Next to a home, a college education can be the most expensive purchase one makes in a lifetime. And like many people who took out mortgage loans before the Great Recession, a growing number of borrowers are struggling to pay off student loans that were originated by private lenders in the mid-2000s.

According to a report on private student loans released by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, some private student lenders misled borrowers about their loan terms as well as their federal student loan options, and since 2008, student loan debt has increased and default rates have escalated. The report lists the total amount of outstanding private student loan debt in the U.S. as more than $150 billion and cumulative defaults on private student loans as more than $8 billion.

Among several recommendations the CFPB and Secretary of Education made to Congress in the report is to consider allowing private student loans to be dischargeable in bankruptcy. Since 2005, the government has not permitted discharging private student loans in bankruptcy except in cases of undue hardship, the CFPB said.