Jessica was in her early thirties when she decided to pursue her MBA. She enrolled full time at Columbia University after the school offered her a scholarship. To help with the rest of her tuition, Jessica relied on $72,000 in loans. Most were federal loans, but one was private through Wells Fargo.

That was nearly twenty-five years ago. Today, despite making regular payments, Jessica’s debt has increased to roughly $200,000 — and it’s still growing.

“I’ve paid nearly $61,000 so far,” said Jessica, who lives in New York City and does consulting work for government-funded entities. “Yet, in those ten years, the $72,000 principal didn’t go down one cent. All that money went to interest.”