<p>roderick - sledfish does indeed seem fortunate that his situation isn’t further complicated by debt. There are loan forgiveness programs, loan deferrment options and ibr (income based repayment plans) however, nothing is as recession proof as not being neck deep in debt in the first place. Excellent web sites for financial stuff: [FinAid</a>! Financial Aid, College Scholarships and Student Loans](<a href=“http://www.finaid.org%5DFinAid”>http://www.finaid.org) and to see what happens when things go really wrong: [Project</a> on Student Debt: Home](<a href=“http://www.projectonstudentdebt.org%5DProject”>http://www.projectonstudentdebt.org) click on voices section - there are far too many sad tales of lives overburdened by debt.</p>