Student Loan Forgiveness Act of 2012

[blueblob06]

KYXU - thanks. All good points. Several of my friends are a year or 2 out of med school and definitely in lots of loan debt. I see the positives and negatives of this Act for sure. If passed, I would be happy for my friends who have 20+ yr loans but I'd probably be a little bitter that my first 10 yrs after college I lived pretty frugal so I could knock out all our loans.

[blueblob06]

this is the kind of stuff that makes me sick. I worked two jobs (40-50 hours per week) while I was taking full class loads so i didn't have to take out any loans.

I absolutely worked my ass off to ensure I would graduate with 0 debt. I understand that not everyone who took out loans abused the system, but i know quite a few people who took out loans specifically so they didn't have to work and could party or better yet so they could afford nice clothes and expensive trips.

To think that those people who abused the system might now be forgiven makes me sick to my stomache.

All those Friday and Saturday nights i missed out on trying to ensure a better future for myself might have been useless.

This is the problem with making it all better for those who did it the wrong way, you end up hurting those who did it right.

Just curious, when did you graduate? Some of my friends and I at XU worked quite a bit but seemed like the tuition/dorms/etc from 2003 to 2006 was way too high for any of us to possibly pay it off as we went...

[gladdenguy]

this is the kind of stuff that makes me sick. I worked two jobs (40-50 hours per week) while I was taking full class loads so i didn't have to take out any loans.

I absolutely worked my ass off to ensure I would graduate with 0 debt. I understand that not everyone who took out loans abused the system, but i know quite a few people who took out loans specifically so they didn't have to work and could party or better yet so they could afford nice clothes and expensive trips.

To think that those people who abused the system might now be forgiven makes me sick to my stomache.

All those Friday and Saturday nights i missed out on trying to ensure a better future for myself might have been useless.

This is the problem with making it all better for those who did it the wrong way, you end up hurting those who did it right.

You should be proud of yourself. Don't be pissed because others take the easy way out.

[chico]

Personally I don't like it. Those who have planned properly and worked hard get shafted.

But as to the point to those who take lower paying jobs like legal aid and non-profit. Maybe they get relief as an incentive to work there. It would probably be a boondoggle trying to figure out which professions would qualify but it might help those professions where there is low pay (or something like a doc in a small town that's struggling to find a doc to stay) to give a break on the loans if you work there for a particular length of time.

[boozehound]

It will be one more thing I can pay for other people who didn't make wise or appropriate decisions. Such as going to an expensive school to major in something you can't make any money doing.

Ding Ding Ding! I know tons of people who got degrees for stuff that you either can't make any money doing or that they never even wanted to do. Many of them didn't work much and some borrowed money for room and board in addition to tuition.

We need to start being smart about college decisions. If your parents aren't helping with tuition and you don't qualify for any scholarships then perhaps you shouldn't go to Xavier for your teaching degree. I never could understand the kids at X who were taking out $100K in student loans to get a degree to teach high school. I don't know how they were ever planning to pay that back, but I also think many kids aren't thinking about what their student loan payments will be upon graduation when they are 18 and choosing a college and a major.

I don't mean this as disrespectful to teachers at all. I just couldn't imagine borrowing that much to get a teaching degree, particularly when many state schools have excellent programs that are far cheaper.

Such as going to college/grad school?

I went to grad school. My company paid for about 80% of it by the time it was said and done. I paid the rest out of pocket. In fact, every company I have worked for (4) have all offered grad school tuition reimbursement. In my mind the idea of going to an expensive full-time grad school is reserved for either the wealthy or people going to Ivy League schools who will make $200K upon graduation. The rest of us can get graduate degrees while we work.

I will say that I think we need more affordable college options for people. The cost of many schools is becoming outrageous. This is particularly bad for high school teachers who now need Masters degrees. I dont' understand that at all.

[drudy23]

Or is this simply a band-aid for the root cause? Colleges are simply charging way too much. We talk about the students who have made "bad decisions" - what about the schools that are spending the money they don't have and passing that on to the students.

How about legislation to cap tuition costs?

[blueblob06]

I know there are already some breaks set up for school teachers and certain school employees (at least in Ohio) where if teachers work in the same school district that meets certain poverty-level requirements, they get either $5K or $10K (can't remember which) knocked off their loan balance.

But, as usual, it's not a perfect setup. My wife counsels kids at a non-profit (not at a school) and she doesn't qualify for that.

[kyxu]

But as to the point to those who take lower paying jobs like legal aid and non-profit. Maybe they get relief as an incentive to work there. It would probably be a boondoggle trying to figure out which professions would qualify but it might help those professions where there is low pay (or something like a doc in a small town that's struggling to find a doc to stay) to give a break on the loans if you work there for a particular length of time.

Fortunately, that exists. I think if you work in the public sector for 10 years, a chunk of your loans are forgiven. I don't know the details, though.

I went to grad school. My company paid for about 80% of it by the time it was said and done. I paid the rest out of pocket. In fact, every company I have worked for (4) have all offered grad school tuition reimbursement. In my mind the idea of going to an expensive full-time grad school is reserved for either the wealthy or people going to Ivy League schools who will make $200K upon graduation. The rest of us can get graduate degrees while we work.

Sure, there are plenty of instances where employers pay for a two-year master's program. Good for you. That isn't always the case, though. I can't think of many hospitals, clinics, or law firms that pay kids out of college to go to medical or law school.

[kyxu]

Or is this simply a band-aid for the root cause? Colleges are simply charging way too much.

I remember when I was visiting law schools, there was a session on student loans and borrowing that I attended. While this particular law school showed the slide that indicated their annual tuition of $25K+, the administrator said "don't let money be the reason you don't go to law school." And this was to a room full of 21-year-old kids who think they're going to walk into a job making $90K at 25. What do they know? Law school administrators have been a big culprit in the whole student loan debt crisis.

[xlax]

Just curious, when did you graduate? Some of my friends and I at XU worked quite a bit but seemed like the tuition/dorms/etc from 2003 to 2006 was way too high for any of us to possibly pay it off as we went...

I didn't go to XU, specifically because of the tuition.