Robbery
 

I just paid off my student loan in full. I had borrowed the money initially thinking that I would just let the money sit and make interest on it while I was in school. I got socked however because I thought the school was paying off the student loan in our reimbursement deal and they are not doing that they are just reimbursing my tuition. So, I waited to pay it off.

THE BENEVOLENT GOVERNMENT IS LOANING MONEY TO KIDS AT 6.8% INTEREST!!! That is highway robbery when you can buy a HOUSE for 3.5% interest or so!!

I am sick. These kids are getting out of college with basically a mortgage over their heads and no house to show for it and few jobs.

Sickening.

Re: Robbery
 

Yep.

My wife graduates in June and we will be looking at about $51,000

Re: Robbery
 

My SIL's student loan bill after getting his Masters degree is almost what my house cost!

However I don't blame the government. How is it the governments fault? I had a student loan when I went to college and understood that nothing is free. I paid interest (a lot more than 6.8%).

BTW - 6.8% is not a bad interest rate. To compare a student loan interest rate with home mortgage rates is not really fair. How about comparing it to credit card interest rates? At that 6.8% is a bargain!

The idea of student loans is not for students to "let it sit and make interest on it". When that happens it just becomes one more government program intended to help people that gets misused.

Re: Robbery
 

I looked at my student loans and couldn't believe it. There are 3 different student loans that are now around $1200 to $1500 per loan. Because of loss of employment and some time when I was dumb and refused to pay on the loan, I've already paid more in interest than the principal amount of each loan.

Re: Robbery
 

I appreciate your honesty in saying "and some time when I was dumb and refused to pay the loan".

Too many times we don't do our part in meeting an obligation and then whine when it cost us in the end. When these things happen it is not satan persecuting us or even God sending us a trial. It is simply us bringing consequences onto ourselves. I have been there and done that! More than once sadly.

Re: Robbery
 

I do think the interest rate is too high.

But the reason I think that is because it is the government that is always harping about wanting to find ways to help us Amuricans get educated so we can keep the high paying jobs here, etc etc.

Re: Robbery
 

I know it wasn't satan, or even God trying me. :lol I got mad at the school because it changed from one entity to another, and the new admin wanted us to re-take some courses which would lengthen the semesters and cost more. So I left and felt for a long time that I shouldn't have to pay since I didn't complete the courses. It wasn't until dear ole uncle sam began garnishing my fed tax returns that I decided I better start paying up. Still paying, but now I'm more upset that I didn't suck it up and finish since I'm stuck with the payments without the benefits of getting the degree.

Re: Robbery
 

I really disagree with your thought process. Here is why. They give out quite a bit of (what at first seems to be) free and easy money to these kids who have no idea what a dollar earned means. These kids borrow more than they should and have boatloads back to pay.

Back in the day, tuition was cheap. Now, since guaranteed student loans have become available, college costs have skyrocketed! Do you see the correlation? The kids are paying some pretty hefty salaries and the like. Now, tuition is way, way up there and, while the Fed holds interest rates at zero, the government is charging 6.8%!!!

If you play your cards right (no pun intended) your credit cards will be zero percent interest, as ours are. I tried to pay off my loan today on my credit card so I could get 1% cash back. Then, I was going to turn around and pay the credit card off. Do you know they would not let me?? I think I know why. The government knows that you CANNOT DECLARE BANKRUPCY ON STUDENT LOAN DEBT. The benevolent government does not allow you out of your student loans for ANY reason, but they know that credit cards are unsecured debt. Looks like they are in bed with the credit card companies on that one.

If I am smart enough to make money on money they loan me rather than pay through the nose 6.8% interest forever more, more power to me, I'd say. ;) It is not misuse, it's smart use. The money was offered to me because I was in school. I took it and I payed it off.

Re: Robbery
 

Guaranteed student loans are not really helping people, are they? It looks more like a money making scheme, frankly.

Re: Robbery
 

You had a right to be mad. They should have grandfathered the old students in. But of course, not paying didn't help the situation.

Re: Robbery
 

There are no more guarantee student loans.

Used to be a student did not have to pay interest or on the loan until 6 months after they get out of college. The government paid the interest for them.

Now any student loan taken out has interest on it starting the first day the money is borrowed. There is no 6 month deferment. By the time the student graduates, there is interest on the interest, which if you do not pay the interest accrued while in school, that interest gets added into the loan, along with the tuition and books.

It is pure financial rape on the young who do not even have a chance to get a good start in life.

Again...what is Congress thinking? Who gave them their start in life? Who elects them into office?

Re: Robbery
 

It is financial rape. I could not believe the amount of interest I had to pay to pay this loan off a couple months out from school.

Re: Robbery
 

One of the reasons they probably did not let you pay off the student loan with a credit card is it cost them about 2-2.75% when you do that.

Regarding kids getting in over their heads with student loans I would ask where are the parents? What happened to personal responsibility? No one makes a person take a student loan out.

When my youngest son first went off to college after his two minor scholarships were taken into account he still owed a chunk. His University was part of a cool program that let parents take the balance due and pay it in 12 monthly payments with no interest. My son took out a student loan for a portion and I paid about $6,000 of it over those 12 payments myself. The next year I had to get a parent loan for around $4,000 that I am still paying on!

You are correct that the huge amounts in student loans people are leaving college with is a huge problem.

I also think, as I believe you do, that there is a correlation between Colleges and Universities getting away with huge tuition and fee increases and them pushing student loans. If students did not have this easy way of overcoming the huge costs there would be an outcry in the public. Ultimately I still blame the parents though.

Oh, and in the case of my SIL who has somewhere around $130,000 in student loans to payoff it is kind of funny that now that he may want to teach school he will need another $4,000 in schooling to get a teaching certificate. Arghhh!!!!

Re: Robbery
 

Finanicial Peace University anyone?

Re: Robbery
 

Yes, but I would venture to guess that the credit card companies are in cahoots with the government on that because they do not want large amounts of unsecured debt.

A couple of things here. Students are encouraged by the universities to break away from their parents and make their own decisions. Did you know that parents are not allowed to know the kids grades even if they are paying for the classes? Kids can take out loans without parental consent. I agree that the kids need responsibility but they really have very little frame of reference at that age.

Sounds like a nice program. My daughter has student loans but she lived at home most of the time she was in college and we always counselled her not to take out too much. She still owes more than I would like (any would be more than I would like) but she says she is better off than most of her peers.

Yes, it is a definite problem.

When they start talking at the universities how things are "for the kids" I raise an eyebrow. Does anybody know how much salary has raised percentage-wise for professors and other college employees verses regular employees since student loans became available?

This chart is interesting.

http://chronicle.com/article/Average...ies-by/126586/

That is ridiculous.

Re: Robbery
 

An interesting article:

http://www.bankruptcylawnetwork.com/...versities-too/

Re: Robbery
 

I am not paying one DIME of my kids college tuition when he start attending. I will help him out with a new laptop or some other misc expenses, but he will be 100% on the hook for everything else.

Re: Robbery
 

I just passed by Dave's building last week!

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That's pretty tough on the kid. My daughter is on the hook for her loans but as I said, she lived with us so it cut her expenses in half.

Re: Robbery
 

:thumbsup

Took it.

Got the Tshirt.

Has been a tremendous blessing for my family.

Wish I had taken it years ago.

Made my 18 yr old daughter take it.

She is now looking to start college this year on nothing but scholarships.

Re: Robbery
 

:thumbsup