According to the Department of Education, the average amount of an undergraduate student loan in this country is now more than $22,000, and sudden changes in lenders' terms and rates can quickly turn a personal debt into a financial sinkhole, grounding the dreams of many college graduates even before they've started. NOW ON PBS follows the story of a single mother in Baltimore trying to dig herself out of a $70,000 student loan debt.

While issues of personal responsibility are debated, there's no question the high price of higher education is creating an ocean of student loan debt for people who can least afford it - and yet another frustrating complication for America's economic recovery.