Over 50 with SL debt

[Deleted]

money.cnn.com/galleries/2012/pf/1207/gallery.over-50-student-debt/?iid=HP_River

I'm having a hard time feeling badly for any of them except maybe the guy that went to NYU

[lyssbobiss, Command, B613]

I question the couple who took out loans for their kids while mom still had loans she was paying. I also question the lady who went to the online art school. That wasn't the best decision. But I sure as hell made bad decisions regarding school loans so I'll chill up here in my glass house.

[heightsyankee]

If it wasn't for student loans, I wouldn't have an education. Did it suck all those years I spent paying them off? Sure. Did the loans sometimes cause me to live paycheck to paycheck? Yup. Was I waiting tables and making ~$18k/year? Yup. Do I feel bad for people who couldn't find a way to pay their loans off by the time they are 50? Nope.

[ringstrue]

If you started school at 40+ years old then you don't get to complain about SL debt in your 50s. If you ended all your schooling at age 25 and are still paying it off 25 years later then I feel for you, but I'm also skeptical that you didn't eff that up somewhere along the line yourself.

[cookiemdough]

Say what now?

I chose a for-profit online art school because I live in a very remote area a long way away from any college.

Four years later, I am six classes away from graduating with my bachelor's degree and a 4.0 GPA. But in November, my federal financial aid was exhausted and the school kicked me to the curb. I have no degree, no job and $75,000 in student loan debt ... and that is before any interest.

No reputable college will accept my credits for transfer so at this time I have to basically start my degree all over again. I've already lost four years of possible earnings and now I must proceed with no funds.

[racegrrl714]

Jul 26, 2012 7:44:27 GMT -5 @blessed said:

This will probably be me

me too. But it's entirely my own fault. And without it I probably wouldn't be where I am today.

[SusanBAnthony]

My dad got his undergrad engineering degree with no loans, worked for 2 yrs, saved, and went backdrop his phd. He and my mom got married and had 3 kids during the years he was working and back to school. My mom worked pt, but my dad worked a ton of hours, so she couldn't really work ft with her history degree and cover child are. Long story short, he finished his phd before 30, with a lot of student loan debt. He became a professor but not at a top school, and his pay was not anything amazing. Long story short, my parents finished those loans right around when they turned 50. Sucks to be them! I think my dad regretted his decision to get a phd, as he didn't end up staying in a academia, and as an engineer he could have advanced in industry just fine without the phd. Anecdote ftw!

[Deleted]

Jul 26, 2012 7:45:43 GMT -5 cookiemdough said:

Say what now?

I chose a for-profit online art school because I live in a very remote area a long way away from any college.

Four years later, I am six classes away from graduating with my bachelor's degree and a 4.0 GPA. But in November, my federal financial aid was exhausted and the school kicked me to the curb. I have no degree, no job and $75,000 in student loan debt ... and that is before any interest.

No reputable college will accept my credits for transfer so at this time I have to basically start my degree all over again. I've already lost four years of possible earnings and now I must proceed with no funds.

Huh? 75K for an ONLINE school? And SURPRISE OF ALL SURPRISES...no credits will transfer?

[dulcemariamar]

I cant really feel sorry for these people especially the woman who went to law school after getting her Ph.D. That is great that you are really ambitious but if you are putting education (when you already have a Ph.D) before your retirement, then that is just stupid. Plus, she *had* to pay for kids to go to college. Sure, that is really nice but your kids can take out SLs, but there are no loans for retirement.

My mom went back to school in her 40`s. I think it is really cool for people to go back to school but you really have to look at your potential earning power after graduation. First, of all it might be more difficult to get a job because of your age and your time as a worker is more limited than a 22 year old right out of college.

[charminglife]

Jul 26, 2012 7:44:27 GMT -5 @blessed said:

This will probably be me

They wont be my loans, but with what my SO has had to borrow for med school it will likely be us.

[wawa]

Jul 26, 2012 7:53:02 GMT -5 @susan3589 said:

Jul 26, 2012 7:45:43 GMT -5 cookiemdough said:

Say what now?

I chose a for-profit online art school because I live in a very remote area a long way away from any college.

Four years later, I am six classes away from graduating with my bachelor's degree and a 4.0 GPA. But in November, my federal financial aid was exhausted and the school kicked me to the curb. I have no degree, no job and $75,000 in student loan debt ... and that is before any interest.

No reputable college will accept my credits for transfer so at this time I have to basically start my degree all over again. I've already lost four years of possible earnings and now I must proceed with no funds.

Huh? 75K for an ONLINE school? And SURPRISE OF ALL SURPRISES...no credits will transfer?

An online ART school. But she has a 4.0! (because the art world totes cares about your flipping GPA)

I think art school quilter is the only person that I really am side-eying in there. Well that and the chiro who apparently didn't realize that starting up your own practice is hard and takes money. Everybody else seems to have made their decisions with a pretty good awareness of what they were getting themselves into, even if what they've gotten themselves into would make me hyperventilate.

[ringstrue]

My stepmom got her PhD just a couple years ago (or last year??) and she is in her 50s. But she's pretty much an international authority in her line of work so I don't think $$ is her issue.

You should see her at the farmer's market :-| :-| :-|

[lishie]

With my 30 year payoff schedule, and no desire to pay them off early with 2% interest, I will be 50 by the time I pay off the last of my law school loans

[Deleted]

Jul 26, 2012 8:11:42 GMT -5 lishie said:

With my 30 year payoff schedule, and no desire to pay them off early with 2% interest, I will be 50 by the time I pay off the last of my law school loans

With my 30 year payoff schedule, and no way to pay them off early with 6.32% interest, I will be 56 by the time I pay off the last of my law school loans.

[marie427]

Jul 26, 2012 8:17:36 GMT -5 @angryharpy said:

Jul 26, 2012 8:11:42 GMT -5 lishie said:

With my 30 year payoff schedule, and no desire to pay them off early with 2% interest, I will be 50 by the time I pay off the last of my law school loans

With my 30 year payoff schedule, and no way to pay them off early with 6.32% interest, I will be 56 by the time I pay off the last of my law school loans.

I really wish student loans could be refinanced.

[pugz]

Jul 26, 2012 8:18:36 GMT -5 marie427 said:

Jul 26, 2012 8:17:36 GMT -5 @angryharpy said:

With my 30 year payoff schedule, and no way to pay them off early with 6.32% interest, I will be 56 by the time I pay off the last of my law school loans.

I really wish student loans could be refinanced.

woooooooooooord

[Deleted]

Jul 26, 2012 8:18:36 GMT -5 marie427 said:

I really wish student loans could be refinanced.

Seriously!

It's insane to me that I have friends getting mortgages or refinancing current mortgages for 3 percent, but I'm stuck with this friggin' 6.32% rate for the next 26 years! Considering my payoff balance is 1.5 times my gross salary, the chance that I'll be able to pay them off early is slim to none.

[Deleted]

I will be 55. Holla!

[Deleted]

Jul 26, 2012 8:34:36 GMT -5 @blessed said:

Yeah try 6.8% and 8.5%. SUCKS!

The only reason I have the "low" rate of 6.32% is because I consolidated undergrad and law school loans. Law school loans were at 6.8%. I had a small amount of loans from undergrad that were around 4%, so the weighted average came down to 6.57%. And then I got the .25% reduction for auto-debit. I should be getting another .25% reduction for consecutive on-time payments at some point. I hope. 6.07% here I come!

[lyssbobiss, Command, B613]

I'm pretty sure I will be dead before mine are paid off.

[Daria Morgandorffer]

I have a 12% interest rate on one of my private student loans.

The real kicker? I didn't even use it for school. I used it to pay my rent for a year so I didn't have to work and could just party.

Yes, I was a complete moron at 18.

[penguingrrl]

Jul 26, 2012 7:50:42 GMT -5 SusanBAnthony said:

My dad got his undergrad engineering degree with no loans, worked for 2 yrs, saved, and went backdrop his phd. He and my mom got married and had 3 kids during the years he was working and back to school. My mom worked pt, but my dad worked a ton of hours, so she couldn't really work ft with her history degree and cover child are. Long story short, he finished his phd before 30, with a lot of student loan debt. He became a professor but not at a top school, and his pay was not anything amazing. Long story short, my parents finished those loans right around when they turned 50. Sucks to be them! I think my dad regretted his decision to get a phd, as he didn't end up staying in a academia, and as an engineer he could have advanced in industry just fine without the phd. Anecdote ftw!

Holy shit, you just described me and DH. He's graduating with a PhD in Chemical Engineering Aug 10. He was 30 in June. My degree was in history and try as hard as I could I couldn't find a job that covered the cost of daycare, and working opposite him didn't work because he traveled too frequently to conferences for me to work.

The only difference is that he was a f/t fully funded student. So the only debt we have is a little CC debt from unexpected medical bills this year. But we've been living in Manhattan on under $40K. I probably wouldn't have let him pursue a PhD if he was doing it on loans.

He's starting postdoc in Oct and also adjuncting at the community college. But he tried to get industrial jobs, nobody was hiring new PhD grads this cycle