A 2016 report issued by the University of Pennsylvania Institute for Research on Higher Learning determined that PA ranks 49th in the nation for college affordability. The report, titled the 2016 College Affordability Diagnosis, found that financial aid no longer covers an entire four year education, that lower and middle-income families face too many economic obstacles to effectively save for college and too often taking on debt has become the default option for students pursuing a degree.

In her 2016 book, Paying the Price: College Costs, Financial Aid, and the Betrayal of the American Dream, Sara Goldrick-Rab points to an economy that does not support the financial structure necessary to secure a college education. The Temple Professor of Higher Education Policy Sociology argues that loans are the only way to a degree for many students and "there is reason to think that until prices are reduced students from low-income families might be more successful in college if they were willing or able to borrow more."

We will talk about the daunting task of paying for college - overcoming the obstacles and finding the opportunities in achieving a degree in the current economic climate. Joining Smart Talk are Dr. Joni Finney, Director of the University of Pennsylvania's Institute for Research on Higher Education and lead author of the 2016 College Affordability Diagnosis and Dr. Sara Goldrick Rab, author of Paying the Price.