Nearly a third of student debtors never completed their college degree.

Nearly a third of student debtors never completed their college degree. Scholarships are shifting from need-based to merit-based, which often favors higher-income students who can afford better SAT test prep. Many students who can’t make the cut end up buckling under the stress of working while in school. Georgia’s HOPE scholarship is lottery-based, and disproportionately favors higher-income students while lower-income residents are more likely to pay into it—causing a wealth shift and showing how systemic change may be the only way out for up-and-coming college-goers. (The Atlantic, American Public Media)