On today's Expressive Mom Show, Miriam Slozberg interviews author Kate Stephens, author of College, Quicker: 24 Practical Ways to Save Money and Get Your Degree Faster to talk about how students can reduce or even avoid getting into debt from student loans. The average scholarship and grant aid per student at a private, nonprofit university is $17,040, according to the Center for Educational Statistics. Average college tuition, room, and board per year at the same type of school costs more than two times that number. College Board lists the cost at $42,419 which adds up to $169,676 for a four-year degree. Due to these increasingly high figures and the limited amount of financial aid, student debt continues to rise. Nevertheless, incoming freshmen can halt this upward trend, significantly reduce their college costs, and possibly avoid student loans altogether. Kate says the secret to not having to deal with these debts is to graduate sooner. Listen to the podcast to discover other ways to avoid having to go into debt from student loans!