The story of student loan debt neglects to mention those hardest hit.

It’s not the wealthy student who takes small loans and pays them off in full and as soon as possible.

It’s also not the poor student who can receive federal grants and aid, then cover the rest of the costs through loans.

It’s the middle class student who is squeezed the most. These students are most likely to earn just enough to not receive grants or any kind of aid, are less likely to qualify for government loans, but still require private loans to cover their costs.

Student loans, in effect, work like a bell curve, with the poorest students and the wealthiest students taking out the least.

As a result, many students who cut back on private schools, go to in-state schools and narrow down expenses are still in a position where they have to take out large student loans to cover tuition, books, and living expenses.

For example, one young woman came from a household with an income of $85,000—not shabby by any means, a disabled mother, and a dependent grandmother. She had to take out nearly $100,000 in student loans to cover four years of expenses, most of which were private loans since her family earned too much to be eligible for federal loans. Some of those private loans required payments during her college education.

Even with a $50,000 a year job after college, she found her student loan payments eating up over $1,400 per month.

Here is how she has to budget:

Moving in with my fiancé’s parents allowed me to allot my saved rent money—and then some—toward saving for the wedding. Now my readjusted monthly budget looks something like this: 45% goes toward my student loans, 40% funnels into our wedding fund, and the remaining 15% is spent on bills, gas, food and any other expenses. I pay for necessities and necessities only. I also contribute 3% to my company’s 401(k), but that comes directly out of my paycheck.

This is a story that can be told across America, where recent graduates have to defer many expenses for over a decade after graduation.