• Student Aid 101
  • Grants, Scholarships, and Loans
  • Your Financial Aid Offer
  • Types of Loans
  • The Basics of Loans
  • The Language of Loans
  • About Interest
  • Your Responsibilities
  • Student Loan Q&A
  • The Hidden Truths of Student Loans
  • Exit Counseling
  • Beware of "Debt Relief" Organizations
• Making Payments
  • Benefits of Paying Interest
  • Grace Period
  • Ways to Pay
  • Repayment Plans
  • Repayment Q&A
  • Loan Consolidation
  • Loan Payoff
• Trouble Paying
  • Change Your Due Date
  • Reduce Your Monthly Payments
  • Postpone Payments
  • Loan Discharge & Loan Forgiveness
  • Default
  • Bankruptcy
• Managing Money
  • The More You Learn, the More You Earn
  • How to Budget
  • How to Save
  • Know Your Credit Score
  • Credit Cards
• Calculators & Resources
  • Calculators
  • Personal Stories
  • Other Online Resources
• Student Aid Timeline
• Graduate Students
  • How to Pay for Graduate School
  • Graduate Students and Loans
• Nontraditional Students
  • What Is a Nontraditional Student?
  • The Decision to Return to School
  • The Cost of Going Back to School

Personal Stories

Read about how others are dealing with their student loan debt.

• Meet Dave

  "I am struggling. I'm not earning nearly enough to pay my monthly bills…"

• Meet Pam

  "Mom says I shouldn't get a credit card. I don't know what she's worried about…"

• Meet Joe

  "I just lost my job. My student loan payments are the last thing I'm concerned about right now…"

• Meet Chris

  "I got more loan money than I need for college. I'm feeling rich…"

• Meet Amber

  "I took a break from school to earn some money. But now I owe more than ever…"

• Meet Marc

  "I've taken out a bunch of loans. It would be so nice if I could pay just one bill…"