Dana Goldstein encourages "providing young teenagers–in middle schools and high schools–with much savvier college and career counseling":
Half of all college drop-outs have borrowed some money for tuition. And consider this depressing statistic: One in five students who drop out of college leave only after accumulating $20,000 or more in debt. These are the folks most unable to pay back their loans; the rhetoric of "college for all" simply does not match the reality of their lives.
Judith Scott-Clayton's student debt cost-benefit calculation includes related points and the above chart.
The Dish 