Bankruptcy Fight on Private Student Loans

I think your view on student loans does not go far enough. The government and non-profit loan system does not work. If the government is going to back the student loans if a person cannot afford to pay, then why doesn't it just do that and alleviate the burden of repayment from those who cannot afford to pay. The rules preventing discharge of government and non-profit student loans are too strict.

As it stands now, you can only discharge student loans if you are physically unable to work. That criteria brings with it the underlying assumption that you can make enough money to repay the debt. If the education does not lead you to a better job then the ones you could have had without the education, then you will have a difficult repaying the debt. There is a naive assumption that all liberal arts and classical education is a good investment, when actually it amounts to financial consumption.

It is the traditional educational institutions, not the for profit institutions, that are really causing the bulk of the student loan debt crisis. The true problem is not just the large load of private debt. It is the large amount of non-profit and government debt. All forms of student loan debt should be treated as consumer debt because education is consumption not investment. All colleges and universities should be required to get their graduates jobs for the rest of their lives or refund the tuition money.

If the education is not profitable for the student, then the student should not have to pay for it.

Sean M. Donahue

I believe that cosigners should especially be given special consideration on a case-by-case basis in bankruptcies. Say a husband signs for his wife's student loans. What happens a few months later, when the two get divorced, and the wife later drops out of school after the divorce and defaults on the loan?

According to Sallie Mae, all loans belonging to the primary signer must be current, and 24 on-time monthly payments must be made before the primary signer may apply for the cosigner to be dropped (and even then, the primary signer needs to have "good credit"). I know this, because my fiance is the ex-husband. Sallie Mae jerked us around while we were struggling to get his name taken off as cosigner, telling us a different story in each phone conversation. He has nothing to do with his ex-wife, yet his name and credit are still being affected by this wasted student loan. He is now applying for bankruptcy, and obviously can't include this student loan, as he is healthy and able-bodied, and can't prove "undue hardship." As a full-time college student himself and with only part-time employment, he certainly doesn't have the money Sallie Mae is seeking.

I wish they could at least relax the laws, so that in cases like my fiance's, where he didn't reap any benefits from the loan, has no contact with the primary signer, and merely placed his name on it, he could include it in his bankruptcy.

I am about to graduate with my B.A. in May and have approximately $60K in PRIVATE student loans. Because of the unreasonable standards set by the government on income I was ineligible for much federal relief and was forced into the predatory arms of the private sector. It is ridiculous to think that the only way middle class people in this country can go to college is if they want to spend the rest of their lives suffering in enormous amounts of debt!

I am not one of those people who purchased a house I knew I could not afford. Neither I, nor my family, are now benefiting, nor have we ever benefited from, government assistance of any kind. I have held down jobs since I was 15 years old, including both a full and part time job while in college. I have contributed for years, and will continue to contribute, to the tax base. All of this and the government is telling me they cannot help me?

They will not help me better myself, which in turn betters the country, but they can give breaks to people who defaulted on mortgages they never should have received? They can help the very banks who offered up these mortgages that created the whole credit mess? They can do all of that, costing the tax payers (myself included) billions, but they cannot keep private student loan organizations from preying on desperate students who have no other way to go to college?

I am not asking for a free ride, I would love to be able to pay for my loans. However, with the unreasonable interest rates applied to them I cannot. I have already received a job offer for $35K a year and medical benefits (surprising in this economy and very reasonable for someone fresh out of college) and even with that there is absolutely no way that I can pay back loans and maintain anything near a reasonable standard of living. In fact, attempting to pay them back could force me further into debt (this time with credit card companies who are just as bad). All I am asking for, for me, and for the millions of others out there, is a little help!

Our government gives free hand outs to illegal aliens, to people who are content to stay in poverty and not better themselves, people like the unemployed and unmarried mother of octuplets (brining her total to 14 children without a father) via food stamps and medical benefits, to people who make unwise financial decisions (like buying homes they can't afford), to the banks that caused all of the current problems (who use the money on "team building retreats") but they cannot help their future?

Food for thought: out of all my high school friends who even tried to go to college, but who had to pay for school with out government assistance programs (because our parents made "too much money" or because of our race. Yes I am bringing race into the equation, let’s be real, it affects federal aid!) I am the only one who will graduate. Everyone else has dropped out of college because there was no way for them to pay for it. There was no way they could be granted, or pay back, private loans. This is practically a type of class legislation! These lenders and the government, based on their laissez-faire attitude toward lender practices, are discriminating against groups of people and in turn keeping them from achieving the “American dream,” that is if it still even exists. Are we really saying (through lack of legislation and protections) that middle class people, or people with bad credit, cannot go to college?

Again, I am not asking for a free ride, but for a reasonable one. I have no idea how I will survive if forced to pay back the entire amount of these loans (mostly due to the unreasonable interest rates). And for added insult to injury, unlike most college students, at the time of applying for some of these loans my credit score was as high as 750 and has not dipped below 700 since. Yet still, sadly for me, there aren't many options. Because representitives of the government are aiming to make it more difficult by fighting Rep. Davis, trying to claim bankruptcy under the "undue hardship" idea from the Brunner case (Brunner v New York State Higher Education Services Corp. for those of you not aware of it) may be my only choice. Other than that there isn't much for the everyday middle class person to do.

Something is wrong here and it needs to be changed and Rep. Davis is on the right track! All of the Democrats are trying to say they are against lobbyist (including President Obama), that they are trying to represent the needs of their constituents rather than big business like the Republicans do. To them I say prove it! You have the power now. Follow Rep. Davis's lead and turn your backs on these banks and their campaign donations, and do your job. Help me, help all the others like me, and most of all help your future. If you can't do it for the right reasons, think about yourselves, something all you politicians do best! Think of all the voters (both now and in the future) who will be appreciative!

I have tried to have my student loans dismissed, I went to school with another person, same name, same school, I found this out because I recieved this persons student loan check, I returned the check to the school and they said it had happened before with the other person, when I was tallied up as to what I owed after leaving college I asked for confirmation because it seemed a little high and I was being charged a full semester I was not attending. my student loans with interest, collections and original note, went from $24,000 to just over $90,000.00 I cannot pay this, I told them so, they have stated they are going to garnish my check if I do not pay, I told them that I would most likely lose my job if that were the case and asked for a settlement, I was told no... I now have 15 days to respond before they garnish and there is absolutely nothing I can do about this. I am a veteran, I have volunteered 100's of hours to the indigent, I was even cited by the President of the United States for my volunteering to help others and yet, I cannot get any help from these loan sharks to stop this from happening to me. my daughter died last year and I didnt have the money for a decent christian burial but they want me to find the money to pay a loan that could not possibly be covered in this lifetime for an education in a field I can never work in. shame on them for what they are putting me through

It is my great hope that one day all student loans will be afforded the same opportunity to be discharged in bankrupcy as any other debt. These days it seems like the whole country is recieving a "bail out" of some kind. But not student loan bor. I provide for a family of 6 including myself and make 80k a year. I have student loan debt combined with my wife of close to 500,000. I am not in the profession I went to school for and do not see my income increasing enough to even come close to paying. I pay what I can and leave the rest. I have no assets. My wife cannot work because, we could not afford daycare. Loan forgiveness in bankrupcy or atleast loan repayment in bankrupcy would benefit myself and family and many others like us. 80k sounds like a lot but when you factor in all of your expenses, aside from SL payments, we live paycheck to paycheck. This new bill addressed above does not go far enough. We need sweeping legilsation to help those in need. In the new age of Obama and change and we shall overcome, this issue needs to be addressed. If my SL were gone or atleast If I was allowed to manage them and not held hostage by collection agencys and law firms all those like me would try to buy homes with a fresh start bankrupcy could give. Don't forget the premise of bankrupcy is to give those a fresh start. And to think I could have incurred that much in credit card debt and have it wiped out -- but I tried for a better life and education and it hasn't worked out. So it is now time for my goverment to help us. Thanks for the chance to be heard.

A lot of people face the dilemma I face today.You are 18 and a High School graduate, therefore you should suddenly be able to live and pay the bill by yourself. This is unrealistic. In todays world, what you are paid straight out of high school may pay for a phone, food, gas, and car insurance. You cannot afford college on your own. And on top of that, this world teaches financial irresponsibility. "Get it now, pay later" has become our theme song. And so our people plunge into debt.
High School should train students in paperwork and financial responsibility. Even applying for college is difficult for many high school graduates, because they don't know how to do the paperwork.
The solution is for schools to teach real-world subjects, like finances and paperwork.
Also, a living wage is necessary. It is nearly impossible to find a job that will pay for college without having a degree in the first place! So we are forced to use credit cards and student loans to go into debt just to have hope of a life without debt!
I am lucky that my parent put up with my shinanigans and are willing to help me stay out of debt. But what about those with poor, or unwilling parents? Ask Frank

I am so deep in private student loan debt that I've opted not to send anything because according to Sallie Mae, partial payments receive the same treatment as no payments. The phone calls continue, you are still receiving a negative rating at the credit bureau and your score drops, etc. In addition to that, Sallie Mae has started calling me 4 to 5 times a day on my job. I've written them on several occasions requesting them to not contact me at work however, the calls continue. Sallie Mae representatives go as far as to leave messages with other coworkers asking that I call them back. Please help!!! What can I do to stop this from happening? I live in Little Rock Arkansas and not sure how to go about looking for the laws on this kind of harassment. My prayer is for President Obama to address the private student loans and to allow them, once again, to become a discharge debt. In the mean time, I am trying my best to not allow Sallie Mae to stress me out where I can't function throughout the day. Any advise will be appreciated.

Sallie Mae seems to be the main culprit in all of these private student loan nightmares. I too got my loans through sallie mae. Looking back I don't know how I was ever even approved. I had two part time work study jobs as my only form of income when I received not one but two loans from them. After finishing 70% of my program I realized that to continue with the degree would only get me deeper in debt and because of the field that I chose, I wouldn't be making much money to have completed a bachelor's degree. I think many of the laws surrounding private loans should change, such as being able to discharge them in bankruptcy. As young adults and or college students you are already the main target of many credit card companies...sign up and get things free. It's ridiculous. At least if they will not be able to get discharged in bankruptcy then they should have the same repayment as federal student loans

My son 28 yrs old now, was diagnosed with Bipolar depression in 2004 after becoming suicidal, dropping out of college & coming back home. I have spent thousands of dollars trying to get him the best Dr's to get him well, nearly bankruping my & my husband in the process.The meds do not work, & he still has problems. To make a long story short he finally got disability June of 2008.
He had gone to FULL SAIL REAL WORLD ED in Orlando Fl in 2002. He got these loans in his own name.
During this time, I have been helping him deal with the student loans. We put all those that we could into deferment & now forbearance. The federal loans are still in forbearance. The Sallie Mae Ed loan went out of forbearance over a Yr ago for which I have been making the payments. The private loan for the living expense went into default right away, as there was only a 6 mo deferment. I tried to talk to these people, to no avail as to his medical condition, could we work something out.
This is a private loan & is treated like a car loan they said. The only difference, I say, is he could file bankruptcy on the car loan.

I called Sallie Mae recently about lowering the payments. They said I could make a smaller payment, but after 10 months they would demand all of the catch up or it would go into default. There is no justice for anyone taking out student loans, I would not recommend it for anyone. There is no compassion for the sick or the financially stressed. The system is really broken & needs to be fixed.
It has been a nightmare for me & my son & there is no hope in sight. I am not rich or if I could I would get rid of them for him.
I have been thru 2 lawyers trying to get a discharge because of his disability. Both dropped the case after investigating. The one had a previous case he lost & the girl was terminal. The other one just told me yesterday that after investigating some more it was the conclusion that Jared's case would be thrown out by the Judge, ( in Rockford) He said that the only time anyone could get a discharge was if the person was with out arms or limbs.
As someone has said Student loans are a noose around your kneck & the only way out is death. THIS SHOULD NOT BE!
ALL THE BAILOUTS FOR THE BANKERS & MY SON AND THOUSANDS OF OTHERS HAS NOT A PRAYER!

I am not going to give up on this. EVERYONE KEEP FIGHTING! CALL If you know of any lawyer in the Chicago area that could give advise or help in anyway, even if it is negotating with the loan Co,, please feel free to contact me. airmares@hotmail.com
My son did not choose this, he did not set out not to pay his bills. He did not ask for his problems.

I have had this burden on my shoulders now for a few years. The problem is it's not just about me as my mom and grandmother co-signed on them. So my burdens are there burdens now. I’m a newlywed and this is already causing conflict in my marriage because we can’t do anything that requires financial expenditure. Today that would be 99.9% of any human activities! I feel very irresponsible and as though I've failed. After exhausting all options of how I could possibly repay this ever-growing debt it always leads to the same answer....it's too much debt, and the fees and interest rates are simply too much for me or my family to afford. These loans are now in default and collectors call daily threatening us. They say the meager $100.00 per month we may be able to afford is like paying nothing at all. It’s obvious I made some stupid decisions about five years ago and took out way too much money to live and play with. However, I was 19 at the time, it was VERY easy to just get on a website and in seven days you have a check in the mail to do whatever you chose with it. My ignorance at 19 years old made consequences oblivious. Now it looks like all four of us will take the stress of this debt to our grave. I feel so unstable from time to time; my emotions are from one extreme to the next. It is totally perplexing that people that try to better themselves get NO help whatsoever! Daily we hear of murderers, rapists, etc... getting a second chance; what about the people that merely made bad financial decisions and now want to make something of themselves, but can't because we are slaves to the millionaires relaxing on an island somewhere!?!? Needless to say, they have no worries, the government will happily give them however many millions of dollars they need to give them a second chance! About 8 months ago I felt a calling for myself to become a dentist. I have since observed dentists and enrolled myself in a pre-dental program and love every minute of it. At this point I'm a straight "A" student. I would love nothing more than to be able to fulfill my dream of being a dentist, and would happily pay these loans if they cared to help in any way. However, they couldn't care less what my dreams are, the ONLY thing they are worried about is money! Not only what I borrowed, but almost double the borrowed amount in fees and interest! It truly hurts me to know that my career dreams will probably never happen, and I will never become the professional I long to be because of the barbarity of these creditors! As well as no help from government; the one’s that “say” they strive to make America better by doing what they can to help with education! Please help! All I ask is to get these people off our backs so I can get the education I now strive for and will be able to give back to my community!

I earned my college degree in the late 90's. I have to admit that loans back then were fair as far a interest rates, etc. I consolidated and ended up with a $149.00 a month payment. One might say, "Hey, great deal. I can do that."

Five years later, I decided to continue my education. I earned my Master's Degree. HUGE mistake! My undergrad and graduate loans equal $1800 per month. This all occurred in a 3 year time period. The original loans amounts were needed for tuition, to complete my unpaid, year long internship, books, fees, transportation and health insurance, etc.

Here's what the lenders will not bother to tell you: From the first day that the loan is taken out (especially those private loans), the 6-8% interest is COMPOUNDED, not simple. So, these loans are not like a mortgage or an auto loan. You cannot file bankruptcy and there is very little wiggle room as far as re-payment options. Tuition is exceptionally high and it will take you about 10 years of work experience to have the comfort of paying the ORIGINAL loan back. But, what about the compounded interest? You only get 6 months after graduation to start paying these back. All the while, interest is still being COMPOUNDED. At any given time while your in school, (if the school will even tell you who your lender is) you cannot even find out what your monthly amount is in real-time. You are finally given your monthly amount about 4 months after graduation. So, you have a whole 2 months to scramble money together that you do not have because you do not have a job due to no experience. So, you file a forbearance. No problem, they'll just keep COMPOUNDING that interest. So you deafult, no problem with that one either. They'll just take you to court, garnish your wages, tack on penalty fees, take your tax refunds and social security benefits (yes, while the interest is COMPOUNDING).

Unfortunately, students and parents will continue to borrow and find themselves sentenced to the same prison term as us graduates are faced with now. Even with the new bailout offer, the interest begins to COMPOUND again after two years. So, nobody is doing us any favors.

As of right now, I am foreclosing on my home and filing bankruptcy (not because of the recession) but because of my student loans. I have to do everything in my God given power not to default on these loans. I thought about going back to school and deferring the loans. Can't do that either - COMPOUND interest!!!

Student loans have got to be the most brilliant of scams conjured up in financial history. At first we're led to believe that higher education is imperitive to our futures. Then, after graduation, (when you can't pay the bill because of COMPOUND interest), your shunned and casted from society.

I am still a firm believer in education. I would love to go back someday. It is not essentially the "rising cost of tuition", it's the COMPONDED interest that's in default. PLEASE do not take out student loans. Mortgage the house, put it on your credit card, have your employer pay for it, just don't take out any COMPOUND student loans. Just say NO!

Sign petition to have student loans forgiven.

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/Real-Economic-Stimulus-Forgive-Student-...

We Need to be heard......Sallie Mae is killing Us. WE WILL NEVER HAVE ANYTHING IN LIFE>>>>EXCEPT A DEGREE WE CANT EVEN PAY FOR!!!!!!!!!SINGLE MOTHER WITH 2 CHILDREN!!!!!!!! PLEASE Someone HEAR ME.........

I am a Disabled American Veteran that was injured severely in Iraq and does Sallie Mae care? No, they want their money or else.

I hope that we all see some sort of relief from them, soon.