How About a Bailout for Debt-Strapped Students?
As details of a massive financial bailout are being hammered out in Washington, D.C., some educators are asking: Hey, what about college students? Senate negotiators raised the prospect of a little help for anyone facing tuition bills by slipping into the new bailout bill an extension of the tuition tax deduction that was set to expire at the end of this year.
But advisers gathered at last week's Seattle conference of the National Association of College Admissions Counselors said they are worried there are lots of students who are in just as much financial trouble as overextended homeowners, as rising student loan default rates indicate. The average college graduate owes almost $20,000. And many leave school owing more than $50,000. With today's economic troubles and growing unemployment, more young graduates may have trouble making their payments. So, if Congress is contemplating bailing out mortgages, college advisers are asking, why not student loans?
Tags: student loans | students | tuition
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FEDERAL Student Loan...key word here 'FEDERAL'
I graduated from college in 1988 with about $20K in student loan debt. I paid over the years, but through those years I also fell into hard times. Job loss, other debt, etc.
My loans have been deferred, forebearanced, defaulted, and have changed hands many times over the last 20+ years. One agency that handled the payments demanded over $600 a month always to be sent via Western Union but when my spouse lost his job, I requested to be able to send the $600 a month in 2 payments a month to relieve some of the pressure. I was told "no". So we stopped paying.
I now am fighting a garnishment of my wages to which they are asking 15% of my disposable income or a lump sum payment of over $95K...yes for real...$95K! I hired an attorney to dispute all the extra interest and fees over the last 20 years. I had to send a financial disclosure, all our bills, childcare payment receipts, tax returns...which I did in January.
Yesterday, I received a letter from the US Department of Education saying they did not receive any of my information and I have been denied for relief from garnishment...unless of course I make voluntary arrangements with the collection agency that is now handling my loan.
Keep in mind, this is the same agency that has called all our relatives, my child's school, and my employer harrassing SOMEONE to pay this $95K! I did file a grievance with the Attorney General's office to which they sent the agency a letter threatening fines because of the Consumer's Rights Act.
I have volunteered to pay $450 per month to avoid the garnishment which as the date of this writing, will have me paying it every month for the next 17 years! And did I say in the beginning, this is for an Associate's Degree, not a Bachelor's, not a Master's, not a Doctorate!
And our government is bailing out banks and car manufacturers??? What about us American Citizens who have FEDERAL Student Loans and have done their very best to pay?
Student Loans
As a nurse I can prove I did my time in school and I am now working in my field so where's my bailout??? I didn't waste my loan money on a career that is pointless and there are tons that are.. I have $60,000 in loans and struggling.. thank GOD I didn't buy a home. I was dumb enough to get more loan than I needed just like home owner got more loan than they needed.. so BAIL US student loan debters out. Better to have educated americans than homeowners who live above their means
Student Loans
I'm a school teacher making about 50,000 a year and felt I could not afford to go into debt to send my children to collage. I just found out that my wife signed for their first loan to get them started. This now has my wife and I on the hook for about $32,000. Both my children are at the University of South Carolina. My children then extended themselves by borrowing from Fannie Mae and since we didn't sign my children are being charged 11.75 % interest on loans that they keep getting forebearences on. The interest is running. This is nothing more than leagalized shylocking. They each owe approximately $60,000 and are not finished yet. My sons loan has already incurred 6,000 in interest and I don't know off hand how much interest my daughter has incurred. I'm taking out a 32,000 home equity loan to pay mine aand my wifes end but have no idea how the kids will manage their end especially with the job prospects out there.In the mean time while fannie is receiving bailouts our children are getting buried with debt. We called to try and consolidate the kids loans at a lower rate and were just about laughed at.What do we do???????????????
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