To cope, schools are changing the structure of their financial-aid and student-counseling services.

WSJ: Part-Time M.B.A. Programs Lend Students a Hand in Hard Times

San Diego State University started counseling and tracking student borrowers in 2010 and has seen private loans decline.

WSJ: To Pay Off Loans, Grads Put Off Marriage, Children

But he has given plenty of advice off the field, fulfilling his side of his bargain with Osborne by squeezing in a few hours each week of life skills counseling for his student athletes.

FORBES: Careers

Independent schools tend to have well run college counseling departments with low student to counselor ratios, and provide regular campus visits to colleges nationwide.

FORBES: How Many Colleges Should You Apply To?

Judy Galbraith, a specialist in guidance and counseling of the gifted, recalls a time when her second-grade student brought The Hobbit to class.

FORBES: Magazine Article