Generations of Americans have been raised to think that money spent on education is always a good investment. If you study hard and get decent grades, the rest is supposed to work itself out. You'll get job, pay off your loans and live the American dream. Unfortunately, many students are lent more than they can pay back in the years after graduation. The rule of thumb I've read is that you shouldn't borrow more than what you expect to earn annually when you graduate. Years after earning their degrees, today's graduates can't buy a home or start a family because they can't dig out from under their student loan debt. The statistics are startling: