Student loan borrowers who haven’t been able to afford their monthly payments must consider their options to avoid going into default. The 12-month grace period for student loan borrowers ended on Sept. 30. The “on-ramp” period helped borrowers who are struggling to make payments avoid the risk of defaulting and hurting their credit score.“The end of the on-ramp period means the beginning of the potentially harsh consequences for student loan borrowers who are not able to make payments,” said Persis Yu, Deputy Executive Director at the Student Borrower Protection Center.Around 43 million Americans have student loan debt, amounting to $1.5 trillion.