"I'm a professional freelance musician. I sing and teach. Earning a doctorate in music at Eastman (and other degrees at Yale and SUNY Purchase) helped develop my skill set and the network of people with whom I work. The loans that supported me throughout school were worth it."

Kate's tips:
"Be frugal, chip away at your debt, resist material purchases you don't need, find ways to save money on food and entertainment. It can be done with willpower and being debt-free feels better than any short-term purchase I could have made over the past five years as I focused on paying off my debt"

"It’s easy to manage student loan payments with Navient. Their website and mobile app kept me constantly updated with due dates and minimum payments. I strategically budgeted my income and always paid more than the minimum. I also took advantage of any and all available loan deferments relevant to my career field. Paying off student loans with Navient is simple and convenient. All you need to have is dedication, a persistent and serious repayment plan for yourself and the true understanding that you can do it!"

"It's never too early or too late to start a budget. When you know where your money is going, it feels like you received a raise. Then make extra payments on your debts. Have garage sales, work overtime or work a side hustle. It will pay off in the long run. Live like no one else so later you can live and give like no one else."

"Although I am not in my field of study, my education has given me a broad knowledge of the business world and has helped me in my career. I have been able to work with many successful companies in various industries."

Tracy's tips:
"Having a student loan can be beneficial to building your credit as long as you pay on time. If you’re unable to pay a large sum of money each month, negotiate for a longer term and smaller payment plan until you’re able to pay more. Yes, you may pay more in interest but you have to do what it takes to balance your finances and stay afloat. Once you start making the big bucks, you can pay off the loan, but until then, pay what you can."

"I made sure my federal student loans were paid every month on time. I also made sure my loan was paid before any other bills. The only time I deferred was when I went to graduate school for two years. When I got my tax refund or had extra cash, I would overpay on my loans."

Jennifer's tips:
"Review your budget often, consider a reasonable repayment plan and pay what you can on time. Focus on building good credit and try to avoid purchasing the newest car or more expensive apartment. If you can live at home with family or friends to save money then do it!"

"I am very thankful for the support I obtained from my student loan servicer. Since I come from a large and humble family, I needed to complement my financial resources to achieve my educational goals. When I graduated, I had already planned to pay back my loans using the efficient debit payment service. The service allowed for payments to be made on time and without interruption while I grew as a professional."

Angel's tips:
"Good advice for new college grads is to keep their finances in order and to take advantage of the tools offered by their student loan servicer. Personally, I think that debit payment is the way to go. However, if the person feels that some support or additional time is needed, tools like loan deferment can be of help."

"I am a global brand manager who has overcome language, financial, and educational barriers to become a successful business executive in the home appliance industry."

Renjie's tips:
"A few things I did to save include, paying extra on my highest interest rate loan first, renting a room in a shared home where I paid $500 in rent which included utilities, buying used electronic devices such as TVs and purchasing a used car. I also rarely dined out and cooked for myself, I used coupons for groceries and bought discounted foods and drinks. When I used my credit card to earn miles, I always paid it off in full."

Don't get extra loan money to cover your cost of living — get a part time job and learn to budget. Don't drop out of school, just reduce your course load. Stay on top of exactly how many loans you have accumulated.

Remember, your loan [servicer] will work with you and your circumstances. Finally, remember to always pay something, even if it's just $20, because a little bit of something is better than a whole lot of nothing.

I paid on time. If I felt that I was going to run into financial difficulties, I reached out to my loan service provider for options. I didn't feel alone. I was even able to merge two of my student loans into one payment, which made it easy and convenient. In addition, I was able to keep my low interest rate and also opt for automatic deductions.

During the one time that I was between jobs, I was able to quickly defer my loan payments. It was a very easy process and the person I spoke with was very understanding and nice about it. Once I started working again, I contacted customer support again and started making my online payments again.

"My education has helped me understand a better view of the world. In turn, my education has provided me with a higher self-esteem and confidence to take on new challenges in life. My college experience was nothing short of greatness due to financing that was made available to me!"

"My education has helped me to make good decisions in making money, saving, and spending. I've been able to purchase two properties, pay off all debt (with the exception of my current mortgage, of course) and enjoy many material possessions, activities, and travels."

"These loans helped fund a time in my life that I will always cherish and for that I am very thankful that you were there to help me through it."

"Earning my degree has helped me be more marketable in my industry. I have learned as much, if not more, about my industry since graduation as I did in school. My time in college taught me social skills, writing skills, working skills, and research skills that have helped me to be successful. It's more valuable to learn how to find answers than to feel you have all the answers."

"By the time I'd finished my education, I had two master’s degrees and a Ph.D. Although I work as a military chaplain, I've used my education to publish professionally, and that education has impacted every aspect of my work in the civilian and military sectors. Education is more than just data — it's the ability to think and reason, to adapt and change course, to research independently and to know when your own work needs to be tweaked or rebuilt."

"I achieved success in paying off my student loans, which has proved to be a high credit rating. I also saved up my dollars and kept them invested in a bank account and made numerous payments with my...online account.  I urge other students to use their online access...to make life less hectic and simpler."

"Pay more than the recommended minimum. Keep an eye on the interest rate and realize how much from each payment actually goes toward your principal balance. Then make a plan to pay an extra $20 toward your principal each payment. I originally had a plan to pay this loan off in two years. Once I got my severance check I dropped the difference owed and said goodbye to making payments. Pay off higher interest rates first, it will save you money. If you can make a bigger payment instead of getting Starbucks each morning, DO IT! You won't regret it."

"Key tips are: Budget your money wisely. Do not spend your money on everything and anything you want. Prioritize on how much you want to use for yourself and how much you will send off to your lender. Be patient and good things come to those who wait."

I started paying off my loans and factoring in the monthly payments into my budget as soon as I graduated. I never put my loans on hold, I figured I would just go ahead and pay it off now no matter how difficult it was so that I could have extra money later.

The technique that worked for me was to keep the payment within my means and set up the automatic debit option so that I didn't have to worry about it.

Start paying right away and continue to make payments on time. And DO NOT get too many credit cards and rack up a bunch of debt. You don't deserve something unless you can actually afford it (and credit is not the ability to afford).

I always check my loan balances and notify my servicer if there are changes to my financial situation. I chose a plan that was right for me. I set aside money every month that I know will go towards rent, loans and savings. Whatever I have left is discretionary income.

Always put together a budget. Monitor all of your accounts. This helps you easily see where money is coming and going. Set up auto pay and auto drafts and direct deposit. The more automated you can get the better. Check monthly to make sure you have enough in all of your accounts and are not in danger of overdraft. Also, if your bank allows, tell them to turn off overdraft capability. Instead of paying a huge fee, I'd much rather them just not withdraw the money. Good luck!

Nine years after graduating school, I am so proud to say that I have paid off my student loans in full! My career of choice, especially in the world as it is today, is one of the more volatile and unstable. With the help of Navient, I realized my dream to not only obtain a degree, but to move on to the real world to use it.

For nine years I've been traveling all over the country and all over the world, meeting people, being introduced to cultures I've only read about and bearing witness to some of the most incredible sights that most people only get to see in pictures. Seeing so much of the world - and getting paid to do it! - has only made me hungrier to see more of the world. That's something I dreamed about but never really thought would happen. My good fortune, talent, hard work and endless support system has made that all possible. Now that I am debt-free, I can only imagine what else is possible!

Being debt free is very liberating. Knowing that you can live on less cash means you can actually do more, because you don't have loans to service. If you buy into this principle, get focused and "crazy militant" about having no loans. Working part-time through undergrad and graduate school allowed me to finish with even less loans. During the summers I had a co-op for a large tech firm and I worked retail for an office supply store so that I could limit the amount of loans I would need to take. But the most important factor is to focus your education on something YOU love.

I happened to really LOVE marketing and technology, meaning college isn't to find a job, but to learn and enrich your understanding of who you want to be as a person. The byproduct is that I have zero regrets about the courses and my time in undergrad and graduate school. In short, a quality employer needs people who know how to think and reason. If you learn to do this via concentrating in Ancient Greek poetry or Computer Science, it doesn't matter in the long run.

The first thing I would do is dedicate a percentage of your income to yourself. Always pay yourself first so you have some kind of pleasure for your work in whatever field you're in. For me it has been 10% and never touching it. The compounded growth after doing this for a long time will astound you. Then dedicate a percentage you will dedicate to your debt. For me it was 20% because I wanted my debt paid off sooner than later.

If you have multiple loans or payments, take a sheet of paper and split it into columns. Put your most expensive monthly payment on the left side of the paper followed by the next expensive and followed by the next all the way until you get to the debt that is the least amount. Knock out the least expensive payment first by paying double or an extra chunk to knock it out. As you see the debt amount going down, you'll get excited and secure in knowing you have a system to pay it off while still resting well knowing you have at least 10% of your income growing for you.