DEFAULT...Student Loans

[capital sb]

Find companies that offer tuition assistance many companies offer it. Paying for an advance degree while working for a company doesn't make any sense to me.

Goodluck everyone don't default on purpose. Many aren't thinking about the effects it will have long term. Many companies are doing credit checks now, and if you want a gov't job and have defaulted on your loans you can forget about it.

Edit: I just read that article "Why I Defualted On My Loans" and it is pathetic. Piggy backing off people for their good credit after he choose to default on his loans for a worthless degree smh. Funny thing about the article is that he didn't mention community college a single time, but said he should have just went and worked minimum wage instead of being able to obtain his degree. What a joke.

The community college system is alive and well (best way to obtain a degree imo) , but people act like it doesn't exist. Not to mention CLEP exams that cost about $100 and are worth 3-6 credits depending on your score. Most schools allow you to get up to 46 CLEP credits. Nothing but a bunch of excuses and rational of why its okay to get a degree and pay nothing back.

 

[harlemtothebronx]

same people defaulting on their student loans because they want to drop $1000+ on Yeezy Boost's


good luck to this generation

You're really intent on attributing student loan defaults to the irrational spending habits of a few? 

Not the fact that, in my case, one of my student loans accumulate $3.00 in interest everyday?  

Jesus Christ that is ridiculous.

 

[lynchpin33]

First debt I attacked to get paid off when I finished school. At times I was working 3 jobs to get this bill out of the way. Actually was paying on it while I was in school. Missed out on a lot of stuff, but it's out from over my head right now. My advice setup a payment plan and budget accordingly. I've seen default mess up some people I know really bad financially.

 

[biggie62]

Props on the thread my dude. I have thought about it and looked at alternatives but nothing has really panned out. I got got and it is the biggest regret of my entire life. Went to a private out of state university. Got loans out myself with no cosigner at a high variable interest rate. Got forbearance for the 4 years i was in school. Borrowed 80k (20k per year) graduated 100k in debt. Paid down 20k in principle so far over the past 5 years.

My interest rates now are slightly lower but i thank the stars that i have a decent paying job. I have no clue how people are able to pay back if they are in my situation with a normal job. When i graduated i lived at home for 3 years making 35k a year. Pay checks bi-monthly were 1150 and my student loan payments were $1350 a month. I had a beater car that was paid off and i was paying car insurance, cell phone, and gas for my car since my job was 30 mins away. I would literally live off $500 a month. I was so so so so depressed since i couldn't do anything that cost money.

I take responsibility for my faults. But the system is broken. Its made to prey on the uniformed. Never had a finance class in high school neither of my parents went to college and my mom is horrible with money and refused to fill out FAFSA for me and would go ghost if i came home to find her. I just think kids need a class in school to give them an idea of what they are getting themselves into.

Probably the biggest difference between my friends who went to public school and myself going to a prep school. We had financial advisers come to our school sophomore year and give our families a free consultation on how setup all their accounts and holdings in such a way to minimize tuition payments in college. Then we had them fill out our FAFSAs and such for a fee during our Junior and Senior years. Mine is still my and my family's tax accountant to this day. I know it helped save me a lot of money but I still had 50k of loans coming out of undergrad. I paid it off within a year but I had over 20k in savings so I dumped that plus 60% of my paychecks into all the loans and lived very frugal.

It's really ironic how those that need the money the most don't get it because they don't get put into the group that knows. I don't come from a well off family as I was on scholarship/financial aid at the prep school, but I'm very grateful for that service that they provided. I know that they do it at other high end prep schools in NYC as well.

 

[capital sb]

@Biggie62  @lynchpin33  Congrats on killing off your debt quickly. I have been debating if I should do the same thing (kill the debt within a few years) or invest the money instead.

Do you all wish you would have invested the money instead or just a better peace of mind knowing that its gone? I have 29K in loans , so it shouldn't be too hard.

 

[dman22193]

I'll just leave this here..

http://thinkprogress.org/election/2...e-wants-make-college-free-taxing-wall-street/

Bernie Sanders (I-VT) wants to see a “revolution” in higher education funding.
The longtime Senator and newly minted presidential candidate unveiled a bill Tuesday that would completely eliminate undergraduate tuition at four-year public colleges and universities. The bill would also expand work-study programs and allow graduates who collectively hold more than a trillion dollars in student debt to refinance at a lower interest rate. At a press conference outside the US Capitol, Sanders called the current burdens on students and graduates a “national disgrace.”

To pay for his proposal, which Sanders’ office estimates will cost $750 billion over a decade, the Senator is calling for a so-called “Robin Hood” or financial transactions tax on some forms of Wall Street trading. The measure would impose a 0.5 percent tax on stock trades — or 50 cents for every $100 worth of stocks — a 0.1% fee on bonds, and a 0.005% fee on derivatives trading. Sanders has introduced the “Robin Hood tax” as a separate bill, though neither are unlikely to even get a vote in the current Republican-controlled Congress.

 

[biggie62]

@Biggie62
 @lynchpin33
 Congrats on killing off your debt quickly. I have been debating if I should do the same thing (kill the debt within a few years) or invest the money instead.
Do you all wish you would have invested the money instead or just a better peace of mind knowing that its gone? I have 29K in loans , so it shouldn't be too hard.

At times yes as I am looking to buy a house now and maybe if I had that cash when i graduated I could have bought then before the market in NYC really blew up the last 2-3 years. But I'm wrapping up grad school now and going to make a lot more money so I'm in a good spot. Just these all cash overseas buyers are killing me. People dropping 600k+ cash like it's nothing on homes that are worth maybe 450k-500k in reality

 

[capital sb]

At times yes as I am looking to buy a house now and maybe if I had that cash when i graduated I could have bought then before the market in NYC really blew up the last 2-3 years. But I'm wrapping up grad school now and going to make a lot more money so I'm in a good spot. Just these all cash overseas buyers are killing me. People dropping 600k+ cash like it's nothing on homes that are worth maybe 450k-500k in reality

Yeah thats the only thing I am concerned about. Not having the cash on hand.

 

[richiecotite]

I see people come defaulting on loans left and right driving nice cars, rocking nice clothes, etc.

People just want to disregard what got then the job like its owed to them

Also borrowers need to borrow responsibly rather than taking large amounts of loans to live off of, most degrees don't cost what you "borrow"

Please keep in mind that most 17 and 18 yr olds, much less most fully grown adults realize exactly what taking that loan out entails. No one in their right mind is going to give a 17 yr old a $100,000 car or small business loan/loans, but that's what routinely happens with educational loans. It's downright predatory.

Add in the fact that colleges have gotten outrageously expensive over the last 20 years. Stories about someone being able to work a low wage job over the summer, or work part time while going to school during to cover their costs used to be normal. Who can make $25k over a summer to pay for school? Or find a part time job that pays that over a year when many entry level jobs pay slightly more than that?

The system is broken, period.

 

[capital sb]

System could use a reform, but people aren't looking at all options. Nobody forced you to go to a school that cost 30K-50K/ yr.

A lot of excuses and finger pointing going on. They have sold everyone on the idea that a cheaper school = inferior education & inferior job opportunities .

 

[biggie62]

Please keep in mind that most 17 and 18 yr olds, much less most fully grown adults realize exactly what taking that loan out entails. No one in their right mind is going to give a 17 yr old a $100,000 car or small business loan/loans, but that's what routinely happens with educational loans. It's downright predatory.

Add in the fact that colleges have gotten outrageously expensive over the last 20 years. Stories about someone being able to work a low wage job over the summer, or work part time while going to school during to cover their costs used to be normal. Who can make $25k over a summer to pay for school? Or find a part time job that pays that over a year when many entry level jobs pay slightly more than that?

The system is broken, period.

The problem is that students want all these amenities when they attend the school from a big football/basketball program, to crazy dorms, to rec centers and all that. That costs a lot of money to plan, build, and maintain. I don't want to get into collegiate athletics as to me that is the biggest waste of money for 98% of schools to fund them at that magnitude, so pretty much all of them outside the big 4-5 conferences. Students thus must pay for these costs while professor salaries are somewhat frozen and don't move up that much. There was a nice article in the New Yorker or New York magazine last week or the week before about how students at NYU pay 70k and for what exactly. Professors did the investigation, but since it's a not-for-profit, they really can't get detailed financial statements and reports to track everything down.

 

[jking0821]

System could use a reform, but people aren't looking at all options. Nobody forced you to go to a school that cost 30K-50K/ yr.
A lot of excuses and finger pointing going on. They have sold everyone on the idea that a cheaper school = inferior education & inferior job opportunities .

Speaking strictly for myself. I applied to 4 schools and got into the one i wanted to. A co-op school. Had great stats for job placement after college (I went to Drexel University). So knowing 0 about the process and being on my own as an 18 year old. I applied for loans through Sallie Mae and without a cosigner...i was able to get loans out for 40 k for freshman year. 20k for sophomore year. and and 10k for junior and senior. I had no perception at the time. I thought hey they approved me...they said yeah you graduate and just pay it back in installments. Everyone does it i mean it can't be that bad. I have faith in myself i will get a good job and have it paid off in no time.

Well graduated work at NASA will be in debt until i am 40-50 years old and will have paid around $200k due to interest rates by the time my loans are done.

I take full blame because it was all me. I didn't get enough information on how this would effect my financial future. But not having anyone in my life who had been through this or any class or schooling or anything i was blissfully ignorant to it all

 

[plansb]

I did 2 years at my local cc and they had a program where after those two years you can transfer over to the local university. I worked almost full time during all 4 years and had a payment plan through the schools every year. I had the opportunity to go to an expensive school but weighed the options and decided the local, less expensive school was a smarter decision. I lived at home, worked a lot, and made a lot of sacrifices. There are ways to get a degree without a ton of debt.

 

[crcballer55]

 

I see people come defaulting on loans left and right driving nice cars, rocking nice clothes, etc.

People just want to disregard what got then the job like its owed to them

Also borrowers need to borrow responsibly rather than taking large amounts of loans to live off of, most degrees don't cost what you "borrow"

What you "see" is one thing. But to reduce the variety of reasons people default to a simple story of consumer choice is, I think, completely baseless. 

You're also assuming that so long as people act responsibility and forego cars and clothes, they will be able to extinguish their indebtedness. 

But this rational is antithetical to the modern incarnation of capitalism, in which debt is essential. The purpose is for borrowers to be permanently indebted. There is no end. 

And if this is the raison d'etre, then why continue to view repayment through the moralistic lens of responsibility? 

The "modern incarnation of capitalism" is a myth. Financial instruments are always changing and trying to make it easier for consumers to spend money and find products they want to buy. Ultimately, it's "Caveat Emptor" (buyer beware). It has always been up to the consumer to have a plan and resist unnecessary purchases. But in modern society, we've been taught that debt can be used as a beneficial tool.

The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender

^ That nugget was written almost 3000 years ago.

YES, you can extinguish indebtedness by living frugally, forgoing cars & clothes. Unfortunately, after leading several financial classes, about 60% of people I've run into aren't willing to give up a certain lifestyle. With a simple budget and planning most financial issues can be tackled given you're not making a poverty income. Actually, I've found that most people in financial trouble are those making around 6 figures.

 

[richiecotite]

I did 2 years at my local cc and they had a program where after those two years you can transfer over to the local university. I worked almost full time during all 4 years and had a payment plan through the schools every year. I had the opportunity to go to an expensive school but weighed the options and decided the local, less expensive school was a smarter decision. I lived at home, worked a lot, and made a lot of sacrifices. There are ways to get a degree without a ton of debt.

did you go straight through from high school?

Had I known then what I know now, that's the exact route I would taken. VA has a similar program, 2 years of CC with a 3.6 gpa will give you automatic admission to any state school.

But in high school, all teachers and guidance counselors really only pushed 4 yr universities for most kids. I literally never even discussed CC as an option. CC was really seen as an option for kids that didn't take honors and AP classes and couldn't get into a "real" school (I'm talking perception, not reality)

When my kids are old enough, I'm really going to sit down with them and truly discuss post graduation options. If my daughter doesn't know what she wants to do after high school, I would rather pay her $1,000 per month to stay at home, work/go to CC and figure out something that works for her than go to Big State U, pay 3 times as much with a chance of her not doing well because she has no clue what she wants to do.

Where I'm from there was also a very strong apprentice school with ties to the local shipyard. The "dummies" would graduate high school, go to the apprentice school for a couple of year learning welding or electrical engineering, and come out making 45k per year. Now those dudes are more senior, making 75k plus with little to no student debt. Guess who's the "dummy" now?

 

[capital sb]

Speaking strictly for myself. I applied to 4 schools and got into the one i wanted to. A co-op school. Had great stats for job placement after college (I went to Drexel University). So knowing 0 about the process and being on my own as an 18 year old. I applied for loans through Sallie Mae and without a cosigner...i was able to get loans out for 40 k for freshman year. 20k for sophomore year. and and 10k for junior and senior. I had no perception at the time. I thought hey they approved me...they said yeah you graduate and just pay it back in installments. Everyone does it i mean it can't be that bad. I have faith in myself i will get a good job and have it paid off in no time.

Well graduated work at NASA will be in debt until i am 40-50 years old and will have paid around $200k due to interest rates by the time my loans are done.

I take full blame because it was all me. I didn't get enough information on how this would effect my financial future. But not having anyone in my life who had been through this or any class or schooling or anything i was blissfully ignorant to it all

Try landing a job at a govt agency that has a tuition reimbursement program you can PM if you don't know which agencies have these programs. A lot of the funding is being cut in DoD land though.

 

[plansb]

did you go straight through from high school?

Had I known then what I know now, that's the exact route I would taken. VA has a similar program, 2 years of CC with a 3.6 gpa will give you automatic admission to any state school.

But in high school, all teachers and guidance counselors really only pushed 4 yr universities for most kids. I literally never even discussed CC as an option. CC was really seen as an option for kids that didn't take honors and AP classes and couldn't get into a "real" school (I'm talking perception, not reality)

When my kids are old enough, I'm really going to sit down with them and truly discuss post graduation options. If my daughter doesn't know what she wants to do after high school, I would rather pay her $1,000 per month to stay at home, work/go to CC and figure out something that works for her than go to Big State U, pay 3 times as much with a chance of her not doing well because she has no clue what she wants to do.

Where I'm from there was also a very strong apprentice school with ties to the local shipyard. The "dummies" would graduate high school, go to the apprentice school for a couple of year learning welding or electrical engineering, and come out making 45k per year. Now those dudes are more senior, making 75k plus with little to no student debt. Guess who's the "dummy" now?

I actually took a year off after hs to weigh my options and think about what I really wanted. I spent a year working in a diesel fleet shop as I thought I may want to be a mechanic, but ultimately decided that life wasn't what I wanted. My parents were upset originally when I didn't go to college right away, they thought if I didn't go right away I would never go. But now looking back they see that it was a great move. I don't have a degree from an expensive/prestigous school, but I worked hard, networked, graduated with honors, and got a great job in a great industry shortly after graduation.

I agree with the cc stigma though, I was an honors student and took all ap my senior year and cc was never mentioned to me once. I figured it out on my own basically. Now I am a big proponent of cc and will tell anyone who will listen how great I think it is.

 

[richiecotite]

I actually took a year off after hs to weigh my options and think about what I really wanted. I spent a year working in a diesel fleet shop as I thought I may want to be a mechanic, but ultimately decided that life wasn't what I wanted. My parents were upset originally when I didn't go to college right away, they thought if I didn't go right away I would never go. But now looking back they see that it was a great move. I don't have a degree from an expensive/prestigous school, but I worked hard, networked, graduated with honors, and got a great job in a great industry shortly after graduation.

I agree with the cc stigma though, I was an honors student and took all ap my senior year and cc was never mentioned to me once. I figured it out on my own basically. Now I am a big proponent of cc and will tell anyone who will listen how great I think it is.

Excellent.

Props on making that kind of choice and putting that sort of thought into your life instead of following blindly.

 

[capital sb]

@richiecotite  You from the 75 area? Talking about the shipyard ? Gotta weigh the pros and cons of every situation. They are working a lot of hours and doing very labor intensive work.

VA has a great CC to  4 yr university integration system. Sometimes I wish I would have done it.

 

[richiecotite]

Yezzir...Bad Newz checking in (stuck in NOVA tho).

VA does some things better than most, higher education is definitely one of those things.

 

[lynchpin33]

@Biggie62
 @lynchpin33
 Congrats on killing off your debt quickly. I have been debating if I should do the same thing (kill the debt within a few years) or invest the money instead.
Do you all wish you would have invested the money instead or just a better peace of mind knowing that its gone? I have 29K in loans , so it shouldn't be too hard.

I was doing both honestly (investing and paying the loan off). I just made a financial plan and stuck to it. No matter how much I wanted to deviate from it. But the day I made the last payment it felt great.

 

[ace rawstein]

My situation when it comes to loans was all poor decision making after my sophomore year. I had scholarships that covered most my tuition all four years in undergrad. But I had no money for room and board, meal plans, books, pocket money... basically life. Took out loans every year for this stuff and I went to summer school every year except freshman year. I should have deaded the loans after moving off campus but I keep em going... refund check was just too appealing.

Looking back it was no reason for me to rack up 60k for my undergrad degree. I had to turn around and get a masters(More loans) just to get a decent salary and live comfortably.

I have no plans to default tho but I wasnt consistent with my payments until the start of 2014. For a while I would just pay whenever and go months without making a payment and then call and work sumtin out. But in my defense I didnt get a worthy salary until 2012. I was one of those irresponsible ones but ive matured since then and realize that this basically my version of a child support payment ... things could be a lot worse lol

 

[krazy88s]

13k left on my student loans. I had to make a ton of sacrifices just to get here and speed up the pay back process. If could do it all over again...I wouldn't.

 

[fontaine]

In my opinion...

This boils down to the colleges... They can raise the tuition because they KNOW college is damb near a requirement to live halfway work life because it's necessary in a LOT of jobs.

I always come back to graphs like these

View media item 1572674

this graphs makes me all the more confident in people of my generation that are able to succeed.. b/c if you can make it today.. you would've CLEANED UP just 15 years ago.



And i'm not even referring to private schools. You cant control them, so what'evs... or even for profit places like U of Phoenix...

There is absolutely NO reason why tuition is as much as it is.

There are ways to mitigate it, but these colleges know that for a vast majority of us who arent 1. geniuses 2. inheriting money 3. doing physical labor, that a college degree is quite necessary to attain a job.



I feel steps CAN be taken by the govt to regulate these public univerisities and they're tuition rates.

 

[crcballer55]

^ Why aren't we screaming to cut federal loan programs? Colleges know that students and their parents are willing to take out the loans for that purpose, thus colleges are willing to increase fees accordingly. Once college actually becomes unaffordable and the greater population is willing to admit that, then and only then will we start seeing costs start to come down.