The path to freedom from student debt is a long,winding, and arduous one with no end in sight for millennials.

A new survey conducted online in February by research agency TNSon behalf of Citizens Bank found 59 percent of those polled have"no idea" when they will be able to pay back their studentdebt.

The survey found millennials, defined as those between theages of 18 and 35, have an average student debt of$41,286.60. That's significantly higher than the national averageamount of debt for college graduates, which the Department ofEducation determined is $29,400.

Not every millennial knew how much debt he orshe carries: 15 percent of those polled by TNS said theyweren't sure what their student loan balance was, and morethan a third didn't know what the interest rate ison this debt.

Those polled also had a limited understanding of theintricacies of their student debt. Almost half said they "don'tunderstand" how privatized student loans work, and 44 percent saidthey don't entirely grasp the difference between federal andprivate student loans. About a third had never even heard ofstudent debt refinancing.

The millennials who are paying down their burdensome debt arecutting down on eating out, entertainment, and vacations to do so,the survey found. Eight percent said they don't plan to pay backthe debt at all, while another 8 percent hope to defer the loan payments bygoing back to school.

The majority of millennials said they regret taking out as manyloans as they did, but a third took it a step further, saying theywouldn't have attended college at all had they known the extent ofthe costs in advance.