You people are pathetic. First of all, saying one's parents "don't owe them anything" is nonsense, especially at that age. Secondly, the LW told the story to illustrate how bad the relationship has gotten with the parents, not how much debt the LW is in. At no point did the LW say "how do I saddle my parents with this debt."

Most importantly, remember the LW's question: how do I start talking to my parents again? This implies that the parents are so uninterested in the kid that they don't even know he/she moved across the fucking world for months. Is that the kid's fault? Really? The parents never checked in at all?

Jesus, I'd take my Ivy league degree, pay off my debts (which aren't alot, fine, but significant regardless), and make sure the parents are shown the same treatment when it was time for hospice care. It's not about the debt people; some parents can't afford college, and that's fine. That's not what's in question here. They're complete ignorance to their kid who they don't even know moved half way across the world is.