$24,000.
That's the average student debt in America, according to a report last year from the Project on Student Debt.
For many students, that figure is modest. Take Aleesha Nash, a graduate of New York University. "Logging into the Federal Student Aid website," she writes on the Huffington Post, "I see that today my balance is $104,104.63 for a percentage of the information in my head."
And there's Jaclyn Cabral, too. Jaclyn chose to attend Elon University in North Carolina because it's "regarded as one of the most affordable private educations." Still, she graduated $90,000 in debt.
For many of these students, paying off their loans is a nearly unsurmountable challenge. Brandon Woods, a Hampton University alum, finds himself working two jobs -- and hardly making a dent in his $58,000 deficit.
Since HuffPost College's launch in Feb. 2010, we've been documenting the stories -- your stories -- of students and graduates in crippling, suffocating debt. The students who are America's promise, its very future, and can hardly afford to keep themselves afloat. This is our third installment in the series. If you have a story to share, please email college [at] huffingtonpost [dot] com.
