The staggering amount of college debt is forcing many grads to move back in with their parents. Experts say the time to avoid trouble is when the kids are in high school.
Houston CPA Michael Parmet is also a Rice professor.
"Going to some great schools does give you a good return on investment in many cases but sometimes you're going to the inappropriate places."
Parmet says parents and students need to have a serious talk about the future -- in high school.
"If you go to a school and acquire $200,000 of debt and can only get a $30,000 or $40,000 a year job out of it, you really need to be thinking twice about it."
Sure, Ivy League degrees look great, but if the degree is in a field that doesn't pay much money, the student loan debt will be too much. Also, if possible, try to get your son or daughter to buckle down and qualify for a scholarship.
Parmet says in cases where it's too late and the kids are moving back in, families need a plan.
"The key is making a plan of how to pay off the school debt; part of their commitment to going to college and going into debt is utilizing the skills they acquired there. So, make a plan, pay off the debt and it may take ten years to do it, but they need to have a plan and not just try and think they can walk away from school debt."
American college students owe more than a trillion dollars debt.