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If you have already taken out one of America’s most toxic debt, student loans, do not despair. Many graduates may now be choking on their student loan debt or even considering of committing suicide due to the heavy burden of student loans. But there is hope and ways for you to control your debt in such a way that you do not end up with a deadly amount of debt as soon as you graduate.

1. Exhaust your resources of free money

You have probably already taken out a loan to further your education. However, before you even take out more loans for the next semester, try focusing your search for education funds somewhere else, where they could give you free money that you don’t ever have to repay. There are hundreds of government grants and corporate scholarship which you can exhaust first before going to any more loans. To find a list of 150+ grants and scholarship available for students, go here.

When all your free money resources are exhausted, turn first to family if possible. Borrowing from family would most likely give you a much “softer” loan than borrowing from a bank. The last resource should be borrowing from elsewhere. Make sure, however, you tap into federal student loans as opposed to private loans.

2. Graduate faster/earlier if not on time

You may love your college years to be with your friends and have all the fun before all the responsibilities begin. But staying in college/ university longer means accumulating more and more student loan debt. By keeping your grades high you will also have more chances in obtaining scholarships so you will have more alternatives for your education fund resource.

If it is possible, cut down on your college years so you do not need another semester or even year of more student loan debt. There are several tips for you to graduate earlier:

- Plan since Day 1. What classes do you have to take? What classes can you leave out? What classes are pre-requisites for your major?

- Declare your major as soon as possible. And most importantly, stick with it. If you only decide your major or change it mid-way through your college years, it will easily push back another semester or even a whole year before you can graduate.

- Work through the summer. A break is nice but if timeliness is your priority, take a few summer classes every summer semester. Think of how much time you could be saving and thus how much money! If you only take one summer class each year that you are in college, that is 4 classes in 4 years. If you take 2 summer classes that would be 8 classes in 4 years and this could help you graduate one semester earlier!

3. Pay your student loan debt a little now

If you have a little time left to do some part time work somewhere, consider paying a little now than later. Your student loan lender may not require you to start paying your loan until 6 months after you graduate. However if you start building interest payments on your student loans, you will prevent your student loan balance from growing every month beyond the original balance.

You will be able to graduate with less student loans and pay off your remaining balance half the time you would need if you start repaying only after you graduate. Students who pay on their interest while still in college are reported as having up to 50% less debt than others. With this smart move, you may be sending your last student loan check at the age of 29 instead of 37.

Currently Sallie Mae has a new private loan program called the Smart Option Student Loan which features interest-only payments during college. Check it out, it may help you reduce your student loan debt when you graduate.

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