Not only does this not bode well for taxpayers and for the economy, but it is also a terrible position for recent college graduates to be put in.

According to a report released by the U.S. Department of Education, nearly 21,500 former California students were scheduled to begin repaying their loans anywhere between October 1, 2008 and September 30, 2009. Yet, by September 30, 2010, one out of 12 of these graduates had either failed to ever begin making payment or went into default before paying off their loans in full.

College graduates who fail to repay their student loans face a two-edged sword. Due to their failure to repay their student loans, their credit rating can be significantly affected. As a result, finding work can become even more problematic as a growing number of employers conduct credit checks as part of the employee screening process. With the added difficulty of getting a job, these students will have even more trouble finding work. Once they do find employment, they face wage garnishment and withholding of tax returns and Social Security benefits. In short, these graduates are at risk of being stuck in a cycle that can be quite difficult to overcome.

The report published by the U.S. Department of Education has only added fuel to a debate surrounding for-profit colleges, as the default rates were the highest among these schools. In fact, nine out of the top ten schools in terms of default rates were for-profit schools. The entire top ten list is as follows:

• Institute of Technology in Clovis (for-profit college that grants associate’s degrees) – 28%
• Everest College in Los Angeles (for-profit college that grants associate’s degrees) – 28%
• WyoTech in Long Beach (for-profit college that grants associate’s degrees) – 27%
• Everest College in Hayward (for-profit college that grants associate’s degrees) – 27%
• WyoTech in Fremont (for-profit college that grants associate’s degrees) – 25%
• Four-D College in Colton (for-profit 2-year college that does not grant degrees) – 24%
• Everest College in Ontario (for-profit college that grants associate’s degrees) – 24%
• NTMA Training Centers of Southern California in Norwalk (private 1-year college that does not grant degrees) – 24%
• Everest College in San Francisco (for-profit 1-year college that does not grant a degree) – 23%
• Everest College in Alhambra (for-profit college that grants associate’s degrees) – 23%

Interestingly, community colleges also had default rates, but the fresnobee points out that relatively few community college students actually take out loans because the tuition cost at these schools is so low.

At a time when colleges and universities are reporting significant increases in tuition, students who are interested in attending schools such as California’s Pomona College are finding great opportunities for furthering their education at an affordable cost.

“Three years ago I just would not have believed that I would be here,” said Seanna Leath, who is a junior at the school who is pursuing a double major in psychology and African studies, in a recent cnn.com blog post. “I never thought I could go to Pomona and not have huge loans.”

Today, Leath shares the campus with 1,560 students, and Pomona pays nearly all of her $50,000 tab for tuition, room and board. According to Pomona College President David Oxtoby, elite schools such as his have a “social obligation” to offer scholarships to those students who are underprivileged. At the same time, offering these scholarships does place an additional financial strain on the school.

“There is a core commitment from the college and the trustees, affordability and financial aid are among our top priorities,” said Oxtoby. “When we moved to a policy of replacing loans with grants, we knew I would cost us money. I can’t say we don’t worry about the future.”

In order to offer more scholarships to students, Pomona has had to tap into its endowments. Given the current state of the economy, these endowments were already taking a hit. As such, the school has had to implement some cost-cutting measures while also working with other colleges in the area.

“Pomona made adjustments, institution a voluntary retirement program, freezing salaries, reducing expenditures in buildings,” said Oxtoby. “We collaborated with our neighboring colleges. For example, we cut back on sabbatical faculty replacements, by looking to see if there was a similar course being offered at (neighboring) Scripps College.”

Under the current arrangement, Pomona students can take classes at one of the adjacent Claremont Colleges, such as Claremont McKenna and Scripps.

It is due to grants, scholarships and other cost-cutting measures that families are reporting paying 9 percent less for an education in the 2010-2011 academic year as compared to a year ago. According to a Sallie Mae survey, this is partially due to the fact that more students are choosing to live at home while attending school, while others are selecting lower-cost colleges. Furthermore, grants and scholarships covered 33 percent of college costs in the 2010-2011 school year compared to 23 percent from the year before.

While a growing number of universities are offering scholarship opportunities to students, it is not all out of the goodness of their hearts. In fact, the trend started about four years ago when Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley accused the schools of hoarding the wealth they have acquired thanks to government tax breaks. It was then that Congress threatened to revoke their tax advantages if they did not take steps to make education more affordable.

According to Pomona officials, the university’s endowment is at $1.4 billion. $25.2 million of this was given away in scholarships last school year, with the average scholarship being valued at $34,674. Furthermore, from 2009 through 2011, 53 percent of the school’s students received financial aid through the school.