Did you think you'd pay off student loans before age 40?

When we talk about student loans, we usually think about young people -- college grads and twenty-somethings struggling to make their payments. But the student loan crisis isn't just about the young. Of the $900-plus billion in U.S. student loan debt, more than a third is held by people age 40 and older.

These older Americans are struggling to pay down school debt -- much more so than 20-somethings. For example, nearly 12 percent of education loans to 40- to 49-year-olds are more than 90 days delinquent. This is compared to 6.2 percent delinquency for borrowers under age 29.

Are you among the 37 million Americans with school debt? How much do you still owe? How have changes in your life situation made repaying these loans easier or more difficult?

Share your personal experience with reporter Samara Freemark by filling out the form below. Contact her directly at sfreemark@americanpublicmedia.org or 651-290-1289 with any questions.

(Chart: Wall Street Journal, data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York)

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First Name *

Last Name *

City

State or Province

Postal Code *

Country

E-mail *

Phone

Do you have school debt?

Yes.
No, I already repaid it.
No, I didn't take out any loans for school.

How much did you originally borrow for school?

How much, if any, do you still owe?

Where did your loans come from -- i.e., college, retraining, etc.?

Have you taken on additional loans (i.e., PLUS loans) for family members? If so, briefly explain.

How has your life situation changed since you originally borrowed the money, and how have these changes affected your ability to repay your loans? Please be as specific as possible!

Were the student loans worth it? Why or why not?

What else should we know or look into about student loans? What question about student loans would you want us to answer?

Please share an original photo of yourself that we can use on our website if we write about your story. (No larger than 10MB.)

What should we know about this photo?

May we publish your insights and any uploaded photos and attribute them to you? (We'd use your full name and location, and may edit for length or clarity.) *

Yes, sure.
No thanks.
Please talk with me first.

In what year were you born?

Which of these best describes your education level?

What do you do for work?

What is your household income?

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