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At 17, Alyssa Jeacoma signed off on student loans before going to college

Each semester, she borrowed around $8,000. By the end of her college career, her loans totaled $85,000

But recently, Jeacoma, now 26, learned that some of her loans carried a 17% interest rate. When she found this out, she burst into tears and took to sharing about it on TikTok

At 17, Alyssa Jeacoma signed off on student loans without fully understanding what she was getting into because no one ever taught her how.

She had just committed to D’Youville University in Buffalo, N.Y., where she would go on to study psychology for five and a half years. Each semester, she borrowed around $8,000, mostly through the Student Loan Marketing Association — also known as Sallie Mae — a private company that pro

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