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Six months after graduating with her bachelor's degree [from Robert Morris], Ms. Dillon is making $7.25 an hour plus tips serving beer at a bowling alley, working 25 to 30 hours a week. She's nearly $120,000 in debt, behind on her bills and, despite her best efforts, cannot find a better job. Her 80-year-old grandmother co-signed for the loans and could lose her house in North Fayette if the debts are not repaid.
<p>Clearly, it took lots of bad judgment to get to this point. The student, her family, the college, and lender all have to share some blame. Ultimately, of course, Ms. Dillon is the one who signed for the loans and will have to pay them off.</p>
<p>I can't help but think that more than a few of these situations have been avoided with some of the great advice (and reality checks) here at CC.</p>
<p>When I read the financial aid discussions here, I always see plenty of good information on how to maximize aid, and big cautions about the reality of student loan debt. It's tough for students who have never had to pay off so much as a $5K car loan understand what a crushing burden six figures of debt can be.</p>
<p>Thanks to all of you who contribute your expertise and wisdom - the students you help are the ones you WON'T read about in articles like this!</p>
<p>I would suggest to the upcoming seniors right now that generally no one should be ashamed of going to a community college and then transfer to a state university to save money. :D</p>
<p>Lenders can’t discriminate against a qualified loan applicant just because the applicant seems foolish, and schools can’t refuse to accept legally acquired money an admitted student wants to use to pay tuition, so I fail to see how the lender or the school bear any responsibility for Ms. Dillon’s financial quagmire. What’s most appalling is that despite her inability to meet her financial obligations, she has created an additional dependent.</p>
<p>$120,000 debt for an undergrad degree in business administration? That’s ridiculous. The woman is mostly at fault, but there are others to be blamed. There are some degrees that people simply should not be allowed to borrow this kind of money for, and business administration is one. Actually, no one should be allowed to borrow this kind of money.</p>
<p>Yes, plenty of students have to take part-time jobs while at school. Sounds like she didn’t work very hard especially since her grades weren’t great and how could you fail to submit the FAFSA on time???</p>
<p>pandem, I have to admit that I’m having a hard time feeling sorry for the young woman. What cell phone service does she need that has a $150/month price tag? And cable television?? She can’t afford it, so why does she even have it?? That should be the FIRST thing she ditches!</p>
<p>Lenders failing to evaluate the probability of repayment was how we got into our current financial mess. And our legislators in Washington have encouraged these quasi-governmental agencies to employ lax or nonexistent lending standards in the name of “opportunity.” Real banks don’t loan money willy-nilly for a reason - they may lose their investment, and the loan recipient may end up far worse for having taken out the loan.</p>
<p>As for the school, it’s hard to say. Perhaps someone did have more than one frank conversation that said, basically, “You are crazy to do this. I don’t want to take your money. You should return this money to the lender before you dig a deeper hole for yourself.” I see that kind of “tough love” advice here at CC all the time, and it’s usually a good thing.</p>
<p>Thanks to community college, my first two years of school were quite literally free. Score well on your entrance exams, chat with people in admissions*, look for honors curriculum coordinators, etc. Next thing you know, your primary cost of attending school will be snack machine money.</p>
<p>Perform exceptionally well at a CC, take the most rigorous courses, and you’ll afford yourself the opportunity to win more financing at your transfer institution. The opportunities to lower the costs of education are limitless. There’s no reason that the poor girl in the article should have incurred that much debt.</p>
<p>*Yes, community colleges have admissions departments. Though they don’t deny access to anyone, they do take the time to notice particularly talented and hardworking students - and hard luck cases. They recommend these students to people who hand out scholarships.</p>
<p>As an addendum, PLENTY OF STUDENTS WORK. Work, and do it at odd hours, straining our faculties as well as our relationships in pursuit of a better life, not one buried in debt. The framed diploma means nothing if you’ve learned nothing in the pursuit of it. </p>
<p>I have always worked two jobs, not including freelancing when possible, to support myself and my education. My prediction is that this girl will be offering free beer and a free lane to the Comcast man that turns her cable back on after she stops paying her bill.</p>
<p>I feel like she did this to herself and sort of deserved it…her GPA is terrible, so it’s not like she’s going to be first in line to get a good job from an average/below average college. Her television bill obviously needs to be eliminated. $150 cell phone bill ?!? Also, why was her FAFSA late for 3 years…? Right now it looks bad and makes you feel bad, but she needed to realize what was going to happen.</p>
<p>The one I fell sorry for is Grandma that cosigned the loans. People cosigning loans need counseling in advance to make sure they understand the risks. And I mean more than just reading it - tell them “you are as responsible for this loan as the borrower, if they default we will come after you and your assets, including your house, for the money”.</p>
<p>rob22, I don’t think she deserved it. No one deserves that. And your reasoning for why you believe she deserves this massive debt is erroneous and asinine. Since when does a poor GPA equate to someone deserving such an unpaybale debt? Sure, she made careless financial choices, but saying she deserved this outcome is rude.</p>
<p>Is she any different that the buyer who purchased a home worth twice as much as he/she could afford? Some people cannot be helped despite the best efforts of others–the college, grandma…</p>
<p>Yes, she “deserves” this debt. She took out the loans, she signed the papers, she failed to submit the FAFSA on time (THREE times–I can understand once perhaps if you have no knowledge of how the system works–but not 3 times), did not maintain even a modestly good grade point average. </p>
<p>It is unfortunate that there is not some ratio of amount of debt to quality of school to marketability of degree to fiscal responsibility that makes it more and more difficult to borrow money the less likely it seems that you will be able to repay it.</p>
<p>The person we should really feel sorry for is grandma who may lose her house since she co-signed the loans. Where are mom & dad? Did they refuse to do so? </p>
<p>She is probably one of those who feel themselves entitled–entitled to cable & cell phone, entitled to a 4-year education, entitled not to work, entitled to what seems like “free” money without regard to the consequences. </p>
<p>It’s too bad that this situation which is not typical will become the poster for the student loan mess. We should be looking at the students who did everything right, borrowed the minimum amount they could to graduate, got good grades, and still cannot earn enough money to live and repay their student loans despite having a full-time job in their field.</p>
<p>Ultimately, she has to take responsibility for her actions. She signed the paperwork. Why does she owe so much? She wasn’t a resident student thus did not have to pay for room & board. As for her GPA, it sounds very low – would she have had a better chance of landing a job if her GPA was better? Who knows! </p>
<p>The person I feel bad for is her grandmother!</p>