FLINT - Amellia Hartley and the rest of the Class of 2007 haven't even walked across the stage to the sound of "Pomp and Circumstance" yet, but college loan debt is already on their minds.

"It's a huge concern," said Amellia, 17, a Durand High School senior who attended Sunday's financial aid workshop at the University of Michigan-Flint with her mother, Michelle Costello...
 
Financial aid officers from UM-Flint and other area colleges at Sunday's workshop assisted families with application forms and provided them with details about the various types of aid available. More than 80 families packed the tables in the Michigan Room, exceeding organizers' expectations...

Cuts to federal aid programs and rising tuition have made the cost of college a daunting prospect for many families. Stephen Burd, a senior fellow at the Washington, D.C.-based New America Foundation, said he worries that increasing college costs will re-stratify higher education...

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