Anonymous wrote: Educational loans are such a horrible racket. We will be paying off my husband's loans (he was an immigrant whose family lost everything to a nasty revolution elsewhere) until our oldest is ready to go to college. I'm glad he has his degrees, but I think it is criminal that there is a huge effort to help people who spent more than they should have on houses, but not a single care about those who are saddled forever for school loans. I'm pretty sure the public service programs that the PP mentions are only very recent, and don't apply to any of us who have been out of school for awhile.

The problem is not the loans. You signed on the dotted line and chose to keep going for more degrees.

The real crime is the over inflated cost of tuition. The universities do not need to charge what they charge. Just look at the size of their endowments. How much do the spend on fitness centers? On making the huge common areas look beautiful? On administrative costs.

The cost of college tuition is the issue here, not the loans. One can assume that if you are smart enough to earn multiple degrees that you are smart enough to do the math to see how much you are borrowing vs the earning potential of your career vs the price between some overpriced ivy or a reputable, less expensive school.

What is the interest rate on the loan? Can you negotiate that rather than trying to negotiate forgiveness of some of the loan amount?

According to my calculations, $125,000 amortized over 25 years at 5 percent interest, results in payments of $730.74 a month. Not great, but much better than the $1,800 a month you are paying.

If the original lender won't negotiate on the interest rate, do you have someplace else you can borrow the money at a lower interest rate to pay off the original lender? If you are a nurse, is their a credit union associated with your employer? Your income should be secure so it seems like someone should be willing to lend you the money at a reasonable interest rate.

Anonymous wrote:PP here (which is OP) - if I say, I can pay XXX number of dollars per month, instead of their calculated amount that I owe, they will not take *anything* less. Even based on their calculations if I pay the minimum amount that is due (based on their summaries that are sent), I will be 70 by the time it's paid off!!

What is the interest rate? How fast do they want you to pay off? 7 years? $1800/month will pay off $125k n less than 7 years assuming 5% rate.

PP here (which is OP) - if I say, I can pay XXX number of dollars per month, instead of their calculated amount that I owe, they will not take *anything* less. Even based on their calculations if I pay the minimum amount that is due (based on their summaries that are sent), I will be 70 by the time it's paid off!!

So anyone who has private loans that they can't pay, they have to chose between paying their student loan vs. shelter, food on the table, clothing for their kid, or otherwise wages are garnished. It's insane! And they won't make a deal to lower the payments, and I've already maxed out my (2 year) graduated repayment plan and forbearance periods. I'm totally screwed. I would have been better off getting a minimum wage job and living off the stupid government.

Educational loans are such a horrible racket. We will be paying off my husband's loans (he was an immigrant whose family lost everything to a nasty revolution elsewhere) until our oldest is ready to go to college. I'm glad he has his degrees, but I think it is criminal that there is a huge effort to help people who spent more than they should have on houses, but not a single care about those who are saddled forever for school loans. I'm pretty sure the public service programs that the PP mentions are only very recent, and don't apply to any of us who have been out of school for awhile.

Anonymous wrote:You can't even discharge student loans in bankruptcy. They'll come after your estate when you die. I don't think they have any incentive to settle.

I think private student loans has a statute of limitations. It's the federal loans that can come after you for ever and ever

I don't know anything much about it but read govt has an income based repayment program for ten years that lets you discharge the balance at the end. I think you need to do things like work in high needs areas (ie, teach in the inner city, et al). It seems like nursing might qualify and you can take a look at it. I read about it in the NYT.

Good luck!

You can't even discharge student loans in bankruptcy. They'll come after your estate when you die. I don't think they have any incentive to settle.

I've never heard of that, but I guess it can't hurt to ask. I would try to do some more research and see if there are negotiators or attorneys who specialize in this kind of thing.

The good thing about nursing is that you can pick up extra, well paid shifts, and that should help you make a debt in your loans.

No advice, but just wanted to say, it was not a mistake to get your education. Imagine what your life and that of your child would be if you hadn't gone on to get your degrees. That you did is amazing. When I was paying student loans, my financial planner always told me that my education debt wasn't a mistake. He often ran numbers for me and, while it felt like I'd never get out from the debt, I could at least see how much better my life was for having gone to school.

With a masters degree, you should be able to get a DON position, which should be a pretty decent income. Good luck.

You can call them and ask them if you can do a graduated repayment program. My husband and I started out with close to $450,000 in law school debt and began payback initially with a graduated repayment program, which meant that we paid less at first and then more as we made more money.

I feel for you. This is a really tough road. In my experience, they won't "settle" with you. You may be able to stretch out the payments though. I think you need to try to make more money and see if your family can help at all.

Anonymous wrote:Can you work in medical sales?

+1. Hate to say but you need to make big $$, and nursing won't get you there.

Can you work in medical sales?

My (short version):

I got pregnant (stupid accident) at the age of 17. Dropped out of HS, got my GED. At 20, I went to a private college and got my nursing degree (Associate's). Subsequently, went on to get my Bachelor's in Nursing and now finally Master's in Nursing Administration. Graduated with my BSN Magna Cum Laude.

Not many people can say they started out as a single, young mother at age 17, got a GED and then went on to accomplish great things. I beat the odds (yay, me! haha).

HOWEVER, I am drowning in my 125K worth of private student loans for undergrad school. And my income nowhere near allows me to pay my student loan bills per month ($1800). If I default, they will garnish my wages and then I will be in really big financial trouble.

Is it at all possible to settle with the lender of the loans (cannot consolidate) for less than the money owed? How do I go about doing that? Is there ANY other alternative I have? I know declaring bankruptcy will not discharge these loans. It was a huge mistake to take out private loans, but all my 20-year-old-single-mother-with-a-GED self wanted to do was go back to school and make something of myself, and these private loans helped pay my living expenses.

Can anyone offer advice??