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Student Loans and Inability to Repay

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posted on Mar, 28 2012 @ 06:49 PM
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Here is what I don't understand about complaints about student loans...no one/agency/gov forced you to take out a student loan. You did that on your own, making it your responsibility.

I don't know why anyone would ever take out a student loan total of more than 20k unless you plan on becoming a lawyer, doctor, engineer, scientist etc...fields where jobs are a virtual lock and you can pay back 100k worth of student loan debts in no time.

I have two more years of school left and am now about to take out a total amount of around 12k to make sure I can get through the next two years...I want close to a 4.0 upon graduation, and if that means working less job hours than so-be-it. I feel like that is a very manageable amount considering I'm going into a high demand field where Petroleum Geologists are starting out with salary levels between 80-100k a year...that's just with a B.S.

Personally, I think it comes down to educating yourself and knowing what you're getting yourself into.
edit on 28-3-2012 by edgecrusher2199 because: (no reason given)

edit on 28-3-2012 by edgecrusher2199 because: (no reason given)



posted on Mar, 28 2012 @ 06:55 PM
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Education could be free if money that was printed out of thin air went to pay for it.

Or if we had a sound monitary system we would all have enough money to afford school.



posted on Mar, 28 2012 @ 07:00 PM
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If I were you, I'd try to get some forbearance and see if you can live with a relative. I had $30K when I finished and wanted to pay it off as quickly as possible. So I actually lived with my sister as soon as I got a job and then paid it all off in 1 year. It wasn't much fun living under person's roof and watching every dime, but at least I got it all knocked out and with the least amount of interest.



posted on Mar, 28 2012 @ 07:24 PM
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Pretty soon a college education will be out of reach of the majority of Americans. It's sad that young people don't even get to start working in their chosen profession and they're already burdened with overwhelming debt.

I think there will come a time where college students will ban together and probably protest on campuses across the country. Really, I think it's overdue. The populace waits too long before they demand change.



posted on Mar, 28 2012 @ 07:39 PM
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Well, I can appreciate your situation.

One of the most useful tools or remedies to those who owe student loans is to apply for forbearance, deferment, or forgiveness. The latter is the most difficult to get, but all involve an application process. Call or write to the loan company and ask about the three things above. You can also receive an economic hardship for situations affecting the ability to repay that are an extreme hardship.

The important thing to know is start the process and contact the loan company BEFORE a student loan is delinquent, then collection agencies begin their process to collect the money and are less forgiving.

1. Apply for forbearance, deferment, or hardship.
2. Apply before your loan is delinquent.
3. Keep-track of when you'll need to re-apply for the above in the future.

Some forbearance, deferment, and hardship applications are 3, 6, 9, or 12 months or more.

The school you attended will have this and more information, just contact them and check-out your options. It never hurts to seek-out more information.

Good Luck,

Trek

Side-note: The student loan crisis is possibly more damaging economically, then the housing crisis in 2008, with far-more reaching consequences. The "statutory nature" of a student loans means it MUST be paid-back, unlike a house which can be declared in bankruptcy, bought, sold, and transferred, any student loan is there, like a blot on your record, permanent, until paid-back, or forgiven. The only option to repaying student loans is to defer, forbear, and obtain a hardship exclusion. Other than forgiveness, no options really exist except to "set-aside" repayment until programs are designed and implemented. Still looking for alternatives and solutions, but Good Luck! I think solving today's complicated problems require innovative and out-of-the-box thinkers who can chew bubble-gum and walk at the same time.
edit on 28-3-2012 by trekwebmaster because: (no reason given)



posted on Mar, 28 2012 @ 07:50 PM
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What I don't understand is if people are smart enough to get into a college that is going to end up costing them upwards of $100,000, how could they not be smart enough to do their homework in regards to the probability of securing a job that will not only pay off that loan but give them a good quality of life at the same time? ( I know, that was a run-on sentence.....sorry)

I don't mean to sound crude here, but are people really in their own little world to the point where they can't see the reality of the world around them? Do they think that the economy is going to majically fix itself when they get out of school to where they KNOW they will land a job?

I can think of a trade right now where you can realistically earn a mid-level 5 figure to low-end six figure income, depending on where in the country you are, within 10 years of starting with this company and it won't cost very much at all. So little in fact that most people wouldn't even have to take a loan out. They can just work out the financials with the company in question. Keep working for them while slowly moving up. You could actually speed up the process yourself if you're motivated enough to move where the company needs you.

I guess that's one of the problems right there though; people don't want to SLOWLY move up, they want it all and they want it now.( I know, I'M one to talk right?
ly ) So in the process, their blind ambition gets them into debt so far that they will never be able to realistically pay it back. And then they have the gall to cry about how the system is unfair.

Ignorance of the financial realities of this world is what gets people into this mess, not TPTB that make the system what it is. Nobody is putting a gun these peoples' heads forcing them to play the game. They do it on their own and end up getting a bullet where it counts.

Sorry, but I've taken too many shots that I didn't ask for to have any sympathy for people with self-inflicted wounds.





Yeah I know, it's a campy video, but that's the 80's for you.

edit on 28-3-2012 by Taupin Desciple because: (no reason given)



posted on Mar, 28 2012 @ 07:55 PM
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reply to post by WeRpeons
 


I agree, even an Associate Degree, is expensive when taking student loans. If I had to do it all over again, I would attend a two-year school for an Associate of Art (transfer degree,) then transfer to a four-year university. You would save tuition costs by almost half or over for an equivalent semester at a four-year institution.

Also, if done correctly and efficiently, you'd barely be able to have enough funding to finish both degrees. Some courses at two-year schools don't necessarily transfer as the same course to a four-year school; and they would likely credit them as "electives."

It should be less expensive and more accessible to those students without scholarships or alternate sources of funding. Something clearly is needed to keep those from falling into the "education gap." Which includes the "technology gap," "employment gap," and seemingly, the red-tape escalates from there.

Peace,

Trek



posted on Mar, 28 2012 @ 08:03 PM
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reply to post by DavidWillts
 


Not even Law is good anymore,apparently there are to many lawyers,etc.
What a world we have here.



posted on Mar, 28 2012 @ 09:18 PM
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The big problem nowadays is just the outright ability to repay. When I was in college, I managed about 18 grand in loan debt through the third year. Ended up with a severe health problem (aneurysm burst) before the 4th year started and while I did get better, it not only wiped out about half my memories, but it took about a year and a half to get back to the point that I could function well enough to be able to consider going back to school. By which time that 18 grand had gone into default status and removed all ability to use government aid of any sort to go back and revamp what was lost and then finish the degree. The worst is that by the time I was even able well enough to comprehend the disability forms and apply (which would have automatically put them in forbearance and opened up a new avenue of funding to return to school), the Doctors were actively interfering in maintaining that I could do janitorial work. Now imagine that when you do know that you have three full years of college behind you already and know good and well that the filed you plan on getting in starts at 65 grand a year on a B.S. in 96. Now that same loan sits at 52 grand and climbing b/c I can't manage to get back and finish, let alone the fact the field is shattered on economic reasons alone now (but hey, I would have had the loan paid off on the income back then and had money to go for another B.S. or a M.S)

Now go figure. Heck, even a History degree with a teaching certificate can get you a job teaching in high school, especially if you can coach a sport.



posted on Mar, 28 2012 @ 09:30 PM
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reply to post by Taupin Desciple
 


Actually, they technically did put a gun up to our heads. We're brainwashed for 12 years that it's either go to college or be a bum. Then, when you include the pressure from relatives, friends, etc. it quickly becomes a situation where you don't have a literal gun to your head, but, in economic and social terms, you do.

Heck, I even offered to pay my dad rent, but it was either go to college or I was out on the street.



posted on Mar, 28 2012 @ 09:55 PM
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Umm, I might be wrong, but didn't you repay with that hefty trillion dollar bailout they have received thus far?



posted on Mar, 28 2012 @ 10:35 PM
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After 20+ years of avoiding them? They automatically took my wages. Got a notice in a paycheck with 1/2 of it gone, that they would continue that until it was paid.They did. And in a year and a half...it was cleared up.



posted on Mar, 28 2012 @ 10:53 PM
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I'm a senior in highschool and am forced to have to take out student loans as well. For the school that I desired Im going to have to take out a total of 40,000 dollars over the next 4 and half years. My parents said that if I ever leave their engineering program Im getting the boot and coming right back home. I'm surprised this isnt one of the more debated topics of that for 2012 election.



posted on Mar, 28 2012 @ 10:55 PM
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reply to post by AnIntellectualRedneck
 


Hi, I am also an IT professional. I was lucky, I got my ITS degree (CIS major, with a split minor in psychology and comparative religious studies and an emphasis in marketing, from Regis University) while things were still just ramping up in the industry. It took me until my mid-thirties to pay off my student loans. I wouldn't have taken any student loans, if only I had been smart and used the $ my parents saved up to help me go to college, wisely. Instead, I started off as an Acting major, right out of High School, then changed majors several times, dropped out, had a baby, worked as a dog groomer, then secretary, then nurse aide, and then finally went back to school and got the ITS degree. Yes, the degree IS valuable. Most employers will no longer accept self-taught IT personnel.

You won't be going into IT Management straight out of college, regardless of the name of your degree. You DO have a shot at a decent, entry level position; you must get your foot in the door and work your way up. You are learning some good foundation skills, which some employers still care about. A few (look at local government and local businesses, not the big companies) will still take on staff with broad-based foundation skills as opposed to niche experience. Many employers for IT are looking for specific experience with their particular products, and this, interestingly, has been recognized by the overseas market and now they are giving people "degrees" in specific products. For example, SAP or Peoplesoft.

My best advice is to talk to your advisor about getting an Internship or Work/Study program. That is your best bet for getting some practical, real world experience, which will get your foot in the door. Plus, if a company invests some time to train you for a little while, you have a much better shot for getting a job with the company afterwards, or at least a reference.

Be realistic about what to expect. You will need to get into an entry level IT position. You will get experience, gain confidence, and garner trust from your employer and peers over the next 1-3 years before you start moving up, but you can probably expect merit increases or cost of living adjustments during that time, and you will be learning a LOT, you will not be stagnant. Then you can start applying for higher positions, IT has a definite hierarchy, you move from junior to senior, or lead, then usually move into a more specialised branch. Expect lots of challenges but lots of satisfaction from solving problems. It is a high stress field, not so much in the lower levels, but quite a lot at the senior levels and higher. We are often salaried with on-call duty.

As for your student loans, they will (unless it has drastically changed since I finally got my degree in 1995, which is quite possible) be deferred until you graduate, and then you will get a payment book with a monthly payment to make, just like a car payment. The interest is very low (or used to be) and the amount you are asked to pay is something you should be able to work with the bank on, unless you don't get a job and default. You will have to pay it for years until it is paid off, just like a car loan. It may take longer than a car loan, to pay off, depending on how much you had to borrow. Please do not be choosey about jobs when you first graduate. You can't afford to be. If you default, they will, and have every right to, garnish your wages when you do get work, even if you get work at McDonalds instead of in your chosen profession.

Good luck, and feel free to PM me if you would like to talk about it more.

edit on 28-0320123-1212 by gwynnhwyfar because: Clarification



posted on Mar, 28 2012 @ 11:23 PM
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Originally posted by lemmeknow
I'm a senior in highschool and am forced to have to take out student loans as well. For the school that I desired Im going to have to take out a total of 40,000 dollars over the next 4 and half years. My parents said that if I ever leave their engineering program Im getting the boot and coming right back home. I'm surprised this isnt one of the more debated topics of that for 2012 election.


Quick question... Are you "forced" because this is the school you "desire" to attend and there is no alternative choice? I ask, because, I too have a graduating teen in my family, who has been accepted at two schools, one in state and one out of state. If she attends the in state school, her parents can cover her costs and she will pay nothing to get her degree. However, she strongly desires to go to the out of state school, which costs more than double to get the same degree. If she insists on going out of state, her parents can not cover the additional costs and she will have to take student loans.

The student in question really, really wants to go out of state. The degree in question is a standard Communications degree, which is offered at either University.



posted on Mar, 28 2012 @ 11:23 PM
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Why would someone spend all that time & money and go to school for say a....history degree? What are you going to do with THAT? Compete with seasoned professors who teach history?

I think that the reason that someone would do this is because of the modern day saying of "do something you enjoy." People are going into stuff they love and normally that stuff does not contain an actual job field with much depth. "It's what their heart tells them to do." I hear that way too often on what people want to do in my class.



posted on Mar, 28 2012 @ 11:37 PM
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reply to post by gwynnhwyfar
 


Yes, how my family is financially I will have to take out student loans. I got this out of state school down to the only a couple thousand away compared to an instate school through a few scholarships and fafsa helping me out with grants. However, if my family were able to pay for my schooling initially, I dont think I would have taken that for granted and id go to the in state school. For a communications major though, I would like into how well the schools programs are. Some schools could have very good communication degrees and others could be piss poor.



posted on Mar, 29 2012 @ 12:03 AM
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I'm currently going to college for my B.S. in Psychology. After I've completed this, I'm going for my masters (not sure which area yet). I suppose I don't have to go to college, but I really want to, otherwise I'll be waitressing the rest of my life. And while I have no problem with it, I really want to work in another field and this won't happen without college.

I'm not thrilled with all of the money I'm going to owe when all is said and done though.



posted on Mar, 29 2012 @ 12:37 AM
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i was young and dumb and wanted to get away so i went the student loan route and went to a party college. biggest mistake of my life but i don't regret it. only 20k in debt to them. if i had known what i know now i would have never went that route. i would have waited until i was 24 so i wouldn't have to claim my parents income on my fasfa and tried to get free money... on a positive note, i did use my own money to get my AS Science degree when i had to move back to my home town after the party school mistake. better than nothing i suppose



posted on Mar, 29 2012 @ 12:47 AM
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reply to post by Starchildren
 


Not to destroy your hopes, but I have a friend in his early 30's working on a 2nd Master's in Psychology...he is still unable to find work



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