Here's an important alert if you or someone you know is in college. The student loan market is in a world of hurt right now because of wider economic trends. Private loans are hit-or-miss when it comes to availability.

In essence, the lending spigot is dry. So that means students have to employ extra creativity to remain in school when money isn't necessarily available.

Clark believes that private universities will find they'll have to offer payment plans in order to keep enrollments up. Work-study is another route to ensure you can stay in school. Or you may have to work for an employer that pays for your education. That's what Clark did for his graduate degree.

If you can't find the funds for a private college, you may have to dial back to a community college or a state school during your freshman or sophomore years.

The silver lining to not being able to find private educational loans is that people won't burden themselves with massive debt. If you have to find another way to get that degree because you can't borrow, that could be a good thing…