<p>Well, she’s screwed. It’s rare to take out private loans for education. He’s not though since I think he has federal loans (he’s on a deferral system).</p>
<p>Okay, sorry! I’m just gonna say it! Shame, shame, shame on her parents for not teaching her the value of a dollar! She did not get into this kind of financial trouble on her own! I suspect her parents are not very fiscally responsible either! They probably co-signed those loans and the reason she is living in their basement is because A) they feel guilty that they led her down this path and B) they are on the hook if she doesn’t pay it back!!</p>
<p>I have a senior and our discussions this summer have gone something like this… (by the way she has had a summer job for the past 2 years) “Honey, we know you have worked your @ss off, but you will have to choose from our state flagships where you can get in-state tuition plus the (lottery-funded) merit aid for your stats or go to OOS schools where you are in the top of the freshman profile and qualify for LOTS of merit aid, and your “DREAM SCHOOLS” are off limits… because (at 17 years of age) we will not allow you to ruin your future with more debt than you can repay in a reasonable amount of time.”</p>
<p>I wonder if these “dream schools” are filled with the 2 extremes… those who really can’t afford it and are getting lots of financial aid (nothing wrong with that) and those who don’t even feel the pain when they write those checks… and hardly anyone in BETWEEN. That must be quite the pollyanna-ish existence, but not the real world.</p>
<p>Most people with very high education debt have private loans as federal loans are very limited. The aggregate maximum a dependent student can borrow in direct federal loans is $33,000.</p>
<p>The private loans are dischargeable, though, aren’t they? I thought only the govt. loans were nondischargeable.</p>
<p>Nope, private student loans are also nondischargeable. [Student</a> Loans: Maybe They Can Be Discharged After All](<a href=“http://www.bankruptcylawnetwork.com/student-loans-maybe-they-can-be-discharged-after-all/]Student”>http://www.bankruptcylawnetwork.com/student-loans-maybe-they-can-be-discharged-after-all/)</p>
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<p>I feel bad for her. Who knows what her parents were thinking.</p>
<p>Private education loans are not dischargeable either.</p>
<p>@Snorkelmom:</p>
<p>""I have a senior and our discussions this summer have gone something like this… (by the way she has had a summer job for the past 2 years) “Honey, we know you have worked your @ss off, but you will have to choose from our state flagships where you can get in-state tuition plus the (lottery-funded) merit aid for your stats or go to OOS schools where you are in the top of the freshman profile and qualify for LOTS of merit aid, and your “DREAM SCHOOLS” are off limits… because (at 17 years of age) we will not allow you to ruin your future with more debt than you can repay in a reasonable amount of time.”</p>
<p>I wonder if these “dream schools” are filled with the 2 extremes… those who really can’t afford it and are getting lots of financial aid (nothing wrong with that) and those who don’t even feel the pain when they write those checks… and hardly anyone in BETWEEN. That must be quite the pollyanna-ish existence, but not the real world."</p>
<p>This was precisely the reason that I didn’t go to Dartmouth.</p>
<p>That being said, I absolutely hated going to a state school and felt like I was getting out of prison when I was finished.</p>
<p>But I didn’t have debt, and I did have a chemical engineering degree.</p>
<p>
Large classes, small room to live, or bad food?</p>
<p>* She did not get into this kind of financial trouble on her own! I suspect her parents are not very fiscally responsible either! </p>
<p>They probably co-signed those loans and the reason she is living in their basement is because </p>
<p>A) they feel guilty that they led her down this path and</p>
<p>B) they are on the hook if she doesn’t pay it back!!*</p>
<p>Very true. I really wonder what her parents’ background is. If they didn’t go to college, they may have been under the misapprehension that a college education is a magic ticket to high wages.</p>
<p>They’re probably now afraid that she might fall in love and then what will happen with her ability to pay back those big loans.</p>
<p>@4kidsdad: “Large classes, small room to live, or bad food?”</p>
<p>Emotional immaturity, poor social skills, poor study skills, and no interested in studying engineering. It was a personal problem.</p>
<p>Fortunately it was free. Unfortunately, I was taking up someone’s spot who would probably have liked to major in engineering.</p>
<p>If I had co-signed $188K worth of loans, I believe I would want to keep the debtor in my basement, too. Best to make sure those payments are being made.</p>
<p>
lol…</p>
<p>I think another problem is that some people don’t realize how much young single professionals have to pay in taxes when they don’t have dependents, a mortgage, or other deductions that families.</p>
<p>Did I miss how much her monthly payments are? I’m guessing about $2k a month. That could be most of her take-home pay after taxes, FICA, etc.</p>
<p>@mom2collegekids: "I think another problem is that some people don’t realize how much young single professionals have to pay in taxes when they don’t have dependents, a mortgage, or other deductions that families.</p>
<p>Did I miss how much her monthly payments are? I’m guessing about $2k a month. That could be most of her take-home pay after taxes, FICA, etc."</p>
<p>I got married right out of law school ($120K in loans) and immediately started having kids.</p>
<p>At the time, when my DD10 was a baby, I was paying $4K a month to get rid of the debt ASAP. Took about 4 years. I lived on as little as possible just to get rid of it.</p>
<p>AND why OH WHY are these kids majoring in useless degrees that are not employee friendly??? My friend said that her neighbor’s son majored in Ancient Egyptian History(?) at Berkeley and was complaining he couldn’t find a job in California! Seriously, we couldn’t have predicted that in Freshman year??? </p>
<p>(I don’t mean to offend people who are really doing effective work in Egypt.)</p>
<p>*I got married right out of law school ($120K in loans) and immediately started having kids.</p>
<p>At the time, when my DD10 was a baby, I was paying $4K a month to get rid of the debt ASAP. Took about 4 years. I lived on as little as possible just to get rid of it.*</p>
<p>If you were paying $48k per year towards your debt, then your income must have been quite strong. Even being very frugal, with a spouse and a child, you can’t all live on air. And, again, with a family of 3 (or more), you’d have deductions that this single gal doesn’t have. </p>
<p>BTW…are you saying that you paid $48k per year for 4 years? </p>
<p>Aunt bea…so true. What kind of jobs did they think Calif has for an Ancient Egyptian major with only a bachelors degree? It’s one thing to choose those majors as a “second major” or if a PhD is desired, but to just get a bachelors in such a major is really short-sighted.</p>
<p>@mom2collegekids:</p>
<p>"If you were paying $48k per year towards your debt, then your income must have been quite strong. Even being very frugal, with a spouse and a child, you can’t all live on air. And, again, with a family of 3 (or more), you’d have deductions that this single gal doesn’t have. </p>
<p>BTW…are you saying that you paid $48k per year for 4 years?"</p>
<p>No, that sounds high. Probably closer to $35,000 for 4 years between my loans and credit cards. My wife was working for about 2 years, so we lived on her salary. The townhouse mortgage was about $80K because she had money for the down payment and it was central PA, which was (and is) pretty cheap in terms of cost of living. Good health insurance was cheaper then, too.</p>
<p>With all of my debt gone now (house, car, student loans) it costs about $2,000 per month to live standard middle class lives.</p>
<p>It was the dot-com boom, so legal jobs were plentiful. I was making $80,000 starting out (having been given a $20,000 raise before I even started work - those were bizarre financial times). I eventually took a significant pay cut for a lower stress job after I got rid of my loans.</p>
<p>With all of my debt gone now (house, car, student loans) it costs about $2,000 per month to live standard middle class lives.</p>
<p>Do you mean $2k per month after taxes and without rent/mortgage to pay? </p>
<p>A paid off home is not the norm. Most people will have a mortgage or rent to pay…so around $12k-24k per year to go towards that.</p>
<p>@mom2collegekids - Yes $2K after everything. So, add $12K to $24 for the rent/mortgage and you get basic suburbia expense.</p>
<p>The point is that students will have millstones around their necks until they get rid of the massive student loan debt. It was a pain when I did it and it’s much worse now.</p>
<p>At least the parents are not letting her have her old bedroom back. Making her sleep in the basement. Should have shown her this kind of “tough love” before she borrowed the 189K. Old bedrooms are for closers; always be closing.</p>