How much college will cost and what's involved in borrowing forit is a mystery to a large number of American high school seniors,according to a new CUNA poll.

The trade group conducted what it said was its first annual HighSchool Student Borrowing Survey, polling 847 students nationwide,and found that nearly half didn't know how much they would need topay for their higher education.

The poll also found that 83% did not know what kind of interestrates they'd be paying for student loans and 77% didn't know theloan durations they could expect to be taking on, CUNA saidWednesday.

But the 17- and 18-year-olds surveyed apparently don't lackmoxie. Seventy percent of them said they are confident they willland a high-paying job after they graduate.

CUNA also said of those who knew what they will owe aftergraduation, 15% said they will owe $10,000 or less; 22%,$11,000-$50,000; and 13%, more than $50,000.

That means opportunity for credit unions, the trade groupsaid.

“Student lending is an important, growing segment of the creditunion portfolio. The more credit unions pay attention to thisemerging market, the more they can better service their members,”said Paul Gentile, CUNA executive vice president, strategiccommunications and engagement.

Credit unions typically offer better terms than for-profit lenders and have a better repayment record, withdefault rates at about 1.6%, compared with less than 6% for allprivate student loans and more than 12% for federal loans, thetrade group said.

But there's still the problem of basic knowledge about what theyoung borrowers are getting into when they take out the loans.

“These troubling findings suggest not just a lack of awarenessof college cost or how debt works but also a lack of basicfinancial knowledge,” Gentile said.

“The results suggest that some students could be challenged inmanaging basic expenses or using such payment tools as credit cardsin a consistently responsible manner as they enter adulthood,” hesaid.

Gentile noted that CUNA is now lobbying for the government to allow student loans of longer durationthan the current 15-year standard.

“The 15-year standard student loan made sense in years past whenthe total debt taken out was much lower,” Gentile said.

“College is a lifetime investment. The value of a longer term isyou can better structure the loan to allow for smaller payments inthe early work years,” the CUNA EVP said.