Senior Citizens, 36 Billion Dollars in Student Loan Debt!

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Oct 20, 2005
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i think you are just a day late at reading.

I don't know if it's just on my end, but that "Published on April 1" doesn't appear/load right away. It took a few seconds after loading the page for that part to be visible.

It happened both times I refreshed the page too, but I can't see the article now since the site keeps asking me to signup/login now.
 

Texashiker

Lifer
Dec 18, 2010
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Who in their right mind incurs student debt at 58 years old? The lady is just a few years from retirement, and goes into debt?
 

unokitty

Diamond Member
Jan 5, 2012
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think you are just a day late at reading.

Thanks, I was feeling kind of late.

But still, it seems to be a real article. (I mean, it is showing 1500 plus comments...)

It just strikes me as pretty oblique. For example, I know some states have programs that enable senior citizens to attend college classes for free. Why get a loan when you can just wait a few years and take classes for free?

Anyway, if its true, it comes across a bit more harsh than I realized ...

Uno
 

Meghan54

Lifer
Oct 18, 2009
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Who in their right mind incurs student debt at 58 years old? The lady is just a few years from retirement, and goes into debt?




If you're referring to the 58 year old lady mentioned in the article, you really need to learn reading comprehension.


Sandy Barnett, 58, of Illinois thought she was doing the right thing when she decided to pursue a master’s degree in clinical psychology in the late 1980s. She had worked her way through college but said she took out a loan of about $21,000 to pay for graduate school so she would have more time to focus on her studies.


So, she's 58 today but the debt was incurred in the 1980's. Duh!




Then, this followed:


...struggled to find a job that paid more than $25,000 a year and soon fell behind on her payments. She suffered through a layoff, a stretch of unemployment and the death of her husband — while her student loan ballooned to roughly $54,000.

Barnett filed for bankruptcy in 2005, but she couldn’t get out from under her student loan debt.




So, she is still under water for student debt today she incurred in the 1980's, and it isn't all that uncommon.
 

Thump553

Lifer
Jun 2, 2000
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If it's not a joke then I suspect a very large chunk of that debt is from these BS internet colleges, most of which are designed to maximize the amount of (nondischargeable) federally guaranteed student loans their victims can get. This is a huge fraud being perpetuated upon their student/victims and the taxpaying public, but it is way under the public's radar.

I read the other day that the total amount of student debt now exceeds the total amount of credit card debt. That's really disturbing and shows hwo manipulating the guaranty program hurts us all.
 

xSkyDrAx

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Sep 14, 2003
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If it's not a joke then I suspect a very large chunk of that debt is from these BS internet colleges, most of which are designed to maximize the amount of (nondischargeable) federally guaranteed student loans their victims can get. This is a huge fraud being perpetuated upon their student/victims and the taxpaying public, but it is way under the public's radar.

I read the other day that the total amount of student debt now exceeds the total amount of credit card debt. That's really disturbing and shows hwo manipulating the guaranty program hurts us all.

That's not terribly surprising as there's not many other things a person can do to effortlessly incur tens of thousands in debt in often ~4 year periods. Not to mention often at an age where their abilities to comprend the amount of debt is very lacking.
 

Texashiker

Lifer
Dec 18, 2010
18,811
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If it's not a joke then I suspect a very large chunk of that debt is from these BS internet colleges, most of which are designed to maximize the amount of (nondischargeable) federally guaranteed student loans their victims can get.

A couple of years ago I contacted one of those online colleges. The nice lady at the college said it was something like $1,3000 - $1,500 per class, and per semester. To take 2 classes would be about $3,000 for one semester.

I told lady that was a terrible price.

Why would I spend close to $3,000 for two online classes, when I could go to the local community college for about $400 - $500.

The lady was pleasant, but could not explain "why" the online course were so expensive.
 

unokitty

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Jan 5, 2012
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I read the other day that the total amount of student debt now exceeds the total amount of credit card debt.

In June 2010, for the first time student loan debt exceeded credit card debt. Currently, total student loan debt is just under a billion dollars.


Why would I spend close to $3,000 for two online classes, when I could go to the local community college for about $400 - $500.

In terms of cost, community colleges seem to be an amazing bargain. Though, there weren't very many of them when I first started college...

Uno
 
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