Despite soaring student debt levels, the median borrower between 20 and 30 pays $203/month with the average payment $351/month, primarily because some students borrow large amounts for graduate school. These surprisingly low payments result because many borrowers take 20 and 25 years to repay their loans by enrolling in income-based repayment plans which cap payments at 10% or 15% of discretionary income with the government forgiving any remaining amount.