OCCUPY STUDENT DEBT

Student debtor stories submitted by the 99%

I took out $60,000 in private student loans initially. This included living costs, lab costs and materials costs. Since I graduated in 2005, this has ballooned to $107,000. I pay $1350 a month simply to one set of private student loans from Sallie Mae. They absolutely refuse to work with me. If I wasn’t lucky enough to find a “decent” paying job, I would still be behind on these bills. It took me years to even be caught up at all — in the process hurting my credit and demolishing my debt to income ratio. Actually owning anything seems like a pipe dream. I took out $60,000 in private student loans initially. This included living costs, lab costs and materials costs. Since I graduated in 2005, this has ballooned to $107,000. I pay $1350 a month simply to one set of private student loans from Sallie Mae. These are not the only loans I have, yet they account for over 50% of my monthly income. The interest alone is somewhere around $1000 per month. If I wasn’t lucky enough to find a “decent” paying job, I would still be behind on these bills. It took me years to even be caught up at all — in the process hurting my credit and demolishing my debt to income ratio. Actually owning anything seems like a pipe dream. Sallie Mae generally refuses to work with me. I sometimes get calls saying they want to help — the only question asked if how I will be paying. If I’m late, the website displays threatening messages about how they can ruin my life and garnage my wages. The only time they EVER even have attempted to play fair was after I filed a formal complaint with the CFPB. One thing I think is often ignored is the role the school plays in this. My school, IADT Chicago, instantly whipped out Sallie Mae paperwork the second financial aid was mentioned. They actively discouraged using other lenders, essentially making me feel like a criminal when I tried to do so. I feel punished for going to school. To expect a 17/18 year old to fully understand a system that so directly misleads and intimidates them is insane.

I took out $60,000 in private student loans initially. This included living costs, lab costs and materials costs. Since I graduated in 2005, this has ballooned to $107,000. I pay $1350 a month simply to one set of private student loans from Sallie Mae.

They absolutely refuse to work with me. If I wasn’t lucky enough to find a “decent” paying job, I would still be behind on these bills. It took me years to even be caught up at all — in the process hurting my credit and demolishing my debt to income ratio. Actually owning anything seems like a pipe dream.

I took out $60,000 in private student loans initially. This included living costs, lab costs and materials costs. Since I graduated in 2005, this has ballooned to $107,000. I pay $1350 a month simply to one set of private student loans from Sallie Mae. These are not the only loans I have, yet they account for over 50% of my monthly income. The interest alone is somewhere around $1000 per month.

If I wasn’t lucky enough to find a “decent” paying job, I would still be behind on these bills. It took me years to even be caught up at all — in the process hurting my credit and demolishing my debt to income ratio. Actually owning anything seems like a pipe dream.

Sallie Mae generally refuses to work with me. I sometimes get calls saying they want to help — the only question asked if how I will be paying. If I’m late, the website displays threatening messages about how they can ruin my life and garnage my wages. The only time they EVER even have attempted to play fair was after I filed a formal complaint with the CFPB.

One thing I think is often ignored is the role the school plays in this. My school, IADT Chicago, instantly whipped out Sallie Mae paperwork the second financial aid was mentioned. They actively discouraged using other lenders, essentially making me feel like a criminal when I tried to do so.

I feel punished for going to school. To expect a 17/18 year old to fully understand a system that so directly misleads and intimidates them is insane.