Chris Said:

Where can i find out about student loan forgiveness?

We Answered:

Here is detailed information on all of the student loan forgiveness programs that the government offers:

http://www.finaid.org/loans/forgiveness.…

Erik Said:

Loan Forgiveness Program - Is it too late?

We Answered:

Obama's loan forgiveness program for people with public service jobs is only available for loans made after Oct 1, 2007 and only AFTER that person has made 120 payments. (10 years after they start repaying) So unless you are thinking of going back to school and borrowing MORE money, this program would not apply to you.

Kimberly Said:

Obama's student loan act, what exactly does it cover?

We Answered:

Any loans taken out prior to the effective date will not be included in this new plan. The plan is to limit your monthly payments to 10% of your income, and yes they will be forgiven after 20 years (but only if you don't default on them). This plan is also only for federal loans, which, if you're a dependent student your lifetime maximum for federal loans is $31,000. You can get a Bachelor's degree for $20,000-$30,000 - so, if you're looking at $200,000 for a Bachelor's degree... you need to choose a cheaper school. People with their doctorates take out $200,000 in student loans... not students with a 4-year degree. Your better off choosing a cheaper school, graduating with a much smaller debt, and sticking to the standard 10-year repayment. For $25,000 in debt that's about $300/month repayment for 10 years.

I wouldn't go to Cosmetology school... the other answerer explained the reasoning. Just transfer to a cheaper school and finish in 4 years.

Catherine Said:

Should President Obama bailout college graduates (4 year college graduates)?

We Answered:

How about up to three years deferment while you're unemployed? https://www.dl.ed.gov/borrower/Deferment…

Most people don't know about all the possible deferments available. There's a 'stay-home mom' deferment. https://www.dl.ed.gov/borrower/Deferment… (someone should challenge the gender bias of that one, there's no provision for 'stay home dad')

https://www.dl.ed.gov/borrower/Deferment… is the list.

If your debt is more than you can reasonably afford to pay, you can get a forbearance. https://www.dl.ed.gov/borrower/Forebeara…

Forgiveness programs exist too: https://www.dl.ed.gov/borrower/OtherForm…

You've already been offered a bailout plan. That already exists. There are plenty of options for you if you have federal loans. There are some that will forgive/write-off whole loans for you. They don't come with $100K salaries though.

Most of these won't work though if you're earning decent money. But then, why should they?

If you have private loans then that's a different matter altogether though - the government wouldn't have ability to do anything about those anyway.

If you're a graduate student taking at least six hours then you're loans remain in deferral while you're still a student.

If you mean "a graduate" then you can defer your loans several ways. You can also elect a number of payment plans that are very favorable to unemployed people (income contingent repayment for example).

You could consolidate your loans and take them to a 25 year repayment plan. This is especially good if you're entering public service or teaching - there's a special 10-year provision for public servants.

Even if you're not entering public service, 25 year payments are lower than 10 - but you'll pay more interest over time. The future value of money indicates that the interest won't be substantial when adjusted for inflation at the rate of the dollar 25 years in the future.

There are a lot of options. None of them are (or should be) "it's ok, we'll just pay off all student loans"

Socialists would say "yes, the government should pay everything for everyone" without mentioning that they'd have to tax you very steeply to accomplish that. They'd like for us to have no responsibility for our own needs - feeling that it's the role of the government to make certain that nobody gets more than anyone else.

We libertarians though will say "you knew you'd have to pay these loans back, why would you think I should pay for you to go to college (or eat, sleep inside, own a business, do nothing...)?"

Would you be thinking the same thing if you had a job paying $100K per year and we asked "do you think we should tax people at about 60% and with that money pay college loans for the unemployed?"

When we have not we tend to think someone else should help us have. When we have we tend to want to keep what we have.

I personally think the government should do away with all federal and state student financial aid - including loans. The result would be a swift and sharp fall in the cost of college.