Drowning in grad school debt, failing my state exams too,do I quit anyway?(long)

[Triscuit71]

My original plan was to attend a 2-year graduate program and only have $60K in federal loans to payback.

 

Well, as that cliche goes, "life is what happened [to me] when I made [my grad school] plans. I made the colossal mistake of not finishing my 2-year grad program but transferring to another university to repeat the same coursework and field experiences for an extra $60K in student loans, because I was told that I would not be allowed to finish my 2-year grad program at a meeting I requested with the dean and assoc. dean. Might I add, that the hour-long meeting with them both was a complete waste because neither would give me a straight answer as to why I wasn't allowed to finish; I had a good GPA and had finished all the required coursework, but they wouldn't let me graduate. At the end of the meeting, the female dean told me to go home and take a bubble bath, in FRONT of the male assoc. dean. Her comment was so un-professional, I became so livid that I said nothing and just left her office. Then I called the coordinator of the same program at another university and transferred that day. Big mistake in hindsight for the financial reasons alone.

 

So here I am, in twice the amount of debt, nearly finished with the same grad school program, faced with the same issues yet again. My program is a masters of arts in teaching which means the last stage is a semester of student teaching, then another semester to write the masters thesis. I've finished my coursework and field experiences and the woman who was supposed to place me in a school to student teach at, retired this summer, so I still don't have a placement for fall secured. Her replacement is a man who was told by the program chair, that she gave me special permission to student teach despite the fact that I still have three state exams to take and to pass (my state requires teacher candidates to take a basic skills test that has 3 tests, a pedagogy test with 2 tests, and a content area test with 2 tests. So, I have 3 tests to take a pass before I can be considered for my teaching license in my content area. And even if I pass those state exams, my university doesn't have to grant me my teaching license.

 

So my dilemma: what should I do?

• Wait patiently until Labor Day to see if I've been assigned a school placement?
  
• Start looking into a regular masters program instead which costs another $40K in student loans but would guarantee me a teaching job at the end, at the college level?
  
• Just quit the program and try to find a livable wage job in a completely non-education field, while living on welfare.
  
• 
  

 

For someone with a 3.7 GPA, I'd say I earned an "F" in common sense. I've really loused up my life and am having a hard time looking outside the box as to what I should do. Even if I get placed in the fall and do well with my student teaching, I still have to pass 3 state exams and write my masters degree which will cost me another $10K in student loans.

 

I've already accepted the fact that regardless of what decision I make, I'll have $120K to pay back in student loans, through an income based repayment program. And if I can't find work after the 6-month loan deferment is over, I can delay my loan repayments under a financial hardship clause, but that just means my loan repayments will balloon up due to extra interest-rates added.

 

Aside from posting responses calling me a moron, if anyone has any insight or advice, I'm open to hearing it. But criticism isn't necessary as I'm well aware that I caused this situation based on poor choice-making.

[Philos]

If what you say is completely true as you perceive it, consult a lawyer.

 

A consultation with a lawyer is free (if it isn't - find a different lawyer). It might be difficult because it has been several years since the first school denied graduating you without reason. Regardless, that would be my first advice.

[amipushy]

I'm from the UK so things are different over here, but I seriously suggest you speak to someone in student finance, your personal tutor, and whoever deals with these things in your uni, as well as a uni counsellor and your parents (if you are young).

 

Don't keep this to yourself, its too big a debt and too much pressure. Find someone to help and support you in the real world.

[gremlinhands]

First thing first. Graduate! You came too far and spent too much to not finish.

 

They really just told you that you couldn't graduate and didn't give any reason? I agree that it does seem like grounds for a lawsuit, but as you know, lawyers are expensive so I don't know if you would want to look into that or not.

 

Call or email the person responsible for giving you a placement right away. Hound them.

 

Also, would it be worth it to see a financial advisor about all of these loans or are you okay with the paying back system?

 

There are people to help you! Seek them out!

[Triscuit71]

2 years ago when this happened, I consulted with the omnibudsman and vice president of the university...to no avail. Both people refused to help me. So I went to my state's Board of Teachers, and they too said that their hands were tied. That's unfortunately the education system for you. It was dumb for me to transfer and waste another 2 years repeating the same coursework in the same program, and accrue twice the amount of financial aid, but that's what happened. Believe me, I went to all the right individuals to ask for help, but all I got were excuses so I gave up and transferred programs.

 

If what you say is completely true as you perceive it, consult a lawyer.

 

A consultation with a lawyer is free (if it isn't - find a different lawyer). It might be difficult because it has been several years since the first school denied graduating you without reason. Regardless, that would be my first advice.

[Triscuit71]

I've met with my financial aid counselor several times over my enormous student loan debt. What I was told was this:

 

• If I get my license and stay employed in the same school distrct, 10% of my loan amount will be forgiven after 10 years (not much but hey)
  
• I can enroll in income based repayment which means small monthly loan payments
  
• I can consolidate my federal and private loans to one lump sum paid monthly
  
• If I get any job in the education field, I will get a reduced interest rate in my loan repayments
  

 

While those are good options to have, I'm still upset that I allowed this to happen because my original grad program refused to let me finish. I tried to get outside parties involved to help me, but failed. So I'm stuck with this large student debt. It's humiliating.

 

Also, I'm 41 which makes it even worse. Such a colossal mistake would seem "okay" for a 20-something, but a 41 year old like me should have made a different choice. This debt means that I'll forever be a renter (even with a livable wage job I won't be able to afford a mortgage payment) and forget ever purchasing a new car (the car payments would be too much for me to handle). I filed bankruptcy last year (Chapter 7) so my credit is ruined already, and no bank will offer me a home or car loan unless I were to put down a huge deposit as collateral, which I won't be able to afford to do anyway.

 

I'm from the UK so things are different over here, but I seriously suggest you speak to someone in student finance, your personal tutor, and whoever deals with these things in your uni, as well as a uni counsellor and your parents (if you are young).

 

Don't keep this to yourself, its too big a debt and too much pressure. Find someone to help and support you in the real world.

[Triscuit71]

I know. I know. I need to finish my program the second time around or I will forever regret it. But quitting seems like an easier escape plan, because no matter what I do at this point I have that enormous student loan debt I have to repay.

 

I have state exams, student teaching and a masters thesis left to complete before I will be a eligible to apply for licensed teaching jobs. I guess I can call around to alternative schools this summer (charter, Montessori, private) and ask them about their hiring qualifications to see if I stand a chance at being hired without a license. I know that some Catholic schools will hire unlicensed teachers, but the U.S. Dept. of Education and No Child Left Behind has royally screwed up the American Education system with this new fangled Common Core Stands, and new teacher-employment-laws now that base a teacher's tenure and job security on how well they can train their students to pass state and national standardized tests. For example, if I teach a high school language arts class and only 60 % of my students pass their state and national standardized tests, my school will hire an outside company to come and observe my teaching, make recommendations to my school principal, then I will either be suspended on probation, fired, or nothing will happen and my job is safe.

 

If I had gone just a masters in English route, I could be teaching at a community or 4 yr college with none of that academic b.s. which is why I'm so mad at myself. I'm 41, like I said, and I should have made a better life plan for myself than this horrible mess I've created for myself.

 

I won't even go on to say how my enormous student debt affects my dating life. So far, no man I've met wants to commit to me because that would mean he takes on my student debt too (if marriage were the case). So I've really screwed myself over. And I'm mad at myself for this mess I'm in, because I'm 41, and not 20-something. Life is short and I wish I could go back and change the past decade so that I was in a better, different place.

 

First thing first. Graduate! You came too far and spent too much to not finish.

 

They really just told you that you couldn't graduate and didn't give any reason? I agree that it does seem like grounds for a lawsuit, but as you know, lawyers are expensive so I don't know if you would want to look into that or not.

 

Call or email the person responsible for giving you a placement right away. Hound them.

 

Also, would it be worth it to see a financial advisor about all of these loans or are you okay with the paying back system?

 

There are people to help you! Seek them out!

[gremlinhands]

Sorry if I am being nosy, but I'm just curious. What exactly did they say to you when they told you that you couldn't finish your program? I believe you, but it seems so odd they didn't give you a good reason. Obviously you weren't flunking if you transferred....and most universities want people to finish so they can collect the money.

 

Well, there is no point in kicking yourself over this. Its not even your fault, really. University is horrendously expensive...its not like you blew all your money on drugs. You got an education and that is valuable. Now hopefully, once you finish you will be able to find a well paying job to pay off your debts!

 

I would seriously call about that placement, though and not wait till Labour Day to find out if you got one. Remind them of who you are!

 

Or, have you ever considered looking into International Schools abroad? I've spent a few years teaching abroad and it let me save money and really looks good on my CV. These schools pay really well (about the same as a North American teacher) and often pay for housing and relocation and the cost of living in non-English speaking countries is usually way less than at home, also no taxes!! so you are able to save a lot of money towards your debt. They want older teachers too (not that 41 is really even old, but I mean as opposed to a 22 year old) You could finish the MA now, then apply for these jobs.

 

Do you qualify for any scholarships? Or bursaries?

[Triscuit71]

The excuse the dean and associate dean gave me was, "the committee doesn't think you're ready to teach." This "committee" was a self-appointed group of staff that included my advisor (whom I got into hot water by narking on him for fudging a few students' grades that I found out about). So my advisor black-balled me from student teaching by not signing a form that all advisors are required to sign, that shows the student teacher coordinator "this student has been approved to student teach." So the reason I was "not allowed" was for interpersonal, not academic reasons. I received good grades in all of my coursework, high marks and rave reviews from all of my field experience host-teachers, not to mention my previous years as a community college instructor (I was laid off when the hiring standards changed to require all teachers to have a masters degree in their field; this was back in 2005).

 

So yeah, the excuse I was given was b.s. to be frank about it. Nothing I could do to change it.

 

As much as I want to call the new student teacher coordinator, I hesitate to, because I don't want to come accross pushy, and repeat the same mistakes again, i.e. I'm held back a second time for "interpersonal reasons" because I nagged the new coordinator to place me for this fall. No, I'm better off remaining silent. I think that will look better.

 

I taught abroad in 1997 at a Chinese university after I graduated with a BA. I would LOVE to return to that university since I know it well, but now they require their visiting instructors to have a masters. So if I wanted to go back there, I'd have to get my masters degree next spring. I suppose I could try to apply for international teaching jobs, but one needs a huge amount of savings to do that, and I have none right now. I'm living paycheck to paycheck (having filed bankruptcy last year) and off of my student loan refunds every fall and spring semester. So money for me is tight. If I were to teach internationally, I'd prefer to do it in the UK, since I have duel-citizenship with Ireland, and could easily apply for jobs without having to mess with getting a tourist visa or work visa. But again, the UK is expensive and I don't have any savings. So I'm really stuck in a rock and a hard place right now. I have to generate income, real income, before I could do something like teach abroad again.

 

And no. My age disqualifies me from scholarships and grants. Plus I'm at the end of my program - student teaching isn't covered by grants or scholarships. Neither is a masters degree to my knowledge.

 

I just feel like an idiot for the way I've led my life. At least drug addicts can become drug counselors or better. They don't have student loan debt. If I don't pass my student teaching, or my state teaching license exams, I might as well get a job at a fast food restaurant. I really don't know what else to do for another career, and I don't want to do any more schooling at this point since I literally can't afford to borrow more federal student loan money.