3. American Students Are Faced with Unrealistic Expectations for Repayment

Let's say you have a student loan debt of about $20,000 and you're on a 10-year repayment plan.

If you make just $10,000 a year, the federal government expects you to spend nearly 30 percent

of your income on student loan payments. Think about it: $10,000 is less than $840 per month. If

your rent is $300 (leaving out the fact that you'd have to live in the middle of nowhere to get

that low), you'll only have $288 per month for everything else after you pay the 30%. Hope you l

ike Ramen noodles. In contrast, countries like the UK and Australia don't require payment on

student loans until borrowers are making a much more comfortable $30,000 per year -- and

even then, the UK only requires a 1.1% payment, while Australia asks for 4.5%.

http://education-portal.com/articles/Facts_About_Student_Loans.html