Amanda Lynn Tully, 37, left a trail of shock when she moved to Prague less than a year after graduating, leaving behind $65,000 in federal student loans and making no payments in over seven years.
She grew up as a ward of the state in Colorado and believed a college degree would give her a better life. Instead, she earned two degrees and still couldn't find a job, facing a huge debt she didn't know how to handle.
With 7.7 million Americans now defaulting on federal student loans, Tully's case is not unique, but it has become one of the most talked-about examples of a growing student debt crisis.
Tully grew up as a ward of the state and thought college would give her a better life. She earned a bachelor's in art history and a master's in historic preservation, but after graduation, she couldn't find a job in her field and was left with $65,000 in federal student loans.
Her monthly repayment was just $60 under an income-based repayment plan, which could have forgiven her remaining debt after 20 years. However, Tully found the payments 'psychologically burdensome' and said they weren't even paying off the interest.
Less than a year after graduating, Tully moved to Prague, where she had done an internship, and stopped paying her loans. She hasn't made a payment in over seven years and has been working as an e-learning content developer in Prague.
Tully's story is part of a much bigger problem, with over 40 million Americans having federal student debt and a record 7.7 million having defaulted, according to the Education Department.
