<p>I was fortunate in that my student loans were not too big. (I can't remember the exact amount anymore.) I worked for a couple of years after college, before going back for a teaching certificate, and I was able to get them completely paid off in those two years, and save up enough for a year of post-bac education, thanks to living at home and being thrifty. (The post-bac. was at the in-state university, which made it much cheaper than my BA expenses.)</p>