When I was a young adult I couldn't wait to leave home and get out on my own. It really wasn't that hard to do -- I made good money as a waitress and cheap places were plentiful. When I went to nursing school in Colorado Springs, tuition was $700 a semester including books and I could make enough in the summer to pay for school. I lived in a nice cabin for $60 a month that included heat and cable. Boy, are those days gone.

College graduates now face thousands of dollars of debt as they pick up their diplomas. Two-thirds (65.7%) of 4-year undergraduate students graduate with an average student loan debt of $19,237. Graduate and professional students borrow even more, with the additional debt for a graduate degree ranging from $27,000 to $114,000. Many graduates see little choice to get out of debt except move back with the folks.

These boomerangers are everywhere. In 2007, 14.5 million children age 18-24 lived at home, up from 6.4 million in 1960, according to U.S. Census figures. Moving back home has become the new normal. So many kids are doing so that there is no longer a stigma.

Welcome to school, here is your iPhone. More and more colleges are handing out the high tech device to lure students and distinguish themselves as "tech friendly." Schools emphasize the usefulness of having everyone online, but some professors express concern. It is hard enough to keep students' attention in a large lecture hall without a high tech toy for distraction.

But therein is the issue. Today's college students are technology natives and have ALWAYS had computers, cell phones and other technology at their fingertips. They shop, research and surf online. They connect with people all over the world in chat rooms and social networking sites. Many play realistic computer games with amazing graphics and sounds. Then they walk into the college classroom.

All too often they encounter a boring professor talking from yellowed notes in a monotone. The basic methods of teaching at a college level have not changed to keep up with the changes in the student population. Where are the graphics? Where is the excitement? Does learning really have to be boring?

As the cost of college skyrockets, so do the number of scams trying to take advantage of families. With the average cost of a private four-year college topping more than $32,000, more families than ever are on the hunt for scholarships that can help relieve some of that financial burden. Con artists and unscrupulous businesses snare several hundred thousands of unsuspecting students and their families with fraudulent offers every year, to the tune of more than $100 million, according to FinAid.

You don't have to let it happen to you!

Here are a few key tips to get started safely.

AOL Money & Finance writer and editor Zac Bissonnette is a sophomore at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and an expert on getting a great education without going broke.

When it comes to picking a college, people don't pay much attention to the costs.

That's the outcome of a new study commissioned by Fannie Mae. Some nuggets: 40% of families don't limit their college search based on costs and middle-class families are pretty much just as likely to splurge for a pricey private college as wealthy ones (20% vs. 22%).

Commenting on the study, financial planner Fredrick Adkins told The Associated Press that picking a college is largely an emotional decision but that "At some point, if it's going to totally put a family's finances in jeopardy, rationality needs to factor in."