No More Help from Sallie Mae

If I were you, and you have multiple loans I would consolidate with a
different lender and also apply for deferment. I think normally
lenders don't consolidate their own loans, you have to do it at
another institution. Also, Sallie Mae offers some income contingent
plans based on a percentage of what your monthly gross is. I would
look in to that as well - this may seem daunting now but the economy
will improve and you will find a better job. You just need to hold
your head above the water in the mean time - even if it means cutting
back on other expenses (i.e. moving back home with your parents,
getting rid of your cell phone...).

On another note - in response to the posters who claimed they "worked
their way through college". I'm sure a lot of people would love to do
that but it just isn't realistic anymore. I graduated from an
IN-STATE UNIVERSITY and every semester the tuition increased 5-10%
which is well above inflation. The government just doesn't prioritize
funding education as highly as they do other things (i.e. wars,
corporate tax breaks) and the available federal financial aid has
remained stagnant for many years forcing people to get higher interest
private loans and more debt.

I was fortunate enough to have tuition paid for with a scholarship but
I still had to max out the amount of federal aid available every year,
worked 30+ hours a week at the same time, and lived at home with the
parents; but after paying books and student fees (which are actually
more than tuition), I had to live off of ~5k per year. It was hard,
and I ended up with ~30k in student loan debt. Luckily, I found a job
immediately after I graduated, but my monthly payments are still over
10% of my gross pay even after extending the repayment to 20 years.

Despite what many people have had to say about the original poster
needing to learn life lessons, life skills, etc, I have to say, Sallie
Mae is an absolute evil company with criminal practices. Most
peoples' loans are bought by Sallie Mae, and unless you know about
Sallie Mae prior to obtaining your loans, you would never be able to
foresee the damage Sallie Mae does once you graduate. I have a loan
that was bought by Sallie Mae. Everything the original poster has
said is very accurate, including the $12K in interest. It's insane.
People whose loans get bought by Sallie Mae have no options and no say
and that is exactly why Sallie Mae does things the way they do.
Again, it borders on criminal. I don't blame the original poster for
being outraged. These ARE tough economical times; some of the
toughest we have seen in some time. I feel it is wrong to blame the
letter-writer for getting an education or to tell her that she should
have thought more about her major before getting a high-priced
education. My sister is an attorney and is having a hard time finding
work. Should she have to go get a job or two waitressing, I think she
will be a little bitter too.

Despite what many people have had to say about the original poster
needing to learn life lessons, life skills, etc, I have to say, Sallie
Mae is an absolute evil company with criminal practices. Most
peoples' loans are bought by Sallie Mae, and unless you know about
Sallie Mae prior to obtaining your loans, you would never be able to
foresee the damage Sallie Mae does once you graduate. I have a loan
that was bought by Sallie Mae. Everything the original poster has
said is very accurate, including the $12K in interest. It's insane.
People whose loans get bought by Sallie Mae have no options and no say
and that is exactly why Sallie Mae does things the way they do.
Again, it borders on criminal. I don't blame the original poster for
being outraged. These ARE tough economical times; some of the
toughest we have seen in some time. I feel it is wrong to blame the
letter-writer for getting an education or to tell her that she should
have thought more about her major before getting a high-priced
education. My sister is an attorney and is having a hard time finding
work. Should she have to go get a job or two waitressing, I think she
will be a little bitter too.

Despite what many people have had to say about the original poster
needing to learn life lessons, life skills, etc, I have to say, Sallie
Mae is an absolute evil company with criminal practices. Most
peoples' loans are bought by Sallie Mae, and unless you know about
Sallie Mae prior to obtaining your loans, you would never be able to
foresee the damage Sallie Mae does once you graduate. I have a loan
that was bought by Sallie Mae. Everything the original poster has
said is very accurate, including the $12K in interest. It's insane.
People whose loans get bought by Sallie Mae have no options and no say
and that is exactly why Sallie Mae does things the way they do.
Again, it borders on criminal. I don't blame the original poster for
being outraged. These ARE tough economical times; some of the
toughest we have seen in some time. I feel it is wrong to blame the
letter-writer for getting an education or to tell her that she should
have thought more about her major before getting a high-priced
education. My sister is an attorney and is having a hard time finding
work. Should she have to go get a job or two waitressing, I think she
will be a little bitter too.

A lot has already been said about the fact that this is your loan and
your responsibility, so I'll respond directly to what smacked me in
the face about this letter:

You're working jobs that are "beneath you" and your education level?
Get a reality check, dear. MANY thousands of Americans are, and they
make things work; and incidentally, you aren't better than people who
don't have your stellar level of education, and some of them might be
making more money than you.

Sorry, I just don't have tolerance for people who throw their
$100,000.00 pieces of paper in everybody's face, talking about things
that are beneath them. That degree taught you nothing about real
life.

While I don't agree with the original letter writer (Sallie Mae
appears to have helped him/her as much as they can and it's just not
their problem that the letter writer can't find a good job. In today's
troubled economy they can't afford to make exceptions for everyone) I
am quite appalled to see some of the rude and condescending remarks
aimed at people with student loans.

I graduated in 1992 with over 30K in loans. For your information I
started working for college money when I was 14, and I worked 25hrs a
week all through high school. In college I worked two jobs and so did
my mother (Dad was not in the picture). I still needed student loans
to get my tuition and room/board paid and no I didn't go to a fancy
ivy league school. For several years after I graduated I worked in
some pretty low paying jobs because it was all I could find, and I did
get a couple of hardship deferments.

I will have my loan paid off in 7 more years. Now that I have a good
paying job in the field my degree is in I pay over $300 a month toward
my student loan. It kills me but the faster I get it paid off the
better. There is nothing wrong with getting student loans and people
who do have them shoudn't be looked down upon.

OP, you will never find a company willing to pay off your loans.
That's your responsibility. Sallie Mae has done all they can. Go out
and get a job, even if it's at McDonalds, and maybe even two. No job
should be beneath you if it offers a paycheck. In this economy no one
can afford to be choosy. Good luck and happy holidays!

I too have loans from Sallie Mae (not by choice- they bought my loans
form another lender). Every time I have called them with a question
they have been less than helpful.
As far as payment plans go (I have 65,000 plus), I can only suggest
you try for an economic hardship deferrment. They defer payment for
one year and you are allowed (by law) to get up to three hardship
deferments in a lifetime. If you truly cannot come up with payment, yo
may want to check this out. The qualifications for it are across the
board- not just Sallie Mae policy.
You may also want to look in to consolidating your loans with another
lender. I am in grad school right now and my new loans are with
another lender. When I graduate I will be pulling my undergrad loan
and consolidating it with my current loan company.
Whatever you do, don't get behind. I know people who got behind and it
screwed up their tax refunds, etc.

There seems to be a spate of letters like yours, telling a company
they are offereing awful, terrible or whatever customer service for
sticking to the terms of a business relationship all side agreed to.
Heck, sounds like they have done a lot to try and help you. It would
be nice if they could do more, but they have obligations to meet as a
business, and not helping you more isn't one of them.

So Sallie Mae takes a hit to help you out, then they would have to do
the same to everyone, then the government would end up bailing them
out with MY tax dollars?

Not fair.

I chose to work my way through school and not rack up any debt. So
many college graduates expect to just pop right into these high-paying
jobs, they go to uber-expensives schools thinking the money will be
there to pay it off when they get out.

Perhaps high schools should teach the students that things aren't that
easy.

Much has been made (see below) of how people need to be responsible
for the loans they take out.

I don't know Ashley's situation, so this may not apply to her.

However, many people that enter college are rather young. 17 or 18
years ago, without any experience in managing money and dealing with
the "real world." These kids are naive and ignorant, simply because
they've never had to repay a debt of this size, manage a household, or
do the thousands of other things that grownups do. What they do know
is that they need to go to college, that they really want to go to
THIS school, and that some day... in the far future... they'll have a
job. It all seems to make sense.

In some cases, the student isn't even the one taking out the loan.
It's the parents, who they saddle their kid with the responsibility of
paying a debt that the kid wasn't mature enough to understand.
Remember, we're talking, in some cases, about minors that really can't
enter into contracts.

Obviously, there are generalizations here. There are plenty of young
people that do "get it" or learn the lessons quickly.

But, apparently, not all.

I am a customer of Sallie Mae. However, I do not have to start paying
my loans until 2011. I have approached them to start paying interest
and I will do so here in the near future.

I am terrified of graduating with large student loan debt. I have a
cap - I have told myself that I am not allowed to borrow more than
$65,000. I hope I can stick to that number. Even through my masters.

My education IS priceless but student loans are scary!

When I graduated from college (many moons ago) I was only able to get
a temp job. I went to my bank and they were able to defer my payments
on my loan 6 months (and they said they would extend that if I still
hadn't found a job) , but I still had to pay the interst payments.
Was this a hardship for me - yes, but I chose to take out the loan and
now I had to take responsibility for it.

I really wouldn't take a another loan out if I were you - you'll only
dig yourself into a deeper hole.

Maybe Obama can get a bailout plan for all college graduates who dont
want to get a "lesser job beneath them" to repay student loans.

You chose to sign up for this. Personally I worked 1 full time job and
sometimes 2 jobs during college. I paid for school along tie way!!!
What a concept!!! I commmuted to a local community college, then to a
state university that was an hour away.

You chose the student loan route, now its time to pay your debts. It
was great while you were going to school wasnt it? Now its time to pay
up.


Good Day

Depending on how much the original loan was, then it may be
uneconomical for them to wipe out a loan after $12, 000. Think about
it. If someone owed you $5, 000, would you accept $50 or $100 only,
even after extending the life of the loan and accepting smaller
amounts?

This is why I have a back-up plan if I can't get a job at my education
level after graduation. Don't knock it till you try it, adult dancers
make great tips.

I'm sorry you got yourself into this mess by taking on this loan. It
isn't Sallie Mae's fault, you know. You should have thought hard
about what would happen if you couldn't find a well paying job to pay
off that fine education. I've only got myself into a handful of loans
in my life, and I always have a plan for paying them off if my
circumstances change.

You are hoping to find a company to pay off your loans? Good luck.

Greed is a bad thing, and there has been plenty to go around on the
part of companies and consumers alike. The bottom line, though, is
you took on a boatload of debt as a young person. I hope you find a
decent way out - MA has some ideas below.

apply for a forebearance?

There should be options for suspending your payments if you are not
working full time or are under an economic hardship.

Unless Sallie Mae has changed their policies with the recent downturn,
I'd certainly think you should qualify.

Try CALMLY calling them back and ask if you can apply for a
forebearance or deferment of your payments. And have your loan
paperwork with you - there has to be something in the terms that
states what options you will have and under what circumstances. This
is a federally funded loan program and they usually have the same
guidelines for all borrowers.

And DON'T expect them to reach out to you. This is your debt and they
aren't going to help you if you won't help yourself first. Be willing
to do whatever they ask you and if you can pay a little while on
forebearance,do that to as it will show them that you're serious about
paying the loan.

No one forced this loan on you. You did happen to notice the interest
rate before you signed right? You should have done the math then, not
now when you can't afford it.

They already extended the life of the loan, making your payments
smaller. They did not have to do that. Saying that they have not
helped you is absurd.

They did you a favor loaning you money. You promised to pay according
to the terms. And somehow you feel wronged and entitled to "options"
after the fact?

Not only were the lenders getting greedy, but so were the consumers.
Which is a reason why we are in this mess; people taking on loans they
weren't going to be able to pay back.

"What about me, the average American worker who is working a couple of
jobs for pay that is way under her education level."

This is nothing new. Again, something you should have considered when
taking out this loan.

They have already extended your loan (for which you show no
gratitude). Now you've written a public letter describimg them as
greedy, sickening, appalling and stating that you will never recommend
them. Why exactly would they want to help you at this point?

This daunting economic mess didn't just pop up one day out of the
blue; it's been brewing for a long time. I'm surprised that someone
of your educational level didn't catch a whiff--or at least think
about how to pay it all back.

If I were in your position, which I am, I would have to accept the
fact that I made the decision to go into such a great amount of debt
for school. Yes, an education is important and the life of the mind
can't be underrated. But you can think great thots for free--it's
tuition that costs. So, I have to agree that it is not Sallie Mae's
duty to make sure you are responsible for your debts--you should have
kept things like prospective job markets, etc. in mind when deciding
where to go for your education and how to pay for it.

Greed is the reason we're all in this mess, but sweetpea, but it's not
just because of Sallie Mae's greed or corporate greed in general.
Most individuals can shoulder a bit of the responsibility--like you.
And OMG! You're working jobs FOR PAY THAT IS WAY UNDER YOUR EDUCATION
LEVEL! Yes, your statement did merit all caps. Get over yourself.
You will lead a happier, more fulfilling and meaningful life.

The other side of the "mess" this country is in is that people who
should have known better took out mortgages, loans, and credit that
they couldn't afford.

While I feel for your situation, it was your responsibilty to know how
much you would have to pay back when school ended and to make sure it
was an amount that wouldn't cripple you.

What do you think would happen to the "company with a heart" if it
gave every student loan holder a break? It probably wouldn't be in
business long. If your loan hasn't reached re-payment yet how has the
company made 12K from your loan? They don't make a dime until they
have the money in hand, do they?

If you have paid $12000 IN INTEREST (that's what you're saying in this
letter), then you should have considered what your major was before
acquiring so much education-related debt.

But since I don't believe that you've paid $12K in interest alone, I'm
going to say this: Time for you to learn some life skills.