Editor's note: Este artículo está traducido al español.
When Nina Fox graduated from UNLV in 2011, she carried $34,000 in student debt — a burden that would shadow her life for over a decade.
Despite making consistent payments, interest transformed that initial sum into $56,000 within 10 years, she said. Even after qualifying for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, Fox wouldn’t break free from her student loans until 2023.
Her 12-year odyssey toward loan forgiveness extracted a steep personal toll. The debt prevented her from buying a home and contributed to the end of her marriage.
Yet borrowing felt inevitable — the only viable path to a social work degree.
“I remember going down there to financial aid and trying to understand it, and at the end of the day, it’s so overwhel