If you are a student and feeling in over your head with debt, you aren’t alone. Frequently students finance their education with a combination of student loans, private loans, family assistance, work, and scholarships. According to a U.S. Department of Education report, half of all bachelor’s degree recipients in the 1990s borrowed on average $10,100 to help pay for their education.

In addition to school loans, college students now regularly accumulate significant credit card debt before graduation. A Consumer Federation of America survey found that 78 percent of college undergraduates have at least one credit card and carry an average of more than $2,000. With credit card companies making credit readily available, it can be easy to forget that you may not be making enough income to pay that debt off. Debt can mount up quickly, and using credit cards can make the situation worse.

The implications for borrowing money before receiving a diploma are significant. Today the fastest growing group of people declaring bankruptcy are those under 25.

If you find yourself:

• doing the credit card shuffle (paying one card with another)
• surfing (continually transferring credit card balances to new cards with introductory rates that are lower than what you are paying now)
• using cash advances on your cards to pay the minimums on charge balances or your bills or
• using student loans or privately arranged loans to pay credit card debt you need help with the debt and relief from the stress of being too far in debt.

You can find help through the National Foundation for Credit Counseling which is a nonprofit network of organizations that help people struggling with credit card debt.

And don’t be misled by ads you may see about how bankruptcy is easy or can relieve your stress by wiping all your debt away. It’s important to know what bankruptcy can, and can’t, do for you:

Bankruptcy should not be your first thought as the way to get relief from your debts. First, remember that bankruptcy isn’t free or easy. You have to go to court, you have to file financial documents, and you have to pay fees.

Remember bankruptcy stays on your credit report for up to ten years. That can have a significant impact on your future such as:

• When you get out of school, you will have to find a place to live such as renting an apartment. Many landlords use credit reports to check whether prospective tenants are creditworthy. Fair or not, if you’ve declared bankruptcy, landlords may question whether you will pay the rent on time, if at all.
• When you get out of school, you will want to get a job. Some prospective employers check credit reports. Fair or not, some employers may wonder whether they should hire you to manage their business’ assets, if they wonder whether you can manage your own personal finances.
• You may have a harder time and be forced to pay higher interest rates, if you want to buy a house, purchase insurance (some companies charge people who have declared bankruptcy higher premiums), or use credit cards.
• You can’t get out of your student loans—bankruptcy doesn’t wipe out student loans, taxes, legal fees, child or spouse support…so get help with your debt problem and that may include working out ways to address problems you are having making monthly payments.
• If you cannot make your monthly loan payments you may be able to defer the loan, meaning that you pay it at a later time.
• Or if you cannot make payments because of unexpected personal problems or poor health and don’t qualify for a deferment, you may request a forbearance. Forbearance is when you may make either no payments or smaller payments than originally scheduled for a limited period of time.

For information on combining your student loan payments or if you have stopped making payments and need help, go to Federal Direct Consolidation Loan Information Center.