Many college graduates who worked hard to earn their bachelors or master's degrees are forced to take lower paying jobs because of the economy; however, the amount required for student loan repayment is not changing. Even with the recent improvements with an income-based repayment option, the amounts are too high. On a monthly income-based repayment for someone making $40K per year, the repayment is still over $500 a month for a loan of $70K. No one can survive in this economy paying out that much per month.
Many of us did what we could to earn our education in hope of something better for ourselves and our families. We now find ourselves trapped with a monthly burden too high to support in this economy.