You'll want to pay off your student loans as quickly as possible but you need a strategy to do so. Because of the possiblity of interest rate increases and generally higher rates overall, it makes sense to pay off the private student loans first, if you have them. If you don't have private loans, simply start with highest interest rate loans first. If you've consolidated your Federal student loans into one payment, then you've simplified things for yourself and you'll just need to pay the minimum plus any additional you can afford.

When paying off multiple student loans, do what's known as the snowball aproach of debt reduction. With this approach, you start paying agressively on the least desireable loan (Private Loans first then highest interest rate loans) while paying the minimum on the other loans. Once the first loan is paid off, you take a month or two off and enjoy the extra money you have. Then you channel that money to paying off the second loan. Now you'll be paying off that second loan very agressively and will be able to get it out of the way very quickly. After that, take another break but then channel the money you were paying on the first and second loans into the third loan. With this approach, your monthly payment won't change but you'll be paying off the loans faster and faster as time goes on.

The key to the snowball strategy is to develop a budget and keep your expenses low. If you need to, live with your parents or roommates to cut housing costs. Even though it's not ideal, you'll be happy you did it when your loans are paid off. Try to go without a car by utilizing public transportation or buy an older used car. Take on a second job to earn additional funds to pay down the debt more quickly.

Probably the best advice though is not to get too far into debt in the first place. If you find yourself in a situation where you need to borrow more than $20,000 across all four years of college, you should probably re-evaluate your situation. Can you attend a Community College for two years? Can you work during the school year? Attend a State School? There are definitely a lot of options out there for students who want an education but who don't want to pay for one for 20 years.