Then there are the borrowers who have become ensnared by traps buried in the fine print. Some loans include provisions that allow them to put the loan in default if the borrower was late on an unrelated bill held by the same lender, among other things. In other contracts, even if borrowers are current on their payments, their loans can be thrown into default (and become immediately due in full) if a co-signer files for bankruptcy or dies, according to the consumer bureau.

Several of the largest private lenders say they don’t engage in these practices, but regulators contend that the issue still arises on loans that have been packaged and sold to investors. “No matter what some lenders say, the companies servicing loans after they’ve been sold may claim that they will be liable to bondholders if they don’t follow the terms of these contracts,” said Seth Frotman, acting student loan ombudsman at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

There are signs of improvement. Citizens Bank said it planned to start loan modifications soon, and Wells Fargo started modifying loans at the end of last year. Of the 194 loans it modified, it reduced payments 30 percent, on average, largely by reducing interest rates by about 6 percentage points. The lender, with $12 billion in private loans outstanding, may reduce the rate temporarily or permanently.

Navient, which services student loans and has offered modifications since 2009, said about $2 billion in private loans were enrolled in an interest rate reduction plan, or about 7 percent of its $28 billion portfolio.

Sallie Mae, which already modifies loans, also started offering a graduated repayment plan for graduates with loans made after July 1, 2013. After the six-month grace period, borrowers can make 12 interest-only payments to help lower their monthly bill.

Kristin Riopelle left the University of New Hampshire in 2012 with a bachelor’s degree in theater, a minor in business and $95,000 in private loans. But she has been able to take advantage of those types of programs, even if some lenders were difficult to work with. She made interest-only payments for two years on one loan, and on another, she was able to make payments that gradually increased.

But her salary as an administrative assistant still doesn’t quite cover all of her monthly payments, so her father pays about $200 on one loan, which he co-signed. She recently consolidated most of her private loans at Citizens Bank, which she said would keep her payments steady over 20 years.