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Student debt can be crushing. The U.S. Department of Education is encouraging federal student loan borrowers to sign up for programs designed to help them repay their loans. NPR hide caption

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NPR

Student debt can be crushing. The U.S. Department of Education is encouraging federal student loan borrowers to sign up for programs designed to help them repay their loans.

NPR

Nearly 7 million federal student loan borrowers are in default, and now the U.S. Department of Education is rolling out a new program, called Fresh Start, to make getting out of default easier.

NPR's Cory Turner reports on the Fresh Start program and the ripple effects of landing in default.

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This episode was produced by Lauren Hodges and Jason Fuller. It was edited by Nicole Cohen, William Troop and Adam Raney. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.

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