WASHINGTON -- We're told over and over again that student loans are good debt. Conventional wisdom says that, like a home loan, student loan debt will turn into an asset. But what happens when it doesn't turn out that way? What happens when you take on loans that in many cases will take decades to pay off? What happens when people increasingly can't pay?

They stop paying or fall behind. The U.S. Department of Education recently reported that the national default rate on federal student loans rose slightly to 5.1 percent in 2004, the latest year available, from the previous year's record low of 4.5 percent.

Although the default rate is low compared with the all-time high of 22.4 percent set 14 years ago, the latest increase is a signal that shouldn't be ignored.

Since the 1990s, the number of students who graduate with over $25,000 in loan debt has tripled, according to the student Public Interest Research Groups, which along with several state student associations last year launched the Student Debt Alert project (www.studentdebtalert.org ).

Sinking in debt, borrowers want to know their options. They look deflated when I tell them. Pay it as originally agreed over 10 years and live below your means, or stretch the payments for up to 30 years.

This is cache, read story here