Giving Compass' Take:

• Marguerite Ward, at Business Insider, suggests six alternative means for the next generation to avoid crippling debt from typical undergraduate degrees.

• How have college expenses become the biggest stressors in the lives of young people? What are solutions to lessen the cost of getting a degree? How important is it to make other options more affordable?

• Learn more about how options outside of college have become more appealing.

The average millennial is saddled with thousands in student loan debt; those in the graduating class of 2018 have an average student-loan debt of $29,800. They also still rely on their parents for money, have an overall net worth of $8,000 (which is worse off than previous generations), and are delaying life milestones such as buying a house, as Business Insider's Hillary Hoffower reports.

Here's how Gen Z can avoid falling in the same trap.

Attending a public, in-state, four-year college is much cheaper than attending a private, four-year college, or attending a public, out-of-state, four-year college.

According to education website Community College Review, the average cost of public community college is $4,816 for in-state and $8,581 for out-of-state, which is significantly less than the cost of a four-year institution.

An associate's degree can set you up for a number of well-paying jobs, ranging from a cardiovascular technologist (2018 median salary was $67,080) to a diagnostic medical sonographer (2018 median salary was $68,970).

Accredited vocational schools offer a direct career path to jobs with good wages, such as careers in welding, to aviation maintenance to becoming a dental hygienist.

To help fill in-demand jobs, companies like IBM and Toyota have spearheaded apprenticeship programs that don't require a college degree. IBM's apprenticeship program, for example, places high school graduates or students with a GED in roles such as "application developer apprentice" or "talent acquisition apprentice."

Several states — from Maryland to California — have high school programs that offer students the chance to complete an associate's degree upon graduation. These programs are structured in one of two ways; The first is where students earn a high school diploma by 10th grade and get an associate's degree in the two remaining years of school.

Read the full article about methods to avoid undergraduate debt by Marguerite Ward at Business Insider.