"Each year, millions of college students rack up student loans that won’t come due until they leave school. But even with financial aid, some students have trouble keeping up with the soaring costs of tuition, and once that debt ends up in the hands of a collection agency, the amount can mushroom out of control while the student is still in school. …
… The Washington Post talked to students in Virginia — where delinquent student debts of more than $3,000 are required to be sent to collections — and found some who were unexpectedly slammed with collections fees that added hundreds, sometimes thousands, of dollars to their debt." …