Alpha Consumer

How to Get Student Loans Forgiven

July 29, 2008 RSS Feed Print

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Dear Alpha Consumer,

I have about $70,000 in student loan debt and right now it's on deferral. I intend to pay it off, but I'm exploring all my options. Can you talk about debt forgiveness? I'm a writer and haven't found any debt forgiveness programs that apply.

The reason you haven't found any is probably because there aren't any. Loan forgiveness programs are few and far between, and the ones that do exist apply mainly to people working in public sector jobs such as law enforcement or social work. (Read more about the federal government's policies here.) People with disabilities are also eligible for various forgiveness programs.

But with $70,000 in debt, you probably have at least some private loans, and the rules on those will vary by provider. If you think you have a reasonable argument (you haven't mentioned one so far), then call your lender and make your case. If you are unable to make your monthly payments, you may be able to continue to defer your loan, although interest will still accrue.

The bottom line: You need to pay those loans back. After all, why would companies lend money to students if it was easy for them to avoid paying them back later?

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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