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If you’re 90 days late on your student loan bills, don’t worry, you have company.
The Federal Reserve estimates that over 11 percent of all student loan debt is delinquent. Compare that to delinquency rates of mortgages, credit cards and car loans, it’s easy to see that paying down student debt isn’t quite as high on the list of priorities for Americans.
I get it. It’s not like the government can repossess your degree or get you fired from your job. They can garnish your wages if the loan happens to be federal, but private student loan lenders are shit out of luck when it comes to dealing with delinquent borrowers.
American student loan debt has now soared to over $1.2 trillion dollars. That’s more than the government spends on welfare each year. Why is that number so high? Well, student loan debt cannot be forgiven in bankruptcy.. You owe that money no matter what. It follows you wherever you go. Student loan debt is basically herpes.
There’s no equity in student loans except for the borrower’s credit score, which can be repaired over time. In the grand scheme, what’s more important, keeping a roof over your head and a car in your garage or paying off your gaudy student loan debt on time? Thought so.
I’m not saying people don’t give a shit about their student loans, but if there’s a month where I have to choose which bill to put off until next month, it’s my student loan nine out of ten times. Have I gone 90 days without paying it? Almost, but that was one time when I changed banks and “forgot” about the whole thing. I swear. Let me just check with my bank real quick. This sounds like a problem on their end…(click).
[via Washington Post]
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Brian McGannon
What do I love? I love happy hour, a good golf tan, and getting moderately drunk during dinner.
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The problem of student loan debt was created entirely by the government who gave loans to every kid out of high school like it was candy. What happened? Universities increased tuition because the government will pay it no matter what the cost and everyone is getting a degree making it practically worthless! Hurray!
Exactly. Furthermore, we as a generation have been told from birth that it is absolutely necessary to go to college to get a good job. That if you don’t go to college, you will NEVER be successful. So you have people going to college, screwing around for 6 years because nothing in college really interested them, and then finding out that their Art degree doesn’t have a whole lot of weight in the private sector. So what do they do? Go to grad school, increasing their debt, and devaluing the graduate degrees of people who are really interested in the subject they chose.
You two nailed it. My only two cents to add is that college professor salaries have risen roughly 30% or $50k in the last 30 years. I highly doubt the job requirements have changed that much over the years, and now days teachers can and do less because of the internet and technology. I had a tenured professor read from PPT that he created in 1975 for an entire semester, yet he made over $120k…doesn’t make sense to me, but what do I know.
I’d say the explosion of administrators in terms of size and salary is a larger concern, too. Your tenured professor is an example of the older system, but now I’d say you’re more likely to have a faculty adjunct who’s barely making above 30k for several years in the hope of “someday” being made tenured.
I think I addressed the salary portion of that, and the tenure example was just that, an example. But good points on the expansion of university staffing. I did see a jump in adjunct professors Gettin my freshman to my senior (second senior) year. I feel like professors are required to teach fewer classes than they ever have before, more teachers teaching fewer classes. Unlike most businesses, who are doing the exact opposite and trying to do more with fewer employees; because they actually have to be realistic and follow a budget that can’t increase at the snap of a finger and an increase in tuition.
See, I don’t mind if professors teach fewer classes, per say. I had a biopsychology teacher that was easily one of the worst teachers I’ve ever had… but she easily generated hundreds of thousands of dollars of research grants because there were so few people that were qualified to do what she could.
I’m certainly not saying that’s the case in every situation, but at the very least, I have the feeling that most professors are at least contributing to academia in -some- way.
Administrators though? It’s horseshit. They’re paid exorbitant amounts of money, and I honestly couldn’t tell you why there needs to be so many vice presidents, assistant vice presidents, assistant to the vice presidents, provosts, etc. What they do doesn’t contribute much to higher learning; it may make a nicer gym, but that’s not why you should be in school.
That’s true, I’m obviously not spreading on every example, and I’ve had similar experiences as you explained. The most interesting thing I found was the pay roll sheet that every state school is required to publish…really made me hate some Admin/profs (ones who could give a shit about students and were only there for themselves) and feel sorry for others (ones who cared and didn’t make shit).
You must be The Smartest Man on the Internet!
I have no sympathy for kids who screwed around in high school to where they couldn’t get a scholarship, and then took out a loan to go to an out of state party school to major in history for 5 years.
Rising tuition isn’t news. Not everyone ought to go to college, and kids should take some responsibility for lacking long term goals and planning.
In other news, going to a trade school to become a plumber, electrician, and mechanic, while not very glamorous, is very profitable career path and much cheaper.
Or bitch and moan and down vote me. I’m a white man but I worked my ass off and was able to get scholarships to pay for school while having a part time job. Enjoy your debt.
I agree with one point and disagree with another. Some kids (like me) don’t mature enough to realize how important high school (academic) achievements can be for your future. I got into Lander University, partied for 2 years and ended up right back in small town SC with a load of student loans. That whole tone I didn’t understand what the setbacks I was creating for myself. I got a 2 mechatronics at my local CC upon my return. Made more starting out than most of my friends with a Bach. from Clemson or SC. I rapidly paid off my student loans and was able to go back and get my bachelor’s in business from SC and now work for one of the best Country Clubs in the state making a very competitive salary. On the other hand, I have friends who received no higher education that have make as much or more than I. Point being, if you don’t get a scholarship, or don’t flourish in HS, IT JUST DOESNT MATTER! Make a plan and work hard to see it unfold.
http://cdn.meme.am/instances/500x/54667026.jpg
Should I get a new car? nope, gotta pay off student loans.
Should I get a mortgage for a house? nope, gotta pay student loans.
Should I get a credit card? nope, bad idea gotta pay student loans.
You also have to acknowledge those who are taking out over $200K for a bullshit degree. Unless you’re getting an engineering or some other STEM degree, go to a public school for undergrad.
Interestingly, the more you owe the less likely you are to default on a student loan.
http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2015/02/19/whos-most-likely-to-default-on-student-loans/
The majority of those higher balances though belong to doctors and lawyers, people who have careers with salaries capable of paying these loans back. I guess my point was more toward the kid who goes to NYU for Art History
Yeah… my baby mama is getting a 40k a year business degree to teach yoga for a living.
If the government is going to give out welfare money, it should be spent on the thousands of college grads living below the poverty line because they have to pay their student loans along with all of their other bills.
Our student loans shot up because state governments reduced funding to universities who then raised tuition. The state governments are too busy funding absurd pension promises to our parents and grandparents generation to pay for our shit.
Had a full-tuition+ scholarship but still managed to rack up some student loan debt (little north of 15K) to make ends meet on the basics like housing, food, and beer. Probably could have saved some money on less partying, but I also worked a bunch of hours making decent money as a software dev intern. Definitely needed a degree for my job, so student loans were a necessity for me.
That said, I wonder if unsubsidized student loan interest rates would have stayed lower if we didn’t give grants and subsidized loans to every fuckwit from the low tax brackets. I’m all for the government helping with your higher education if you have the brains and drive, but there is no reason to take such a drastic leap of faith for high school students that couldn’t get a 3.0.
I would guess that part of this also relates to having to put a down payment and having “proof” you can repay a mortgage (or most/all of the forms of debt in the chart) compared to student loans which, obviously, don’t require proof of income from the student.
Get a scholarship, dumbasses.
Danielle Paquette? Would.