About 89 percent of the freshmen class of 2013-2014received enough aid to cover half of their tuition at privateuniversities, according to a study by the National Association ofCollege and University Business Officers, but that other half canadd up to a hefty bill after four years of college.

“The average student loan debt for a U.S. graduate of the Classof 2013 was $28,400, according to the Project on Student Debt,”said Deborah Figart of theSchool of Education, at The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey.“Each month, young adults are burdened with 25 percent to 30percent or more of their net pay dedicated to student loandebt.”

Stanford University recently made a bold statement when theyannounced that any undergraduate admitted to the class of 2019 whocomes from a family with an annual income below $125,000 won't haveto pay tuition.

Students from families with incomes below $65,000 also willreceive free room and board, and families earning up to about$225,000 also may qualify for financial assistance, especially ifmore than one family member is enrolled in college, according tothe school. Tuition at Stanford runs $45,729 a year, and room andboard is another $14,107.

“I've created a huge amount of debt over the past six years andI have at least two more years of college to get my Master's,” saidLacy Murdoch. “I am probably going to join the military becausethey've offered to pay back a substantial amount. I never thought Iwould be doing this, but with over $100,000 in loans to pay back Iwill do almost anything.”

Credit unions have taken note to the importance of college andgraduating with a minimum amount of debt. They entered the privatestudent loan consolidation market in late 2010 and as of September2014, 666 credit unions, with a median asset size of roughly $144million, reported offering students loans.

One such credit union, NuVision Federal Credit Union inHuntington Beach, CA., is taking the education of itscommunity members seriously, and recently announced its annual 2015NuVision Scholarship Program to support local students pursuingpost-secondary education.

This Southern Californian credit union with $1.3 billion inassets has been providing scholarships since 2008 and this year,the NuVision Scholarship Program has significantly expanded toprovide more money to more students across Los Angeles and Orangecounties in response to the rising debt of collegestudents.

NuVision is awarding ten $1,000 scholarships to studentsattending a four-year college or university (public or private),community college, or pursuing trade certification in a vocationalor technical school. Eligibility requirements and application formsare available on the NuVision website, www.NuVisionFederal.org.

“Every year NuVision is honored to support an incredible groupof hardworking local students with money for school, and this yearwe are especially excited as we have more than doubled the size ofthe NuVision Scholarship Program. This program is just one of manyways we show our commitment to the communities we serve,” said L.J.Tarman, vice president of marketing and public relations.

The total outstanding student loan debt in the U.S. has nowsurpassed $1.2 trillion. A September 2014 report by the creditbureau Experian found student loans in the U.S. had surged 84percent since the Great Recession, with more than 40 millionconsumers having at least one student loan.

“My friends think I'm crazy for going into the military,”Murdoch said. “But really, what choice do I have?”