Is This A Good Way To Get INTO Debt?

We had this system in Australia for at least 10 years. But here it is better manage. It is the government which lend them the money. And as soon as they graduate and start working... the government takes a portion of their salary each month to repay that debt. It is not a matter of saying "how am I going to repay it?" The government just take it... the same way that it takes its taxes out of your pay packet. They take the alimony for your wife and children that way too if you are divorce. The government controls all your money these days if you work for a boss.

Well I have $38K in loan debt, I can't afford the payments and guess what - no 4 year degree. I am trying to go back to school this fall to finish up. I am hoping to scoot by just using my Pell Grant. I have so many friends who had to drop out because they ran out of grant and federal loan money and couldn't get a personal loan, so they are stuck in an okay job that provides for them but can't afford the loan payments.

Yes I certainly agree, I was in university for 6 years, I was a single parent and had no income, I got a bursary for school books which came to about 2000 a year that was free but I had to live on a loan to support myself and my child and that was not free, the result of all that is that I am disabled, unable to work in my profession and I owe the government 60,000 and rising with interest every year that I will never pay back.

My sister had to get student loans though they weren't nearly as much as those. They get really good interest rates and payment amounts too which is great. And I think they get to claim the amount they pay on there taxes but I'm not certain. I think the only way I would take that much is if I was going to be something that paid well and was easy to get straight into. A lot of students do it though to buy cars and take car of their rent for the year (if they don't live on campus) so they don't have to worry about working and can focus on studying. I can understand that too. I guess they think that paying for it later is a good pay off to make sure they learn as much as they can. It really sucks that we are the land of the free but it's hard for us to pay for school. *sighs*

I have seen that commercial so many times. It irks me. They always say, remember you don't have to pay a dime until you graduate. Guess what guys? Those years go by faster than you think! I got a couple pell grants, some student loans, and for a while I paid my own way. I am only taking one correspondence course right now, and my parents outright paid that. It's more expensive than a public university or college. I go to a Christian college. I've taken classes at secular colleges too, but my primary degree is from a Christian college. They don't have public funding, so their tuition is higher.

If kids get financial aid and they still have things like BEOG and TAP and they are smart they can get this money which is at a low interest rate or even 0 interest while they are in school and invest it wisely. They maybe able to graduate with all of the money they borrowed plus a return on their investment. They could pay the loan back right away or use some of the money to help them get established in the world. If they want 40K for Florida trips and BMW...well that is stupid.

I don't know how it works in the US but in the UK it would be impossible for most people to even consider a University Education without a loan. A degree course is usually 3 years here, sometimes 4, and, even though there are grants available, most students these days end up with a loan of somewhere around £40,000 ($80,000) to pay off. These are protected loans, however, and there is no interest to pay at all until the student is earning more than a certain amount, so they are a very good deal indeed. Don't forget that the cost of living (and salaries) were less when you left university, so $1000 then would be equivalent to two or three times that much (at least) today. It's a hard burden, I agree, but then a degree is worth quite a bit in terms of salary and if the loan is largely free, then it's a pretty good investment.

I had scholarships, grants, and loans, but only went two years. Ended up about $2500 in debt, private college, over thirty years ago. It was okay. My son had loans, paid them off himself, only went one year.State University. He was going for the wrong reasons and knew it. He also tried a correspondence course, for about the same amount of indebtedness. We paid what we could when he was in school, that was the year his dad was dying. He did not want to learn the way colleges want to teach. My daughter went for five and a half years, same Christian college I went to. Actually six years, but only half time her senior year in High School Graduated High School with a full semester credits, paid as she went. She had a little help from money I saved from her dad's Social Security while she was still in High School. She had scholarships, grants, loans and did one year of Ameriquest, or whatever it is called, community service, that knocked $1000 off. She and her hubby are paying off the loans. She took an extra year of just things she wanted to do because hubby was three years behind her.So they have quite a steep bill, but she is still able to stay home with the grandbaby.

never went to colege never wanted too. I di dgo to welding school and paid each week a certain amount like a copay for it!

I don't think students realize the aftermath of acquiring such a debt. All they can see is the dollar signs. I never got a loan of any kind. Of course I only went to a junior college, and back then the cost wasn't so high. But at the same time that I was going to college, I was also working two jobs. So I really didn't need to get a loan. I wouldn't want to take on that debt at all.

Thats why its better to get a loan from the government for school rather than a bank like chase. My husband and I both have federal student loans. They give you six months to get a job and it has a low interest as well. I have been paying back my loan and I am about half way there.

Hi Pye I do know about this as it happens here in the UK too-I think it is disgusting as the students for one will spend it on other things too am I glad that in my day like you that grants were around and they should be today if a student is to get good education cos what if they flunk college and still have to pay it back? Especially if their job is either low paid or they end up on benefits??? It is also known here in the UK that a lot of students DO eat dog,cat food or anything that comes out of a can cos its cheap rather than being able to have a good healthy meal-how does the government close thir eyes to these situations too?? its all wrong bb littleowl

pyewacket many years ago I was also on th Beog and did not have to pay back but about two thousand which I did get paid off, not like now days when the cost is so stupendous. It willbe so hard for these new students to pay back big loans like that.

WOW - Basic Equal Opportunity Grant. It's been EONS since that thing was around!! And, dang it all - I NEVER qualified. I might be done by now if I had. But, later, once on my own, I did qualify for the PELL grant that replaced the BEOG. The schools I attended later had low enough tuition that the PELL paid in full with money left for books. My problem was I wanted some more money to pay off bills, etc, so I took out a small student loan. All tolled, I might have borrowed $6,000. But, I haven't worked steady since I stopped working - 3 years here, 3 years there, gaps of unemployment and temping in between. My loan debt is now over $20,000 and I STILL have no degree!! And, I'm unemployed yet again. But, the loan process is this - you have six months before your first payment is due to find a job. If you don't find a job, you can defer. I think you get something like 4-5 deferrals and then you have to start paying. But, you also have an equal number of forbearances if finances are in a bind. There are also refinancing options that give you new deferrals and forbearances to use. It's a very easy trap to fall into as the interest continues to build while you're putting off payments (for perhaps very legitimate reasons). But, I know someone who took out something like $70,000 because he wanted to live and spend like he came from money (which is what he would tell people) and now he's having to pay that back at far higher payment amounts than he would have if he'd only borrowed what he needed and not what he wanted to spend. I think the government is to blame in part because they have set qualifiers for these loans and it doesn't matter what the actual costs for that particular school are. It is ASSUMED that costs are "X" dollars and living expenses are "Y" dollars and transportation costs are "Z" dollars even if the kid lives at home with Mom and Dad and can walk. It makes it VERY easy to get into debt because they don't actually look at what the true costs for that person are. Anyway, I need to get to bed.

It is ashame that people are getting into such debt at an early age, especially now with the rising costs of education and everything else. They are being given loans with high interests rates or offered high interest credit cards to finance their education. The cost of schooling when I was in school was not as high as it is now so my parents were able to pay for my education without taking a loan. If I was in school, I would have to pay for it myself or through a loan. There has to be a better way to put kids through school without putting them into financial hardships right away.

Unfortunately with the rising costs of everything a loan may be the only way to go these days.

Well when I went to college it was through work and I would get day release from work once a week to go and learn and work paid for it. So I never ever had to have a college loan. I think that it is a bad start to a young persons life to have to have debts, all because they have wanted to make something of themselves in order to have a good career. It is probably why a lot of them do not bother because they do not see the point of getting into debt.

I am wondering what is yr topic at all. I don't catch the point, but anyway, it's sth about the credit loans. As a matter of fact, it's really complicated process to get a loan as a college student and you have to go through a lot of paperwork, to fill in a lot of forms very carefully, about contacts with the banks. And you also have to submit some documents from yr local government to approve yr ecnomic status that qualifies you to have the loan with low interests. And what i really wanna say is about credit card. To my surprising, some of my friends still refuse to make use of credit cards, you know, the kind of cards that allows you to overcharge. I really think it's a convenient way when we don't have enough money to spend.

You were extremely fortunate to have gotten an education at such a small cost to you. However, these days, few people are lucky enough to be in that situation. Most people graduate with fairly sizeable debt (especially if they went to a private college). Add additional years spent in a professions/masters/doctorate program. Now, you are talking some serious money-- the sort that could buy a house or three. Factor in high interest rates courtesy of the company that bought up your loan. Now, you are looking at so much debt that you will probably have grandchildren before it is all paid off.

I got scholarships both from school and outside of school, took ap and college courses in High school and grants. I still had to take out loans however because of housing. I'm currently going to Graduate school. I didn't take out any private loans because at least with the government loans you can most of the time keep them at a low interest rate. I think having that much loan debt (especially if folks have other debts along with it as well ex. Credit cards) is bad because you then become desperate and have to take a job you don't like or stay at a job you don't like longer for the income. My first job, which I started out liking (In tech support) turned ugly midway through but I stayed longer than I should of to make sure I took care of my financial responsibilities. I should be done with all my debt by the end of the year, but it's rough, especially in the current financial situation in regards to finding jobs. I think it just perpetuates a new version of indentured servitude with folks being beholden to debt for long periods of time. I mean school is an investment but at what cost, not just money but your life, holding off things (like buying dwellings, getting married, having kids etc)? Sorry for it being a long response but its a topic that has a red flag response in me.