<prompt> Human: So I made a mistake, well many mistakes actually. I went to a high priced, small, liberal arts school and financed the entire thing with Privategov student loans with intrest rates between 5 and 10, Ive done basically all my course work including senior year exit classes. I came up 6 credits short and didnt pay for my last semester before leaving to go be a dirtbag for a while hippie. I know, dumb. What are my options as far as getting that last semesters payment out of collections and paid so I can finish my last few classes? Im currently on financial hold with my school. I take home 2,200 at work, live at home and am currently paying 1,100 a month in student loans.  <response>: Gee...thats a tight spot.Outside of getting a second job and paying more per month, Im not sure theres much you can do. You made an unfortunate mistake there and youre gonna have to live with it.That said, it sounds like youre suggesting that your school will give you your degree if you catch up in payments...is that right, or are they going to withhold it until you pay off the entire balance of 93k? It sounds like you need to clarify that and get the terms of what it will take to receive your degree outlined in a letter from your schools financial aid office. So that would be my first stop. Secondly, youre going to have to deal with the collections company. After getting them to prove, in writing, that they actually own your debt, you may be able to negotiate them down to a single lump sum payment lower than the 10k you owet. Best case scenario - You get the collections company down to say, 6k and pay it off, and your school confirms that theyll give you your degree when youre caught up. But you have a lot of work to do and phone calls to make to make that happen. 