Student Loans

[Anthony Marrone]

Originally Posted by purplefdu

Ouch, over 300k and you didn't finish. And my mom said I was the worst story she has ever heard. you're gonna prove her wrong. I only owed 45k after 102/132 credits towards my BS in chem. I was ok until they lost my paperwork for a financial deferrment during the spring floods (a disaster throughout New England that involved federal funding) and put my loan into default and its now been sold to at least three other companies. I am currently looking into ways to get out of default, but the best I have come up with is a lawsuit including asking for proof of holding the loan. Finding someone to do this for free or cheap isn't easy though.

As for tips, make sure you really apply yourself. Don't settle for a C because its better than half the class. Only learning at a C level is like only getting half a loaf of bread after paying for the full thing.

Really all you need to know is the company who is holding the loan, i.e. sending you incessant letters re: your default. From that point, you construct a letter based on the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act forcing the holder of the loan to prove the amount of the debt, from that point the ball is in their court. E-mail me and I'll send you a draft of the letter and walk you through it.

[Rebecca]

amarrone-

big props to you for knowing all of this now instead of ending up like me Also, just make sure you don't go into public interest law like I did

[Zarathstra]

Oh man, if I'd been thinking when I started this student loan thing, I would never have done it. Now I'm 30k in debt just for my education! And of course, since my dad made of ton of money, but spent it like it was no tomorrow I got the worst of both worlds. I couldn't qualify for any federal loans or assistance because of his income, but because of his habits, I didn't actually have any money!

Ugh, now I'm stuck with a 300 dollar repayment for the next 8 or 9 years.

[rorich]

Originally Posted by Rebecca

My monthly payments are now $1070 a month.

Wow ! I used to complain about my $350 a month payment. I now know that it could have been much worse. I feel your pain.

[Annie]

Is anyone else here in (or comes from) a slightly more unconventional school setting? Like, I'm in art school right now, so a lot of the frat/sorority, textbook, etc. stuff doesn't really apply to me and I'm always looking for people to give advice on the financial area of this kind of life. There's got to be at least one artist or musician or dancer or actor or something in here...

[anitra]

Wow. I met my husband at a private engineering university; my parents paid for most of my education, but his paid for ZERO. When we got married, our combined student loan debt was around $90,000.

Thankfully, we're both computer programmers (pretty easy to find jobs, pays fairly well) - unfortunately, we live in a high cost area and my husband has chosen to work for a company that pays far below average for new employees. His pay is finally ramping up, in about three more years he will surpass what he could (probably) make elsewhere with similar experience.

We're just concentrating on knocking out the debt as much as we can with a tight budget and using any bonuses and other "found" money, so that when we have kids, I can afford to stay home with them. The more debt we knock out, the closer we get to being able to live on his income alone.

[Night Runner]

I'll graduate this May. My student loan is somewhere around $15K at the moment, mostly because I don't qualify for many scholarships, and there are absolutely none that are "tailored" for me (e.g., minority scholarships, women-only scholarships, etc.). However, I saved lots of money on textbooks by purchasing them online, I've never joined a fraternity (and saved thousands of dollars on that, too), and I live in a great college student-type house with a ridiculously low rent, so I should be alright. :^D

[Xin Lu]

I almost went to law school. I actually took the LSAT and almost submitted some applications. Then when I was writing my essays I couldn't figure out why I wanted to be a lawyer when I haven't even tried being an engineer. So I ended up not going, and I am kind of glad. Though when I was researching law schools I found that there are tuition grants for lawyers for working in public sectors after they graduate? Is that still true?

[Kathryn]

Originally Posted by Rebecca

Julie


I just wish that someone would have sat me down before I signed my life away and made me think about the consequences.

I think this ties into Xin's blog post today about not buying things you don't need, even if you can afford them. I think a lot of students fill out their FAFSAs (financial aid application, for you non-'Muricans) and get told "you can borrow $XXXX this year) and take out the entire amount, without thinking about how much they really *need* to get through that year, and, as you say, other things they can do to cut down on their expenses or generate a little income. And other considerations, like the fact that in addition to tuition differences, you should also consider the cost of living at the institutions you have shortlisted.

[StudentMom]

After spending the last.. forever.. in school, I'll finally be ready in 15 months. I've taken loans only the last two years and will have to take as much as possible for the next 15 months as well. But I have suggestions to all students: take a full load of classes whenever you can. Don't travel and party in the summers, take classes and work!! This way you'll easily finish in a semester or two less. I cannot wait to graduate, I've been putting it off way too long and meanwhile am not making any money. I'll prob "only" have about $35K when I'm done and am planning to pay that off asap.