Wow. I never even thought about that as an option for these students. I don't have any student loans (yet) but I hope it doesn't get soo bad that I would have to flee the country.

Fleeing the country is a horrible thing to do. I am still paying off my student loans and I would never dream of leaving the country to get out of them. I do not owe $160,000 but I would have never put myself in a situation where once I graduated from school I would owe that much.

That's rough. Sometimes it's a catch 22. A person may decide to attend a private, prestigious university because it has a stronger program, and the person may have more opportunities when she or he graduates. But attending a private university comes with a much higher tuition bill.

There are more affordable colleges with strong programs, but not always. Some strong programs are mainly in private universities. Oh well.

well i think that people really need to understand what their payments will be in the future if they look to take out loans, because that's something that i'm dealing with and it's hard. i think that if you go into it assuming that you'll have just a little bit of $$ to pay each month, then you should make sure that's right.

i think that it's a bit extreme that people are 'fleeing the country' though - that's shady. the first guy that i dated in college had this friend that kept moving around to avoid paying creditors that were looking for her. it was really stupid seeing as how she would eventually be tracked down.

As someone who personally has taken out student loans, I can say that no one ever (besides my parents) warned or advised me about what the monthly payments would look like. it's not even involved in the financial aid discussion. I would never consider fleeing the country, though.

I graduated from medical school in 2002, and I feel like I have barely dented my student loans. I got lucky; the monthly payments are manageable enough, but it is still uncomfortable. I never buy more than I can afford on a credit card, and I am otherwise responsible with my money, so I don't like the idea of having this huge debt hanging over me.

I kind of agree with what the article says, though; it seems like the only kind of loan that gets "punished" is a student loan. You would think that a loan that contributes towards you making money and having less of a chance (theoretically, of course) to go into debt would be a little more friendly. Whatever. I am looking forward to when it's all done... years into the future.

welcome to the con job that the schools and government are pulling over on all students. if you take your student loans out of your total income while paying them off, how much did you really make? and were those degrees worth it?

I have about $50k in student loans. I paid for 1/3 of my undergraduate degree, and then I paid for 100% of my first year in law school. All signs led to me doing well in school, but I

I am currently unemployed. I live in an area that has been hit hard by this economy downtown/recession/panic at the disco.

I take a few classes at the community college so that my loans don't go into payment, because I can't afford the $500-ish a month.

I forgot to finish a sentence...

In law school I was in a joint degree program with two schools, and I overstretched myself. I am a proud law school dropout.

well, as a former music major... there are only so many careers and jobs that are available in your chosen field, and most are at a limited salary. it's not quite the same as law or medical school, ya know?

Wow, I live in Canada and I had no idea it was really that bad! I have friends in uni and they're loans aren't going to be more then like 30,000. My loan was 13,000 when i was done and i had 7,000 knocked off by the government because of my grades and attendance. We're pretty desperate for drs and nurses up here so the government in my province has started to reimburse up to 60% of their tuition costs when they graduate.

Sorry had to add that I don't think it matters where you went to school, you just have to be living and practicing in the province.

Sounds like I need to move to Canada for grad school. Yeah, I definitely have to agree with the comment about loan repayment NEVER being mentioned in the financial aid packet. I only have $27,000 in loans and I didn't expect to owe $350 a month. If this was a car loan that would be for 5 years. Yeah no... 10. I would pay a bit more every month and found out that my extra payment doesn't go towards the principal but the next payment. How ridiculous is that. I have no choice but to pay the interest that THEY want unless I pay in full. Yeah, 9 more years to go once I am employed again although grad school is looking like the option right now.

Another thing. I absolutely hate interest rates on those loans. Okay I'm done. I could go on and on about tuition payment.

ok, first of all, what kind of moron takes out $160 000 for MUSIC SCHOOL.

I mean, seriously?

I can understand the expenses of law or medicine, but you come out a lawyer or a doctor, both careers have high earning potential -- but MUSIC?!

Sorry, it just seems this guy set himself up for this. Music probably wasn't the best masters to pursue at that price -- I know a lot of schools will actually PAY masters and PhD students in other programs, so I'm surprised this debt was even possible.

I currently have no student loans for my undergrad, but I'm expecting to graduate $50K-200K in debt after everything is said & done. If my boyfriend & I marry and he works while I pursue school, we might be able to knock that number down, but there's still going to be something.

I won't even think about paying off the loans I don't even have yet until 6-8 years from now, but I'm hoping at that time I will be earning enough and have reasonable monthly payments.

Melo D, grad school in Canada might be good for you -- it's paid here! At least it is in my program (Chemistry). Most of the grad students I know are EARNING 30K-50K per year, not taking out any loans or going into debt to study.

Yes how incredibly stupid to take out such a high loan on music school! What are the chances of getting a high paid job with that degree?

But also in general I dn't understand how easily some people take out loans and live in debt as if it is nothing. I understand sometimes itcan't be avoided but many times it can be avoided.

All my tuition is free because all education is free in my country, which is really nice since it allows you to focus on what you really want to study (like music for instance). We also get a kind of salary for six years while at university of about 750$ to cover rent and such expenses. I'm really grateful for it since I'll never go into student debt if I'm just rational about my spending

I agree with everyone who said the system is broken... Let's not forget that when people take out loans for college, they are EIGHTEEN YEARS OLD, are not earning a living wage, and have zero collateral. I think it is completely irresponsible for a bank or financial organization to loan such a quantity of money to someone so totally unqualified. Could you imagine if an adult walked into a bank and said, "Hi, I've never worked a day in my life, don't own a car or a home, and I'd like to borrow $200,000." There's no chance.

It's not students' faults, because they don't have a choice... it's more the fault of academic organizations for expecting that much money, and the fault of banks for expecting such financial responsibility from people who are still essentially children.

"ok, first of all, what kind of moron takes out $160 000 for MUSIC SCHOOL."

Well ... I don't know. If I was accepted to do a MA at Julliard or Oberlin, I would go for that price, but I'd have to know I'd be prepared to pay the money back. And a lot of musicians who graduate from such elite conservatories AKA "music school" do make a sh*tload of money when they come out so ... I wouldn't judge.

"Hard work isn't how we pull ourselves up the ladder anymore. We use debt. The system is broken."

Damn straight.

In my country there are public universities that are quite okay, most people graduate from them and only rich kids go to private ones (there is also great suspicions those kids just buy their titles). It's not cheap and some degrees like medicine or ingeniring can be expensive but we are talking some 1500€ a year. There are also grants and while banks offer student loans I know of no one who got them.

The US system baffles me, there are many other better ways.

Ouch, I meant engineering.

Could you imagine if an adult walked into a bank and said, "Hi, I've never worked a day in my life, don't own a car or a home, and I'd like to borrow $200,000." There's no chance.

Hello. Subprime Mortgage Loans courtesy of the Community Reinvestment Act? But that's a different topic.

I am graduating from law school this December and looking at jobs and stuff. The only way I have found to help reduce my loan expense is to work for the government. However, the government will only knock off a maximum of $40,000 from your school loans, which is really a drop in the bucket. And, the catch is that you have to work for the government for 10 years and pay off your monthly loan expense, and THEN the government will pay off like $4,000 a year. It is a little bit of help, but come on!!!

It just horrifies me at how much so many are paying on loans!! I have student loans from my BA (I was very lucky to avoid that with my MPA but I also had to pay out of pocket and opted to work full time and go part time to afford it. It cut my savings in half but it was worth it to avoid paying loans off). However my loan is not that high and I am still paying off the last few thousand - I am 28. My loans totalled maybe at most 36,000. I cannot imagine having to have something in the six figures - that seems so scary. I wish you guys success and high paying careers so you can pay those loans off.

I was lucky to only have to take out a paltry 8K in loans for undergrad. I went to a good state school with cheap tuition, lived at home for 3 of the 5 years, worked part time, got a scholarship or two. I feel like I missed out on the true "college experience" though. But regrets are beyond useless, right? My advice for kids in college now is to at the very least search for scholarships and work part time to make a dent in the costs. It's unfortunate that many graduate with massive debt, but clearly there are different ways of paying for a degree. Also, take the long view-a degree and career in a field you truly enjoy is priceless in the sense that your life is much more satisfying when your job means something to you.

Anyway, I'm looking at grad school for occupational therapy. A sizable majority of the programs are at private universities. Reading this article and everyone's comments is motivating me to search hard to find a good program at a state school.

Loans can be crippling. Me and my roommate are the same major (ChemE). I have 11K in loans and she has 120K. With the whole job market sucking right now, she having a hard time dealing with it the prospect of a not so great paying job while owing so much money. I come from a low-income family so 96% my tuition is covered by financial aid from Cornell. But being from a middle class family (like my roommate) and going to a prestigious school can leave you with mountain of loans, its really sad.

I feel incredibly lucky because I got a lot of scholarship money and got the rest on loan, and my dad is paying off that part. Unfortunately he was going to invest in the stock market to earn the money, but I don't think that worked out very well.

i will bet i beat everyone hands down. if there were a contest for worst life i would win. when i went to college, i couldnt borrow enough loans to even graduate. i could not get enough money. i now have $40,000 debt which is part because of interest.
i didnt get my degree, so i am limited alot with what i can apply for or what i can do. i didnt see my life as what it has become. i have been unemployed for years. not a single person will hire me, and now it is even worse because of the economy. plus to make matters worse i have no car now, and am trapped where i am. also, everyone is telling me to end my life because on top of it all, i do not know a single person who is normal or good or kind or descent, like myself. i feel like im living in the twilight zone and that i am the unluckiest person on earth. i know for sure that no one or very few people could endure what i am and have.
i wish there was some work from home job i could get to do from the computer, i have been trying so hard to find something.
ive got people on my back just telling me to end it all.
im pressed for time too, i might end up being homeless sooner than later, and if that happens i will die for sure.
whoever said life was easy was such a liar.
i am a young attractive good, normal, wonderful human being. i never imagined my life would turn out this way.

All I have to say is I better not end up footing the bill somehow because of all these dopes.

I'm sorry guys - but I have disagree with those who say they don't talk about repayment when signing up for student loans. Every piece of paperwork (and there is a TON) I was presented and/or had to sign talked about repayment. The informational brochures had charts showing how much your monthly payments would be. At the beginning of our time at school, we had a meeting with financial aid advisers talking about our responsibilities and how to manage student loans. Also, our senior year we had a meeting with the advisers talking about repayment and what to expect. I was very aware of what I was getting into - but maybe that was just how my school and loan company handled it. Also, I think that student loan companies, at least mine, are incredibly willing to work with you and make your payments doable. At least mine has been.

You can always re-negotiate your monthly payment and get deferments when needed. Yes the interest still builds up, but its a great help.

When I graduated, I had trouble finding a real job, so I worked retail for awhile, they dropped my payments to $100.00, when I got a better job, I paid more. When the company went under, they gave me a 6 month reprieve.

If you are willing to put in the effort, you can get them to drop interest rates, smaller payments, lump sum payments, etc.

Loans from the Department of Education will never be forgotten. They will garnish wages, tax refunds, pensions, social security. One way or another they'll get their money back, so long as you're alive.

not everyone has what others have. black widow. people in glass houses should not throw stones

Got to agree with ladygarnet: "welcome to the con job that the schools and government are pulling over on all students".

I'm really lucky I go to a great private college and I'm poor. I have been declared financially independent. The school pays for most of $40,000/year tuition. My student loans will be under $20,000.

Grad school does scare me though. I'm a Psychology major and in order to be a Professor and/or do research in the field you need your Ph.D.. Its not Med school or Law school and the bucks aren't as big, but the research is a passion of mine and the potential breakthroughs in autism are worthwhile IMO. Its hard living with the idea that I might never be able to afford my own home or have my own family if I go too far in debt choosing that road.

""Hard work isn't how we pull ourselves up the ladder anymore. We use debt. The system is broken."

Damn straight."

Ditto, me and my friend Dylan, who goes to a public school and has higher loans than I do, were just joking about leaving the country after college. We were signing our loan forms at the end of summer and just in awe of what we'd do for an education.

The system is totally broken, I agree.

I was fortunate to get one of the highest scholarships at my university - besides the full-tuition one [you had to be Catholic and go to a Catholic high school to qualify for that]. Unfortunately the scholarship only covered half of my tuition and none of the overhead expenses [you know, books, food, housing], so I still had to take out loans. I've graduated with about $17,000 student debt...and I'm going to have to go to grad school to a) get a career job; and b) stave off these loans a little while longer. While accruing MORE debt. I'm only going if I can at least get full tuition - I probably won't be able to work during grad school, either...

Leaving the country seems a bit extreme though. I don't think I would do that...unless somebody gave me a job or I was going to grad school abroad. I wouldn't intentionally leave.

can someone explain US graduate school to me please because I don't understand how it puts you MORE in debt and I'm looking at US schools to go to after I finish my bachelors.

Isn't being a grad student a job that you are paid for and have no tuition fees (or if you have tuition fees they just take it out of your paycheque)?

No its the complete opposite. If you're a Biology, Chemistry, Engineering, Education (Teacher), etc. major and attach yourself to research then they may pay your tuition and give you a stipend, but for most disciplines and law school and med school tuition is expensive and they expect you to completely foot the bill. No more nice financial aid.

I am in debt. I was in debt before I started school, I will be in debt until the day I die. I will serve time or do whatever it is that they do when they hunt me down. Point blank. It is assine to judge the system. We all know its broke. Watch "Maxed Out". You will have a whole new perception on credit card debt and this corrupt system. As long as I get loans for school, I will take them. I will get as much education as I can. Buy time, sort of speak. When the day comes that I cannot get any more loans due to money that is not being returned- I will continue to not pay. I will not loose sleep over this. A cop comes due to the fact I do not show up to court when a company sues, I will ride quietly and write about the event that happened. I could pay my debt in probably a year or so, but due to a grand per card (8 grand) of penalties, it will now take years. I will fight this system all the way. Best Buy wants their money? I will slam down the laptop that broke within 4 months of the purchase. As far as getting future loans- I do not care about being such of an active member of society that I have to beg people for money. I did that when I was 18 and look where it got me. Fight the system people. Make THEM go Bankrupt.

Are you sure you're using those loans for school, anarchy?

I just dropped a class today, ironically. Yea. Most of it is for school. I fixed my car, went to the doctor, I need my wisdom teeth taking out... but it is for school. Degree: Major in Life.

why was my post edited?

Now she totally missed what I was commenting on.

Sorry, anarchy but apparently we can't have a conversation here.

Whatever happened to equality of opportunity? Tax rich people more since they make easy money off our interest payments and profits on money they've invested, not earned through wage or salary. Let the state forgive loans for people who graduate (that way, people will work harder to graduate). Or at the very least, please make my student loan payments deductible (yes, even the principal). Why do rich people's way of making more money and contributing to the economy get favorable tax treatment while working people's way doesn't?

i remember being in line to pick up financial aid. people were talking about buying cars with their education money and disregarding the fact that this was for their education & living expenses.

even though i was completely not savvy about money, i knew it was a LOAN and it had to paid back. how does that not make sense? all of this is personal choice. no one forces you to take the money. that's what i don't get. what's up with blaming others and not realizing that loans are provided for opportunity and freedom of choice? perhaps angry people wish they could reverse time and change their actions, but that is the learning experience of life.

sorry, i wish i was more sympathetic. fortunately, there are options, even though they are not the most pleasant ones. however, all of us who took out loans benefited from them at the time, right? i definitely had a nice meal and a drink through financial aid checks!

i def don't love my loan, btw. i'm not that masochistic.

Wonder if running from it, like any other responsibility in life, makes it worse when it catches up with you?

Student Loans really are a con job. Today, unless you have rich relatives, you cannot avoid going into this form of slavery. Your country has sold you out to the slave masters (bankers). And the government bailout program is keeping the slave masters alive when they should have died through their own gluttony and greed. Students Loans are enslavement instruments to keep you in a bondage that you were never meant to get out of it. The best option is flee the country. The US is becoming fascist anyway.

I graduated from college with heavy student loan debt. Like others the monthly payments were never really explained, and I guess I jsut assumed they would be reasonable. My payments came to over 1600 a month, which I just couldn't afford alongside rent, transportation costs and food. People just don't understand what crippling debt is like. My experience: few have sympathy for debtors. As far as most are concerned, we signed up ourselves and its our responsibility to pay the money back. Most debtors want to pay the amount they owe back, but cost of living and wages need to be factored in. I ended up losing my apartment and then defaulting anyways. For a few months, I thought of committing suicide. Then I got professional help, and decided leaving the country probably would be my best option (if I stay in America and pay back my minimum amount, I can't afford the basics to survive).

On the subject of options, there really aren't that many. The hardship thing is virtually impossible to get (I tried), and the loan companies are not required to do anything to help. Mostly they'll jsut let you pay interest only for a year and then you go right back to where you started. Honestly, I would have been better not going to school at all.

Another point, when I did graduate, I learned the hardway, that a liberal arts degree, doesn't really get you very far. The most I could make was 13/hour, where i am living. But I ended up losing my job, because I am basically not a very competent person, and now I am stuck with bills I can't pay, debt I can't pay, and no job. I hit the pavement every day looking for work, send out 3-6 resumes a day, call employment offices and nothing. IN 12 months I have only recieved 2 interviews.

I notice a lot of people piling on to this guy because he took out 160 k in loans to get a music degree.

Whose the bigger fool the guy who borrows 160k to go to music school or the idiot who loaned him the money?

Where is the corporate responsibility ? Shouldn't corporations be responsible for their risk as well ?