Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Except that the risk is not that high on a student loan because the loan can never be discharged and you can sell the loan back to the federal government for full current value if the borrower defaults.
Correct. That's why the interest rate is low at 6.8% as I said in my previous post. That's much lower than any other non-collateralized personal loan.
I don't. I think that the anti-education Republican congress is interested in reducing financial aid.
Things are not as they once were. When you vote think of what you need. Education for all should be a right. But Republicans call it entitlement.
I vehemently disagree.
Making higher education a right has a detrimental economic impact. Higher education as a whole needs to be reformed... and it doesn't necessarily start at financial aid.
More importantly, university funding doesn't work the way most people think it does. Because they receive money from the government, from the private sector, or donations, they have to put their money into different channels that serve a specific use. For instance money allocated for recreation can only be used for that purpose. It's not a blank check for the universities to spend however they want. If they don't use it then they lose the funding even if the spending is wasteful. Some programs generally are and only created or expanded for the purpose of being used. So what do you think the universities going to do?
^ this
Quote:
Originally Posted by Octa
From the federal government? Didn't know that. All I had available to me(grad) was just some money from the state and school for being an assistant and going into a shortage area. I knew that ph.d candidate could also get money for teaching courses, but I didn't know it was that much. Maybe I just might re-considering continuing on afterall
In grad school now and and my situation is similiar.
Quote:
Originally Posted by maciesmom
Not true. Low-interest student loans are the ones that are subsidized. Not all federal student loans are subsidized. The current interest rate for unsubsidized federal student loans is 6.8%. Interest accrues on those the moment the money is disbursed. The interest rate on subsidized student loans is closer to 3% - and the student isn't responsible for any interest accrued prior to leaving school (whether graduating or not). One must qualify for subsidized student loans.
That said, student loans (whether federally subsidized or not) should be taken as seriously as any other debt occurred. If you need to borrow money to go to school - you should be smart about how you spend that money, understand your obligation for repayment and do it to the best of your ability.
My husband went back to school and even though we paid for most of it out of savings still got a sizeable student loan debt. And his were subsidized loans because I worked and did not get paid very much.
My undergrad loans were much more expensive because they were not subsidized. We are paying out of pocket for my grad school.
We wish our loans (especially my undergrad) were less but we made the decision to go back to school. Even though the economy dictated my going back to school because there were no jobs unless I got a better degree, it was still my decision to do so.
As far as discharging student loan debt, I am of two minds about this. It is a choice to go to college, but sometimes it is the only way to get a job with any future. Everyone should be able to get education, I mean those with wealthy parents don't have to worry about financing it. But it should also depend on what you go to college for (major wise) because not every college degree is equal.
People borrowed the money and got a subsidized interest rate. There should be no more "help".
It's probably been mentioned, but...
Well, what a clueless comment. The student loans are now owned by the Department of Education. The interest rate was still as high as 6.8%. The law passed by Congress applied only to loans that were taken out after it was passed. So, 90% of the students are still stuck with high interest rate loans. 6.8% is pretty high, especially when the government owns it. Anybody who thinks 6.8% on a 5,000 Dollar loan, for instance, is hallucinating.
Well, what a clueless comment. The student loans are now owned by the Department of Education. The interest rate was still as high as 6.8%. The law passed by Congress applied only to loans that were taken out after it was passed. So, 90% of the students are still stuck with high interest rate loans. 6.8% is pretty high, especially when the government owns it. Anybody who thinks 6.8% on a 5,000 Dollar loan, for instance, is hallucinating.
6.8% on a non-collateralize loan is low. And, yes, a lot of the reason is because it is owned by the government. Approach your bank for a non-collateralize loan, and you're unlikely to get 6.8%. Even if you are able to, it's because your credit is spectacular... which is rarely the case with a college student.
Well, what a clueless comment. The student loans are now owned by the Department of Education. The interest rate was still as high as 6.8%. The law passed by Congress applied only to loans that were taken out after it was passed. So, 90% of the students are still stuck with high interest rate loans. 6.8% is pretty high, especially when the government owns it. Anybody who thinks 6.8% on a 5,000 Dollar loan, for instance, is hallucinating.
Go to a bank. Have an 18 year old with no credit history and a low income apply for an unsecured loan. If he is even given a loan chances are the rate will be considerably higher than 6.8% PLUS he will have to start paying the loan back right away.
Students loans are the number one debt in the country and not by chance. Student loans don't carry any statue of limitations, refinancing, bankruptcy protections, or some of the fair debt collection practices. In fact, the gov't is not only hoping you default, but makes more money that way. The only way to solve the problem is return all those protections. Yes I know what you're thinking, they should be personally responsible and the job they get should be enough to pay it back. Why don't other unsecured debts have to be personally responsible? I can take my student loan debt, put it on my credit cards and discharge it. The bubble will burst its just a matter of time.
Students loans are the number one debt in the country and not by chance. Student loans don't carry any statue of limitations, refinancing, bankruptcy protections, or some of the fair debt collection practices. In fact, the gov't is not only hoping you default, but makes more money that way. The only way to solve the problem is return all those protections. Yes I know what you're thinking, they should be personally responsible and the job they get should be enough to pay it back. Why don't other unsecured debts have to be personally responsible? I can take my student loan debt, put it on my credit cards and discharge it. The bubble will burst its just a matter of time.
The bubble won't burst is there is no way out of paying it. You could argue it will stall the economy long term is there is debt that many have. The reality is there are just a lot of average students making poor decisions. Smart kids don't have much student debt.
Students loans are the number one debt in the country and not by chance. Student loans don't carry any statue of limitations, refinancing, bankruptcy protections, or some of the fair debt collection practices. In fact, the gov't is not only hoping you default, but makes more money that way. The only way to solve the problem is return all those protections. Yes I know what you're thinking, they should be personally responsible and the job they get should be enough to pay it back. Why don't other unsecured debts have to be personally responsible? I can take my student loan debt, put it on my credit cards and discharge it. The bubble will burst its just a matter of time.
The only protections student loans need are those concerning fair collection practices, fixed APRs, more repayment options that may be utilized if the borrower finds him/herself in economic difficulties, and perhaps a few more. Other than that, student loan debt should not be discharged. If student loan debt could be easily discharged than it would diminish the value of a college degree. Also, how can you take away an education from someone? The reason why new homeowners and current homeowners get financial breaks if you have a mortgage, the bank owns your home. On one hand it makes sense for the banks to keep you on your mortgage: you are giving the bank money, and, the bank ultimately owns the property. If you cannot keep up with your mortgage, the bank takes back their house. It's a win-win for them.
How can you do that with a college education? Can the fact that you went to college be completely erased? No. You may be struggling now, but ten years from now your college education may begin to come through for you. That is why it is not fair to discharge student loan debt unless it can be proved to be 100% necessary (as is already the policy).
Yes, you can put your student loan debt onto your credit cards...then have the credit card debt discharged. Ironic, sure, but why would you want to do that? And, if you have $10s of thousands of dollars in credit, you more-than-likely would have the financial means to handle a large student loan debt to begin with.
By discharging your credit card debt you are going to affect your credit rating and chance of getting new lines of credit for at least 7 years. It would make more sense financially to just pay down the loan as best you can each month.
The bubble will not burst.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Anybody who thinks 6.8% on a 5,000 Dollar loan, for instance, is hallucinating.
