Grading Student Loans

[gangsterdorothy]

Grading Student Loans

Meta Brown, Andrew Haughwout, Donghoon Lee, Maricar Mabutas,*
and Wilbert van der Klaauw

Student loans support the education of millions of students nationwide, yet much is unknown about the student loan market. Relevant data are limited and, for the most part, anecdotal. Also, sources tend to focus on recent college graduates

Comments

[redstar826]

Hansen Clarke <3 <3 <3 such a shame he might lose his seat (he is in a primary against another current Democratic representative FUCK REDISTRICTING!)

[gangsterdorothy]

This is a subject really close to me (I'm currently in Chapter 13 bankruptcy to stave off the loans). I don't think there will be complete forgiveness of loans, but I can see either a variant of what Rep Clarke has laid out or bankruptcy being reinstated for student loans, but I think with provisions and restrictions.

Bottom line is something needs to be done.

[celtic_thistle]

Absolutely. I'm relatively lucky in that my student loans are only around $25k but I know soooooooo many people getting crushed by their debt. It's ridiculous and it seems to have exploded lately.

[gangsterdorothy]

my debt is well over $100k and it depresses me that I may never get the things I want or they'd have to be in someone else's name one day. Even 25k is a lot for school.

[sarien]

I'm in the same boat. I rarely tell people how much I owe. I get those looks like I'm the most irresponsible person ever. I take some responsibility, but they don't exactly teach you about loans in inner-city schools. They say "yeah, everybody can afford college -- just take out a loan." And then there's law school, too. /sigh

[velvetunicorn]

I was shocked when learning what people in the US pay per month to their student loans. I was watching Suze Orman and it was like $1000 a month! How can anyone succeed under that kind of pressure.

I'm so lucky that the only student loan I took out was through the Canadian gov't. They forgave more than 1/2 of it because I stayed in Manitoba and I only have to pay $100 a month. If I can't make it, I can just call them and they'll make other arrangements, lower the payment amounts or even pay on my behalf if I'm unemployed.

So so lucky.

[papilio_luna]

Yeah, I consider myself lucky because my husband and I both went to undergrad debt-free and the only loans we have are for grad school. We pay about $500/month, which is equal to 2/3 of our mortgage payment. And we're the lucky ones!

[gangsterdorothy]

Yep, I'm in the 3% too....for film. And at a possibly fraudulent school at center (The Art Institutes)

Thank you for clarifying that note!

[kyra_neko_rei]

Oh, the Art Institutes . . . I considered them, back my senior year of high school. I boggled at the $60K tuition for two years and they fell over themselves to reassure me that student loans would cover the whole thing.

Between that and the potential other major-purchase choices I would have made if I'd had any buying power back then (this was before the Recession), if I'd gone that route I would be in suuuuch deep shit I can't even imagine it.

[maianarisa]

I know someone who went to AI (Vancouver) and he paid that much for a 2-year gaming development program or something like that. I was like "HOLY SHIT" since I pay about 6000-ish a year for university including tuition, bus pass, student union fees, usage of facilities, etc. Unfortunately, he has been unable to get a job in his field and he's really frustrated over it and is debating about going back to school to do something else.

[not_emily]

On a side note, Rep Hansen Clarke (D-Michigan), brought forth H.R. 4170, The Student Loan Forgiveness Act of 2012, on Monday.

Oh please please please please let this snowball survive hell and pass.

[roseofjuly]

I'm guessing it's for federal loans only.