Massive School Debt

[estevan_carlos]

Is anyone else dealing with this matter?

 

At this point, I feel I've abandoned my life to paying for my four year education. I had little practical or wise insight when I went about the college process. I did not know the difference from public and private schools, my father encouraged me not to work during school (he's not paying for it!). Now I owe more than I should. More than it's worth. And to add to that, I wanted to pursue a master's and was accepted into a program at UCLA but I'm seriously reconsidering.

 

If I incur this new debt, I could likely end up paying more than 100k in loans. I honestly regret doing what I've done. I don't recommend college for the poor unless they are studying to be engineers or doctors.

[annie24]

well, I think that higher education is one of the best investments you can make.

 

Do you plan on using your master's degree? Is it going to be beneficial in getting a better job? If so, then maybe take on the debt, live frugally, and pay as much of it off, as soon as you can.

[estevan_carlos]

more than 100k is a daunting number. I don't understand how a person can live a remotely comfortable life with that much debt.

[annie24]

yeah, that is a big number.

 

but.... will the job you get as a result help you pay off those debts? Will it help you advance your career?

[xmrth]

Are you filling out scholarships and getting grants and things like that?

If you aren't working during your semesters, you should definitely work in your time off, like summer break, etc.

[DN]

It is an investment - just the same as an entrepreneur starting a business has to invest his time and money and often go into considerable debt. But a successful entrepreneur has a properly costed and effective business plan. He knows what he wants to achieve, how to do it and is prepared to work hard to turn his debt into a profit.

 

So make sure you have clear goals, understand the risks, know what you have to do in order to gain success and go for it.

[xblondyx]

I'm not in debt yet, but in September i may be going to university for 3/4 years so that's £3000 per year so i'll be in a lot of debt! Not looking forward to it...

[estevan_carlos]

I'm unnecessarily resentful at the fact that I did not have any plan or money management or guidance during my undergraduate schooling. i took the blind faith approach. if I'm an entrepreneur then I feel I've incurred too much debt at this point to carry on any further. my debt is not actually 100k but rather that is how much I would pay if I followed their payment plan.

 

$1000+ a month is "doable" right now. I don't want it to be $1400 so i'm considering abandoning any further education at this point.

 

 

Life After Debt: Results of the National Student Loan Survey

link removed

• Borrowers who report the greatest levels of burden are: (1) those who borrowed large amounts but make lower than average salaries, such as art and music students (50% of whom have overall debt higher than current salary); (2) Professional and some graduate students, particularly those who went to law school, whose debt levels are high enough to make even their relatively high starting salaries appear inadequate; (3) some African-American students who disproportionately report that student loan debt changed their career plans or prevented them from attending graduate school.

[justpaisley]

Just to put that into perspective, many people (about 66% of Americans) are over $100,000 in debt, thanks to home ownership. It's a big number, but it's about standard. Add that to all the other debt people incur (credit cards, cars, etc.), you're right on par with most Americans, AND you're educated.

 

If you make the right decisions and can pay back those loans without continuing your education, then by all means, don't continue. Get a job that will pay for any future education - you'd be surprised at how many employers are willing to pay for that. Or, apply for grants and scholarships - or go to a cheaper school. UCLA costs an unholy amount of money.

[Luke Skywalker]

Yes, I have a school debt too that I have no idea of how I'm going to pay off. I have exausted all the interest relief programs and am now obligated to pay interest on the loan, which continues mounting higher, and I do not have a quality job or career to even deal with it.

 

I'm thinking I may end up going default unless I find a decent job somewhere or make enough money in my self-employment (an unlikely scenerio as I've been at this for a couple of years now and cant see my way properly).

 

The problem with the system is this. University does not teach hands on practical skills that you will need to be employed, and often times you need to go to post-gradulate college in order to just go that extra mile to be more employable. I applied for the government for a loan to go to post-graduate college, but they turned me down because I had bad credit rating.

 

The previous government, the Conserative party, ensured that if anyone had a bad credit rating, they no longer qualified for a student loan. I had big lines of credit cards and spent most of the money in the stock market and made bad decisions on the market. When I came to my senses it was too late and I really fell through the cracks. No good job, and no means of paying back the credit cards, and now I could not even qualify for any further student loan.

 

So, here I am, stuck with a $ 20 000 loan debt that I have no way of paying off, and am even struggling to pay just the interest on that loan. I do not feel I can even get into any serious relationship with anyone given the tenous circumstaces, and think I'm just stuck here until this loan goes on default or I find a good job somewhere. In a sense, I think the government is to blame for having harsh policies about credit ratings and should never have denied access to loans on the basis of credit ratings if a little extra school was all that was needed to make a difference at a post secondary applied college institution.

 

Currently, I'm in Real-Estate, but the income is too haphazard, and I end up holding on to the money I make just to stay afloat until the next deal, and maybe pay a little here and there, but it is nothing that can really make a difference so far.

[NJRon]

I know a number of people who ended their college careers with over $100k in debt and went on to pay it off fine. I had that much debt after my marriage and paid it off... (and a lot of it was on 20+% credit cards). So, it's definitely doable.

 

Your money can be taken away from you. Your education is something you will always have for the rest of your life.

[Ronordious]

My whole high school career I have been told that college is the answer. But my college experience may be the death of me. I do not owe much money, only around 20,000 thousand dollars. I went for secondary education in Pa. In Pa Secondary education majors must keep a 3.6 GPA or higher. That means for every C grade I would have had to get an A. Hard but not impossiable. (The first semester I achieved this) Unless you take into account that I had Two Hip replacements, a kidney rejection(kidney transplant in 1999), and no surprise a mental break down from the stress. All within the first year and a half. I eventually just gave up with my GPA too low to ever be a teacher.

Why have I not been paying my loans? I have had a kidney transplant and am now unable to afford my medications. When the insurance covers the meds it cost me ~$500 a month. During the donut hole (when I must pay the full cost) It cost me ~$3,000 a month. I only make ~$600 a month on disability. I have told the American Education Service (AES) that I am unable to pay cause I am trying to stay alive. There response was that they "DON'T CARE". If I did not pay the debt in full that day, which at that time was ~$4,000, that they would default me and charge me another $1,000. That was about a year ago I have had this discussion. I borrowed $2,000+ and now owe them $7,000+.

My government stimulas check which I was going to use to buy my medications was taken from me by AES. I have much more to worry about then just a debt. They are literally killing me. I want them paid off but see no way of possiably getting it done. It seems to me that my situation is so bad that no one wants to even try to help me. They would rather just turn the other way and say that I am not trying hard enough. If anyone thinks, or knows, what I should do please tell me. If this keeps up, I will die in two years if I am lucky, less then 2 years is most likely. So if you start to worry about your huge debt, just thank God you don't have health problems. Cause like American Education Services told me. They "DON"T CARE" about us.

-Hans Mielke

[CaptainPlanet]

Do masters in education at a cheap college. Good chance of job, salary is liveable.

 

An entrepreneur can hedge his debt by spending more money.

 

100 % chance of losing $100 worse than 50% of losing $150.

 

PS. I hope I have not led you astray as I am not entirley sure of starting salary for teachers in your region, somewhere between 35-45 k I am guessing.

 

That is if you think you won't be able to find a good enough job with your degree.

 

What did you major in btw ?

[iwishiknew]

Right now I am about $40,000 in debt from school loans.

[Superfreak]

I'm going to have $27-30 K in debt when I get my degree. I'm pretty worried about it, I'm not going to feel comfortable with it until I actually have a good steady full time job. I'm not overly worried about the debt itself, I could afford the payments even if everything fails and I end up working a cruddy retail job full time after school. What I am worried about is the debt seriously constraining my finances and me having to postpone indefinitely taking on any other major financial burdens like moving out on my own or getting my own car, getting married or even just taking a nice vacation for once (I havn't left the country since I was like 10).

 

I'm leaving myself open to the possibility of graduate school. The Masters program I'm looking at would definitely be able to land me a solid career, but I just dislike the idea of staying in school another 2 years and accumulating even more debt. I'm weary because in highschool, the story was "go to University, get an undergrad degree and you'll be set for life". Then we get to University and the story changes to "go to graduate school THEN you'll be set for life"...where will it end? I assume Employers love increasing the minimum required education for eligibility sine the more desperate you are for cash to pay off your education debts, the $hittier treatment and longer hours you'll put up with just for the priviledge of earning your meagre pay cheque.

 

I think my plan will just be to graduate with my degree, take a year off and apply to every decent paying job I'm moderately qualified for and then see if my undergraduate degree is as worthless as everyone indicates, or whether an undergrad degree actually still counts for anything any more. If it doesn't then back to get my Masters or apply to teachers college....until the game changes again and they tell me I need a Ph. D to be employable of course.

[YabbaDabba]

Is anyone else dealing with this matter?

 

At this point, I feel I've abandoned my life to paying for my four year education. I had little practical or wise insight when I went about the college process. I did not know the difference from public and private schools, my father encouraged me not to work during school (he's not paying for it!). Now I owe more than I should. More than it's worth. And to add to that, I wanted to pursue a master's and was accepted into a program at UCLA but I'm seriously reconsidering.

 

If I incur this new debt, I could likely end up paying more than 100k in loans. I honestly regret doing what I've done. I don't recommend college for the poor unless they are studying to be engineers or doctors.

 

As a college senior who's about to graduate, I feel your pain. I don't have nearly as much debt as you, but considering that I'm a friggin' English major (read: future poverty, lol), it's probably relative.

 

What was/is your major? If you have a knack for teaching, you could try something like Teach for America. I'm not sure of the exact specifics, but I'm pretty sure that a two-year teaching stint in a low-income school will get some or all of your student loans forgiven.

 

So, that's a possible option.

 

In terms of your schooling, well, you live and you learn. BUT I have to disagree with your comments about college not being for the poor folks.

 

I am one of those poor folks. My parents contributed exactly nothing financially to my college education and I'm about to graduate from a private university. A very expensive private university.

 

My loans rack up to a depressing, but manageable, $14,000.

And I haven't even mentioned graduate school (another $20-$30,000).

 

Here's the thing: I know that if you could do it all over, you'd get a job during school--maybe go to a different school--and explore your financial aid options.

 

But, you also have to ask yourself if you'd trade in the college experience for being debt-free.

 

Would a lack of an education mean more to you than being stuck with loans?

 

I'm just asking--it's a tough question, at least for me.

 

Anyway, explore your options for graduate school. Does UCLA offer assistantships or fellowships?

 

Or, maybe you should take a year or two off, try to get an entry-level job in your field, so you can pay down your loans.

 

Then you can do graduate school--and cross your fingers that you end up somewhere with really good financial aid for graduate students. Keep in mind that having a master's degree will mean more earning potential in the long run.