{"id":1313549,"date":"2026-01-27T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-27T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wisconsinwatch.org\/?p=1313549"},"modified":"2026-01-27T14:48:41","modified_gmt":"2026-01-27T20:48:41","slug":"wisconsin-6-tips-for-avoiding-student-loan-debt-default","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wisconsinwatch.org\/2026\/01\/wisconsin-6-tips-for-avoiding-student-loan-debt-default\/","title":{"rendered":"6 tips for avoiding student loan default","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"Reading Time: <\/b><\/span> 3<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>\n

Wisconsinites owe $23.6 billion in student loans, and thousands of Wisconsin borrowers are in default. But Carole Trone, executive director of the Wisconsin Coalition on Student Debt, doesn\u2019t want those kinds of numbers to scare students away from college altogether. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think there is justifiable concern about student loan debt,\u201d said Trone, whose group helps Wisconsinites figure out costs before, during and after college. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut we are seeing signs that many more students are hesitating or choosing not to pursue postsecondary education because they figure that\u2019s the only way to avoid student loan debt,\u201d Trone said. The problem with that plan, she said, is that studies suggest most of the jobs of the future will require some sort of credential beyond a high school diploma.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She\u2019d like students to hear a different number: $33,000. \u201cIn Wisconsin, the average amount of student loan debt that an undergraduate takes on is about $33,000 for someone who completes their degree. So when you hear the stories of huge amounts of debt, those things happen. It\u2019s heartbreaking to see those stories, but it\u2019s not the norm.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t\n\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\tRelated Story<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t
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Student loan borrowers are \u2018confused and overwhelmed.\u2019 Here\u2019s what Wisconsinites should know.<\/a><\/h3>\t\t\t\t\t\t

The Wisconsin Coalition on Student Debt runs a free, confidential helpline for borrowers and prospective borrowers. Wisconsin Watch spoke to Executive Director Carole Trone about wage garnishment, the end of the popular SAVE repayment plan and how to avoid default.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/article>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t<\/div>\n\t\n\n\n

Trone talked with Wisconsin Watch about what students can do at every step in their education to reduce what they borrow and increase the chance they\u2019ll be able to pay it back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

File your FAFSA <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid<\/a> was simplified in 2024, <\/strong>making it easier for students to apply for Pell grants and federal financial aid. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt has finally, truly gotten better, easier, simpler \u2014 at long last \u2014 so it is completely worth it to do it,\u201d said Trone. \u201cIt keeps your options open.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Forget the \u2018dream\u2019 school <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI caution people about talking about their \u2018dream college,\u2019\u201d Trone said. Instead, she urges students to make a list of things like how much they\u2019re willing to pay, what kinds of programs they\u2019re considering and the typical salaries for those professions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then, she recommends students use the Department of Education\u2019s College Scorecard<\/a> website to compare schools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNot all programs cost the same, and not all programs are worth the same \u2026 You want to look for colleges that have strong graduation rates. You want to see how many students get financial aid. You want to see what the net cost of attendance is,\u201d Trone said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meet with an adviser <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes students end up paying more for school because the school doesn\u2019t accept their prior credits, or because they need a class that\u2019s seldom offered. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re trying to bring credits into that institution, talk to someone about that. Don\u2019t just assume that those credits will transfer,\u201d Trone said. \u201cTry to map out what classes you need to take, and meet with your adviser and figure out when those classes are being offered.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Limit loans<\/strong> <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When colleges send financial aid offer letters, they list the maximum amount the student can borrow. But students have the option to borrow less or decline loans altogether, and they can make those decisions until around the time they\u2019re enrolling in classes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMake sure that you have really thought about do you actually really need to borrow this money, because you\u2019ll be paying it back with interest,\u201d Trone said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finish your degree <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Student loans come due whether a student graduates or not. Those who don\u2019t are more than twice as likely to end up in default<\/a>, according to research by the Pew Charitable Trusts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe most important thing that you can do to be able to repay any loans you take out is to finish your program,\u201d Trone said. People leave school for all sorts of reasons, including family commitments and job changes. \u201cA lot of that can be really unavoidable \u2026 but those are the borrowers that often have the most difficulty in repaying their loans.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Update your contact information <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

One simple step can help keep borrowers on track: signing into studentaid.gov<\/a> to update their contact information regularly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAfter you\u2019ve left college, that\u2019s the time when lots of folks are moving around or changing email addresses,\u201d Trone said. \u201cWhen things start coming due or there\u2019s changes, they need to be able to reach you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Natalie Yahr reports on pathways to success statewide for Wisconsin Watch, working in partnership with <\/em>Open Campus<\/em><\/a>. Email her at <\/em>nyahr@wisconsinwatch.org<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Wisconsin Watch<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0is a nonprofit, nonpartisan newsroom. Subscribe to our\u00a0newsletters<\/a>\u00a0for original stories and our Friday news roundup. <\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As student debt makes headlines again, Wisconsin Watch talked to an expert about how to get a degree without borrowing more than you can pay back.<\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"author":531,"featured_media":1313551,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"single-feature.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"gigafact_has_fact_brief":false,"gigafact_remote_fact_brief_post_id":0,"gigafact_remote_sync_timestamp":"","gigafact_remote_sync_status":"","gigafact_remote_sync_response":"","gigafact_has_been_published":false,"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":false,"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"apple_news_api_created_at":"2026-01-27T15:11:09Z","apple_news_api_id":"047741e1-7ca0-4020-89bb-f56790b95126","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2026-01-27T20:48:46Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQ==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/ABHdB4XygQCCJu_VnkLlRJg","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":"","apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":"","apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_newspack_byline_active":false,"_newspack_byline":"","newspack_content_restriction_is_exempt":false,"newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_post_subtitle":"As student debt makes headlines again, Wisconsin Watch talked to an expert about how to get a degree without borrowing more than you can pay back.","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_show_updated_date":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[19064],"tags":[2840,406,3656,18666,3617],"partner":[],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"type-of-work":[],"coauthors":[3451],"class_list":["post-1313549","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pathways-to-success","tag-education","tag-higher-education","tag-news","tag-student-loan","tag-wisconsin-watch","entry"],"fact_brief":null,"apple_news_notices":[],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/wisconsinwatch.org\/2026\/01\/wisconsin-6-tips-for-avoiding-student-loan-debt-default\/","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"6 tips for avoiding student loan default","url":"http:\/\/wisconsinwatch.org\/2026\/01\/wisconsin-6-tips-for-avoiding-student-loan-debt-default\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/wisconsinwatch.org\/2026\/01\/wisconsin-6-tips-for-avoiding-student-loan-debt-default\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/asseCutStudentDebt.jpg?fit=140%2C93&quality=100&ssl=1","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/asseCutStudentDebt.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&quality=100&ssl=1"},"articleSection":"Pathways to success","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Natalie Yahr \/ Wisconsin Watch"}],"creator":["Natalie Yahr \/ Wisconsin Watch"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Wisconsin Watch","logo":"https:\/\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/ww-logo-footer-1.png"},"keywords":["education","higher education","news","student loan","wisconsin watch"],"dateCreated":"2026-01-27T12:00:00Z","datePublished":"2026-01-27T12:00:00Z","dateModified":"2026-01-27T20:48:41Z"},"rendered":"