For recent graduates, their student loan debt may very well shape the rest of their lives. Over the last decade, college-loan balances in the United States have jumped more than $833 billion to reach an all-time high of $1.4 trillion, according to a recent report by Experian. The average outstanding balance is now $34,144, up 62 percent over the last 10 years. In addition, the percentage of borrowers who owe $50,000 or more has tripled over the same time period, according to a separate report by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. A college education is now the second-largest expense an individual is likely to make in a lifetime — right after purchasing a home.

Currently, about 13 percent of the country's population carries at least one student loan, Experian said, although it's increasingly common to have more. The average number of loans is 3.7 per person, up from 2.4 per person 10 years ago.

"Student loan balances are on the rise, which is a result of the increasing cost of higher education," said Michele Raneri, Experian's vice president of analytics. "I expect that the price of getting a higher education will continue to increase, so I wouldn't be surprised if the loans increase also," she said. Still, delinquencies are down 3 percent since 2007, Raneri said, "which means that consumers are managing their student loan payments better than they have in the past," in part because they're better educated about credit in the aftermath of the Great Recession, she said.