College Loan Nightmare in PA

Paying for College
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<p>What kind of lender thinks a student with an elderly cosigner is qualified for loans over $100K? There is surely something wrong with these standards! These were not Stafford loans. Imo, Sallie Mae deserves what they get but I do have to wonder if anyone in that family has any financial sense. I have a feeling they could all benefit from real financial counseling. </p>

<p>The worst thing is it sounds as if she would have been Pell and state grant eligible. It often seems like the lowest income kids do not have the information/training/money sense that one would expect and do not take advantage of programs that are there to help them.</p>

<p>No one “deserves” this and the student loan system is obviously flawed. Imo, all college bound seniors should be required to take a seminar in education financing at their high schools until clearer heads prevail in the world of lending!</p>

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<p>Lenders love the foolish applicant., that’s how they make most of their money. Do you know what the nickname is for people who don’t carry a credit card balance? Deadbeats. Lenders get rich from the interest and penalties they get from the people who have difficulty paying them back.</p>

<p>The girl profiled didn’t come from an educated family where she learned about managing money. She grew up in a poor household where there was never enough. I don’t think she was trying to play the system, I think she was young and naive and just wanted a better life for herself.</p>

<p>I’m not trying to excuse her even though it sounds like I am. It looks to me like she has some areas where she could cut costs but the hole she is in is so deep I’m not sure how far economizing will get her. This story is a total disaster and the only ones who will come out ahead will be Sallie Mae.</p>

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<p>Boy, one is born every minute. I think all high schools in the U.S. should implement a Senior year course called : Financing Education and Life for Dummies : )
I mean, I have an iphone with full data and plan for BUSINESS USE and I don’t pay anywhere near $150 a month for cell phone. Nor do I pay that for cable. And guess what. Even though I am a grown woman, I buy my cars cash and carry so that – you guessed it – I can help my kid pay for college. This ill-informed kid is paying way more on discretionary lifestyle than I am and I am a midlife earner. Either I’m cheapest date on the planet or this kid did not learn how to “administrate” business at RM.
Holy cow! What an eye-opener. Time to send this around to all the seniors we know! And future co-signers who might not know better!</p>

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<p>This is a terribly sad situation. I know personally of a young lady who about $100K in debt for a psycholgy degree from Pitt and is looking at taking even more loans for architechture school. Her attitude and her parents’ attitudes are that they are in so deep that it just doesn’t matter. She does have a car, cell phone, travels a lot, all on loan money. Yes, she works too, but that is a drop in her need bucket. She has done a lot more travel than my kids and had a lot more in terms of money costing experiences despite the fact that her family has far less money. My two older ones are loan free and worked each summer,making over $10K to put towards their college. We also really squeezed our budget so that they would not have to take out loans. Now my third one is taking out loans at the lower student rate that we will pay back as he will be paying his agreed share loan free. But it is a lot of work. We are not having a vacation this year, my kids are not with their friends on money spending good times. They are banking it all for the future; the college kid for the next school year. It does hurt sometimes when I see and hear of all of these fun things out there that I would like my kids to be enjoying instead of working. But that is part of the package of getting the private educations that they and we wanted.</p>

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<p>There is plenty of blame to spread around here. The fact of the matter is that many young adults just aren’t there yet in the ability to make these kind of decisions. Some adults never develop this skill, but it is not at all uncommon for college aged kids to screw up their finances. That grandma was involved is what makes this the tragedy. Parents probably were not credit worthy so grandma signed the loans. I really feel that the colleges should have counseling for kids who take out more than a certain $ of loans as well as for cosigners of these loans.</p>

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<p>I agree with cpt, but wonder if that would do any good. Kelsmom has often posted that kids at her school just will not listen when she tells them they have other options and should not be borrowing above what they actually need. Perhaps some people just have no problem with spending their lives in debt - there seems to be plenty of adults who file bankruptcy multiple times. The whole “we’re so deep now that it doesn’t really matter” philosophy is so irrational! How can it not matter that they’re driving her monthly payments higher and/or her debt period longer?!</p>

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<p>I think she should have gone to community college first and then transfer to a state school that she can afford. :D</p>

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<p>I just feel bad for the grandma! The girl made her bed, and now she can lie in it but I feel bad that her family took the blow as well. Stupid suckers like her need to learn the hard way, it seems.</p>

<p>And yes, taking out 120k in loans CAN be justified. The two that come to mind are if you’re going to an Ivy League or if you’re going to a high-preforming college in a very in-demand job area (like a top engineering college or a top law college). 120k for a BUSINESS degree!? Stupid bint.</p>

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<p>I also blame Congress for changing the bankruptcy law to not forgive PRIVATE student loans in bankruptcy. Encouraged not only exceissive borrowing but excessive lending.</p>

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<p>There needs to be a petition to encourage Congress to allow PRIVATE student loans to be forgiven in bankruptcy, even in public service programs. More students are borrowing from private loans than federal loans.</p>

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<p>Hmmm…I would still have issues with borrowing 120K for an Ivy League school but that is my personal feelings. Whether Ivy League schools are worth the $$$ has been debated on CC but for me, 120K is a lot to pay back – don’t forget you will be adding other expenses when you graduate unless you plan to live with your parents. Then if you plan on going to grad school or med school – the loans will keep adding up. I don’t believe some of these students understand how much these loans will weigh them down in the future. House payment, car payment, school loan payment – not a lot left in the paycheck unless you are making a great salary! Not everyone graduates and gets a high paying salary.</p>

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<p>tenis – if you google, there is at least one group working on it, unfortunately they address a number of sins, I think the private loan/BK drives a lot of problems.</p>

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<p>University records show she failed to complete the Free Application For Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) on time for the first three years she attended Robert Morris, starting in fall 2005. That meant she didn’t qualify for federal student aid and state grant money through the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency.</p>

<p>After the spring 2006 semester, Mr. Frantz said Ms. Dillon lost her eligibility for government aid because her grade point average fell below a 2.0. To make matters worse, she failed to pass at least two thirds of the academic credits she signed up for, another requirement for eligibility.</p>

<p>Mr. Frantz said she borrowed $43,290 in excess of the cost of tuition and fees to attend Robert Morris. Full-time undergraduate tuition for the 2009-10 academic year costs $19,950. That does not include room and board for resident students. Ms. Dillon was not a resident student.</p>

<p>“I can assure you she was told about the ramifications of borrowing,” Mr. Frantz said. “She satisfied the entrance loan counseling requirements which the federal government requires to make sure they understand the implications.”</p>

<p>She completely ****ed everything up, especially with the cell phone bill and cable and whatnot. She is crying wolf and trying to completely shed financial responsibility, great job getting a business administration degree, I figure basic economics was covered there. </p>

<p>O wait, maybe that was one of half of the classes you failed.</p>

<p>The college isn’t at fault, if you manage to fail that many classes, and get a <2.0 GPA, It’s not a issue of being a genius or not. Its a matter of giving a ****, and obviously she didn’t. Along with her obvious inability to handle even the simplest of budgeting issues…150$ a month cellphone bill…seriously, feed your baby please.</p>

<p>I feel more than anything sorry for her child.</p>

<p>PS: she didn’t fill her fafsa out either, I mean, she dug her own grave</p>

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<p>I agree with the many here that say she acted irresponsibly, but for a slightly different set of reasons. If you are truly energized by your education, and will value it, then large amounts of loans can still be a valuable tool. This student, however, appear to not have cared about school at all, which does not line her up for a successful future. Furthermore, she violated her cosigner’s trust when she put her assets in danger.</p>

<p>Regarding the FAFSA, it may not be her fault. The FAFSA requires a large amount of personal financial information that many parents do not make available to their children, which means that she may have been completely at her parent’s (or other guardian’s) mercy in completing the FAFSA on time. If they failed to complete it, then, in my view, they should be responsible for providing any money that she missed out on because of that.</p>

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<p>They made it very clear that she knew exactly what she was getting into. These lending practices are not “immoral” they’re what allow thousands of students to attend college each year. The immorality lies with the few greedy spoiled students who take out $150/month cell phone plans and don’t work on a job (and judging by her grades, their school work either) and become sob stories to make people call the lending practices “immoral” in the first place.</p>

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<p>I disagree and think even more types of debt should be excluded from bankruptcy.</p>

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<p>Openskittles, this is clearly an extreme case but not the first that has been reported on. There have been kids with high gpas from Tier 1 schools that have also gotten way over their heads in student loan debt. Do you think it’s reasonable to allow young and inexperienced citizens to borrow as much as they think they need? Is it okay to borrow $75,000 or more for an undergraduate degree? I don’t think so and feel that if limits were imposed on students and/or lenders there would be more rational choices made and perhaps the huge increases in costs would also be contained. I do fear for the quality of life for these kids and for the next generation. How will they get out from under this debt in time to help their children get an education?</p>

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<p>So…</p>

<ol>
<li>Her GPA was below a 2.0 and she majored in Business Administration</li>
<li>She didn’t work while attending College(From responses)</li>
<li>She is $120,000 in debt from taking out student loans.</li>
<li>She is the first in her family to attend College.</li>
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<p>I am sorry but this is solely 100% her fault. She didn’t work in College, She didn’t study in College, she just took out a ton of student loans and expected to get a better life by doing absolutely no work and will most likely be in debt for a very long time.</p>

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<p>^agree 100%</p>

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<p>Lending money to people who cannot possibly repay it is immoral; you may of course disagree with me! But I DO see such lending practices as immoral. They are a form of indentured servitude. If such loans could be discharged by bankruptcy, you’d see fewer students in such deep financial trouble because lenders would be more responsible about lending so much money to people who cannot repay it. </p>

<p>And as someone else mentioned, I think the ready availability of loans does have an influence on the cost of higher education.</p>