How to Get Student Loans Forgiven

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Here's a thought go to community college then transfer to get your degree from a major university. Get a part time job and work your way through college. I followed this path to graduate U.C. BERKELEY. I still took out $2,000 in loan but I worked the entire time also. I paid back $50/month for 8 years and was finished. So I really don't get what all the complaining is about. I guess just a bunch of you want free education. Well it isn't going to happen. Learn to make more intelligent choices in your life.

Rob of CA 8:26PM May 08, 2012

After stumbling onto this site and reading the comments I was left with the following thoughts.
What a bunch of cry babies. Wah, wah, wah.... Let me call you a Wahmbulance!
I am 25 years out of post grad, made my own business, had two divorces, raised four kids from my first marriage, two of which are in college now and I still owe over 80k.
The procedures I preform have dropped in compensation to 1990 levels but you will Never hear me voice or even think about "wealth redistribution" which is exactly what you little brats are all crying for.
You are all spoiled brats! A college degree Never promised you the "promised land", what it gave you were the tools to use your brain. Instead of looking to the government for a "Hand Out", you should be looking at how screwed up and unrealistic your government has been over your life time making a class of people dependent on the government instead of reinforcing the idea of self sufficiency.
Today we are and have been giving people fish to eat for a single meal instead of giving them a fishing pole so that they can feed themselves for a life time.
The Very poorest of the poor our country today are wealthy! 99% have running water, a toilet, food and don't forget a 60 inch plasma TV hanging on their wall with cable. Compare that to say Pakistan or any Namastan or many other parts of the world.
What you're crying out for is Socialism, not the "American Dream" or the "American Way of life". Grow up, you're the next generation to take the reins.
""I think we've been through a period where too many people have been given to understand that if they have a problem, it's the government's job to cope with it. 'I have a problem, I'll get a grant.' 'I'm homeless, the government must house me.' They're casting their problem on society. And you know, there is no such thing as society. There are individual men and women, and there are families. And no government can do anything except through people, and people must look to themselves first. It's our duty to look after ourselves and then, also, to look after our neighbour. People have got the entitlements too much in mind, without the obligations. There's no such thing as entitlement, unless someone has first met an obligation." -- Margaret Thatcher, P. 426"
""If one generation is expected to carry an excessive burden on behalf of another, it will seek by every means to avoid it. It will either demand that past promises are broken, or it will not work, or it will not pay taxes, or the most talented people will leave. Socialist governments which have tried to tax 'till the pips squeak' have ample experience of that." -- Margaret Thatcher, P. 334"
There will come a point in time when the government has taken "till" there is no more to take.
My advice to you is "Cow boy up" and stop expecting others to take care of your sorry ass.
Brad
Jacksonville, Fl

Brad of FL 9:55AM December 07, 2011

We need to stand up for the right to freely and of our own volition borrow money for our education- even though we don't take care to pursue said education in an affordable institution, and toward a degree or career that will lend toward marketability.
We need to stand up for the right to freedom of speech- and continue to lambast lenders who make money by applying basic principles of compounding interest- something we learn in our freshman year. A byproduct of this approach is that we can shift responsibility for the choices we make by creating a predatorial image of the entities who took the initial risk of loaning money.
We need to stand up for the right to expect debts to be paid. As long as it's not ours. If another owes us money, the decision is easy. . .pay up. Especially you Uncle Sam.
We need to stand up for the right to choose not to work our way through college, incurring massive amounts of debt that we will never be able to pay back, rather than get a job and be responsible.
I am somewhat disheartened by the rants on this board, particularly because many of the authors were the generation that set the model of borrowing that destroyed our economic stability- through borrowing for cars, credit cards, increased loans, and student loans. This is the system your generation designed, and now you are asking someone else to bail you out. I am the generation that followed. I worked 40 hours a week while going to school. For 11 years. It was hard. It required good juggling skills. But I was determined that the phrase, "the borrower is slave to the lender" was true.
Perhaps the answer most likely to protect "The American Dream" is to teach our children not to buy something unless they can pay for it. Borrowing from tomorrow to pay for today is one of the worst philosophies we have taught.

Jacob of MO 10:14PM August 26, 2011

I agree. We need to have the guts to stand up for our rights. EDUCATION SHOULD BE FREE TO ALL CITIZENS OF THE UNITED STATES. Instead the american dream has turned into slavery. 'Oh, you want to have gainful employment and a fruitful career? You certainly can, if you are already rich. Otherwise, please sign here and here and here, and we'll be waiting to collect your souls upon graduation.' When are we going to decide that this will no longer be stood for and we will be taking our right to pursue a better life back? As an anecdote, has anyone ever seen Fight Club? If only we could. God help us.

crw of NY 4:58PM June 28, 2011

I think it's just great that our elected officials are willing participants in the crime of usury.
Most of us would have paid back some or all of our loans, gone on to live relatively productive lives, etc., etc.
But, alas...lobbyists plied our politicians with a little or a lot of god knows what, and our elected friends decided to remove anti usury laws that protect all other borrowers.
That's why the less than 20k in student loans I took out as a single mom (not to buy books or spring break trips to Florida but to feed my kids while I went to school...I, on the other hand, couldn't afford to eat) are now worth 85k and counting.
My loans were placed in default during a yr of unemployment, despite having filed for temporary hardship deferment...one company sold the loan to another, and then to another and, voila!
Albert L. Lord got himself a dandy private golf course and our political friends got their pockets greased.
God forbid that the wealthy pay their fair share in taxes...it's so much easier to rob the poor. They can't afford lawyers...
Knock yourselves out. I'm 52, now, and after 25+ yrs post grad status, I'm finally earning enough to have made it past the poverty level.
Take more than I can afford...by gum your the government and I can't stop you.
But I'll tell you this...if you don't believe in ghosts now, you will.
I intend to haunt every one of you that voted to remove anti usury laws and make student loans ineligible for discharge. I know who you are. Democrats and republicans alike.
My ashes are to be divided up equally among all guilty parties and sprinkled on your lawns.
I curse you all on behalf of myself and all those you've destroyed and imprisoned unfairly.
I would have gladly paid back my loans plus a reasonable amount of interest, but 85k for less than 20k in student loans is neither reasonable nor fair.
It is a cruel punishment heaped upon the middle class who merely sought to be productive members of society.

ramen eating single mom of NY 9:13PM May 10, 2011

I have about $35,000 in student loans and am a single father. I got a degree in computer science about 5 years ago, but it wasn't until about 6 months ago that I was able to get a related job. I have been jumping on every opportunity to do freelance work and build my resume with short-term (usually about 2 to 3 weeks) contract positions. All this while raising a special needs child with no insurance or incomming child support.
Now that I have a full-time job and finally have insurance, I am almost able to break even every month. There is no possible way that I can afford the meds my son needs, daycare and food and still pay back these loans. If I made about $4,000 less per year than I do, then my son would be eligible for state funded insurance. However, I will never be able to move up in my career if I volunterily take a step backwards. It will be years until I make enough money to start paying my loans back.
I now make too much for forebarence so even if I defer the loans longer, I am getting stuck paying thousands more every year. The company that hired me did not hire me because I have a degree. They hired me because I was ambitious enough to seek them out and do work for them.
Furthermore, I can honestly say that I learned nothing in college. I taught myself programming before even attending college and thought that college would help me find a good job. I was wrong.
Also, as for the comment called 'It's Time To Revolt', the courts will garnish your wages before it comes to that. The only way that would ever work is if everyone was working 'under the table' jobs. Even if it did, since a majority of the loans are federally funded, that means they would make up the difference in taxes and health-care cuts.
Sorry about the long post. I needed to vent. My only advice to the people here is, if you can, try to make an extra payment every year that is directly to the principle of the loan. Make sure you let the bank know that it is for the principle. This could reduce the final amount of the loan by quite a bit. If you are not able to do that, then try to pay it bi-weekly. Then your payment will hit the interest early and you won't have as much to pay in the long run.
Good luck everyone...

JCassity of OH 6:55PM April 18, 2011

That is right. This nation used to be free and every penny that gets paid back to these student loan banks, encourages the next generation to make the same mistake we made. However, if everybody stops their payments all at once, it will cut the flow of income and profit and they will quickly start running on empty. Meaning, they will not be able to collect because they wont be able to afford the lawyers and all other court related fees to garnish and collect. Sever the flow in, and free yourself. Stop perpetuating these greedy bastards and start standing up for what america really is. This must be done.

Caleb Elliott of MO 7:16PM March 12, 2011

I am a single mother of two children who, with the student loans I have from my college years, is being garnished for almost $600 a month from my job, which isn't even in my line of education... I DON'T have enough to pay rent and monthly bills because of the garnishment, so little by little I'm falling farther behind in my rent until one day my landlord is going to evict me and then where will I be? Out on the street with 2 children, possibly living in my car, possibly losing my job.
What a wonderful prospect to look forward to in 2010...

MN mom of MN 9:12PM February 17, 2010

I have the same situation about student loans repay or payoff. My loan has been accumulate but no way to repay them. I have borrowed up to $20,000. I need help with my loan.

Gabriel Thon Kuol of CO 12:02AM December 06, 2009

Let me tell you what a friend of mine did, I was too stupid to listen to him. He finished college, took out a loan on a 2nd house, conveniently paid off his student loans, paid the home loan for 10 years and filed bankruptcy and surrendered the house. He is free and I am in $82000 of debt from a HEAL loan. I thought he was such a crook! Whose stupid now???

BonnieIDIOT of MI 7:25PM November 23, 2009