Student Loan Slavery: Paying More in Loans Than I Make Each Month

[Teh One Who Knocks]

By Rhiannon Pooler | Yahoo! Contributor Network


http://i.imgur.com/9dXj7H0.jpg

As American students now cumulatively owe about $1 trillion in student loan debt, Yahoo is publishing first-person accounts from those who are still paying and those who have lessons to share. Here's one story.

FIRST PERSON | I just paid $1,810 in student loans this month. I make on average around $1,500. That's not counting another $500 monthly payment my parents make.

So, really, my student loans in total each month are $2,310 and rising. The only reasons I'm not broke is thanks to my tax return, that not all loans came out of deferral at the same time and that payment my parents make. Thankfully my parents allow me to live in their basement in Rochester, Minn., rent-free.

I work full-time at a job that I wouldn't have required my college degree in sociology from Arizona State. This job pays above minimum wage; however, it is unlikely I'll be able to advance further in this job. This job is mentally exhaustive to the point I couldn't handle working another job, whether part- or full-time. It's hard to go to work realizing that, in a sense, I'm working without pay -- because all my income pays my loans.

I hear other graduates complain about student loans around $200 a month and how that cramps their style. It's hard for me not to laugh until I cry hysterically. When I tell them how much mine are, they're shocked to hear that amount. They say they have no idea that's possible, considering I only have a bachelor's degree.

I fully understood that by taking out college loans, I would have to pay them back. I thought I could still afford to live while doing so, though. I can't afford a one-room apartment, transportation anywhere, groceries or any other necessities. I thought after college I'd at least be able to afford (after the aforementioned expenses) some indulgences in life, such as eating out, purchasing a book, and more.

At 27, I am a slave to my student loans with no end in sight. I owe more than $160,000. My lenders, private and federal, thus far are unwilling to work with each other or me, even after I explain my situation in depth. I wish there was an individual or group that would fight on my behalf. I can't even begin to describe how miserable I am daily. I really don't know how much more of this I can take. I wish I'd never gone to college; instead of enhancing my life, it has made me lifeless. All thanks to student loans.

[deebakes]

18K in income a year is your problem :hand:

get off your lazy ass and get another job :shrug:

[perrhaps]

For the Spring 2013 semester the resident undergraduate tuition for ASU is $4,862.00 for seven or more credit hours of courses.

How the hell did this whining underachiever rack up over $160,00.00 in student loans?

[Teh One Who Knocks]

For the Spring 2013 semester the resident undergraduate tuition for ASU is $4,862.00 for seven or more credit hours of courses.

How the hell did this whining underachiever rack up over $160,00.00 in student loans?

Out of state tuition is considerably higher ;)

http://i.imgur.com/Npy1WEQ.png

But, who the hell spends that kind of money on a sociology degree without knowing what the job prospects/salaries would be? :roll:

[Muddy]

I just don't see how these university's can charge this type of money... This is forking ridiculous!

[DemonGeminiX]

The cost of college textbooks isn't controlled by the college, it's controlled by the books' publishers. Just a fyi.

That's why I always bought used online.

[DemonGeminiX]

Oh and btw, if the writer was better at school, he/she would never have had a debt to pay. He/she would have had grants and scholarships to cover the entire cost of college. My GPA was always consistently high and it bought me a set of scholarships and grants that provided the entire cost of my education. I never took out a single loan. I don't owe anyone a single fucking dime.

[Muddy]

Did you get a degree DGX?

[DemonGeminiX]

I hold a bachelor of science in applied mathematics.

[Muddy]

What types of jobs does that make you eligible for?

[DemonGeminiX]

All kinds. You have to know how to sell it which is the hardest part. But think about this: No one business can exist without mathematics, whether you specifically need a mathematician or not. Math just permeates everything.

[Muddy]

I respect the degree.. I just question it's marketability.

[deebakes]

i graduated with $699 in loans (long story, parents wanted me to take out a loan to get used to the idea) that I paid off with my first paycheck in my job :shrug:

[Shady]

I got my degree from a community college and dont have a single debt to pay back because of it. I laugh at my coworkers when they complain about their student loans from going to an expensive culinary school. They paid 5 times more than they did yet I still work with them and do better than 95% of them.

[Muddy]

Shady you should post some of the tasty things you make..

[DemonGeminiX]

I respect the degree.. I just question it's marketability.

You could question the marketability of any degree. I know history majors that have done far better than the idiot in this article. History majors. Unless you're becoming a doctor, a lawyer, an architect, an engineer, then you're going to have to market the skills you've picked up, not just in your specific degree, but across the entire board of everything you've taken, everything you've done in extracurricular activities. Summer jobs and internships. You have to figure out how to sell yourself and what you know.

What I said is true: mathematics is everywhere. You can't get away from it. But so are grammatical skills. So are computer literacy skills. Leadership skills that you pick up along the way that most people never think about. These things are pretty much standard issue skills that you pick up in college. Everybody needs them.

I've got logic and reasoning skills that most other people can't claim. Problem solving skills. Analytical skills. Technical writing skills. Optimization skills. On and on and on.... from math, alone.

But I didn't just take math classes. I took computer science, biology, chemistry, physics, history, sociology, English, psychology... I ran the gamut. I was involved in student government and honor societies. I won academic awards out the wazoo. I was recognized nationally (No, I'm not telling you by who :lol: ) for academic achievement. All of these things have value. They can all be sold to someone who's willing to listen. If you know what you have under your belt and you know how to market it effectively, then you should be fine. You might not have a job using the sociology you went to college for, but those history majors I know didn't come out of college expecting to get jobs that used their bachelor's in history either. If you're open-minded and you can adapt, which is something you should have learned in college in the first place (adaptability), then you should be fine.

I have a feeling that the person in this article graduated with a chip on her shoulder and expected a job paying a $150,000 a year salary in her first year at work doing purely sociology. If you're going to get a job in sociology, you're probably going to need a Master's or a Doctorate. Not just a bachelor's. It just doesn't work like that.

[Richard Cranium]

Don't bitch about the price after you buy something, fucking idiots..

[deebakes]

Shady you should post some of the tasty things you make..

:+1:

also, where can one find your culinary delights? :-k

[DemonGeminiX]

Somewhere in or around Chi-town, I believe.

[deebakes]

i knew that, i wanted more specific :lol: my in-laws are in chicago and i want to visit :shrug:

[Hugh_Janus]

ask for his special sauce

[Teh One Who Knocks]

i knew that, i wanted more specific :lol: my in-laws are in chicago and i want to visit :shrug:

A restaurant in Chicago :tup:

[Hal-9000]

Shady works at the McDonalds drive thru on 64th....he's on fries this week :thumbsup:

[Pony]

I was recognized nationally (No, I'm not telling you by who :lol: ) for academic achievement.



Canada?

[Hal-9000]

careful using the C-word... :nono:

[DemonGeminiX]

Canada?

Kazakhstan.

:no:

[Shady]

Shady works at the McDonalds drive thru on 64th....he's on fries this week :thumbsup:

I worked hard to get to that point. :woot:





:x

[RBP]

No one business can exist without mathematics, whether you specifically need a mathematician or not. Math just permeates everything.

http://i.imgur.com/AlwMChL.jpg?1

[RBP]

The cost of college textbooks isn't controlled by the college, it's controlled by the books' publishers. Just a fyi.

That's why I always bought used online.

My text books for the next quarter are $473 :x

The worst part is one book costs $207, and it's a "custom edition." That generally means it's only available from the "approved" bookstore and nobody will buy it back. I just priced custom edition buybacks on some text books from last year. One cost over $100. Amazon won't touch it, but another made me an offer: $1.73.

While I am ranting, my tuition is $4660 a quarter, so ~$5000 with books. It's a 2.5 year program. My Master's will cost $50,000. For the first year or so I wasn't working and was taking the excess loan money. I'm eligible for about $22,000 every 9 months. If someone takes the full amount to use for living expenses, etc, the loan amount excluding interest is ~$73,000.

[DemonGeminiX]

I had an instructor of a political science class write his own "book of notes" and sold it to his students for his class. Granted, he wasn't charging nearly as much as other books cost, but still, we had to buy a book plus his "book of notes". I was all like "Go fuck yourself, you enterprising prick". I seriously unleashed on his ass. That was the day he started allowing his students to Xerox his book for the cost of copy paper.

We're still friends to this day.

:lol:

[KevinD]

I didn't go to a real college. I got my Associates in Electronic Engineering from a trade school. 20 actual hrs of class a week, for two straight years. I took out some student loans to help pay the tuition, but was working full time (50-70hrs/week) to pay for rent vehicle, etc. I paid my student loans off years ago, and have never regretted doing it the way I did. Upon graduation, I went to work for a plastic factory in the maintenance dept. I spent 14 years there at the end of which, I was making about 60k a year. I make more than that now, and have been in my current job for about 7 years.
I remember when I turned in my resume for my current job, the interviewer asked did I truly only have 5 jobs since high school (including the service).

A local talk show host is entirely correct: College isn't meant for everyone, and not everyone is meant for college.

[deebakes]

i've been employed at the same place since i graduated from college in 2001 :shrug:

[KevinD]

I graduated HS in 87, then got my degree in 93. Since the degree, I've had two jobs. Only left the first job due to stress, and making a lot more money, :lol:

[deebakes]

my sister (graduated same year as you) has probably had 9 jobs in the same span :shrug:

[PorkChopSandwiches]

I had a sugar daddy support me thru school. But I only graduated Jr High

[Hugh_Janus]

I left at 16 and got a job paying £45 per week :dance: