Michelle Bisutti is a 41-year old family practitioner in Columbus, Oh. She finished medical school in 2003, when her student loan debt was set at a "manageable" $250,000. Since that time, she has watched her debt grow to $555,000.
Dr. Bisutti claims that her debt grew after she deferred her payments while completing her residency. She also defaulted on the loans, leading to additional charges and compound interest. For example, she was charged $53,870 dollars when her loan was turned over to a collection agency.
"Maybe half of it was my fault because I didn't look at the fine print," Dr. Bisutti says. "But this is just outrageous now."
According to FinAid.org, an organization that tracks financial aid across America, there is an estimated $730 billion in outstanding student loan debt. Only 40% of that debt is being actively repaid at this time. The rest is either in default, deferment or forbearance. Deferment and forbearance halt loan payments for a period of time until the borrower is ready to resume paying the loan.
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