re: At least half of students defaulted or failed to pay down debt within 7 years

I just looked at the federal government website regarding loans. As far as I can tell, total and permanent disability only allows forgiveness of FFEL, Perkins loans, Ford Direct loans, and TEACH grants. I don't see anything saying that Stafford loans are eligible. Either way, you would have to meet the criteria for total and permanent disability, so if your condition has a prognosis of you being disabled for just a year or you are only partially disabled, you wouldn't qualify. For example, if you are undergoing chemotherapy and you can only work part time due to fatigue, but you're not totally and permanently disabled, your loan wouldn't be forgiven. In that case, you're financially better off being dead unless you have good disability insurance.

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Student loan debt is not dischargeable. I think that became law under Clinton or GWB, I can't remember.

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The risk associated with letting students discharge debt would make it prohibitively expensive to offer the loans. That wouldn't be a bad thing, but it just highlights how poor the system is setup.

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We need a student loan forgiveness program. It is long overdue.

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We already have student loan forgiveness programs.

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We need a student loan forgiveness program. It is long overdue.

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For undergrad, it's called the GI Bill. For many professional degrees, there are forgiveness programs if you work in an underserved area for a certain number of years after school.

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Oh. Why do I always here about 7 year thing?

Must be redditor delusion

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7 years is a Credit Report Statute of Limitations (SOL). Except bankruptcy stays on credit reports 11 years.

As far as debt SOL, varies by state and type. There's a lot of websites with that info out there. The SOL starts from date of last payment, not the inception of the debt. That's why bill collectors will always take something, it keeps the clock reset.

Now that SOL is really only on the ability to get a court judgement to garnish wages or lien/seize assets. You'll still get calls/letters forever. They cannot sue, report to credit, after the SOL though..unless you pay something.

There's an endless secondary debt market. For pennies on the dollar owed, you can buy 20, 30, etc. year old debts as well as debts from yesterday. Newer debts cost more to buy to try to collect of course. That phone bill from 1972 that got lost in a relocation? Yep, it's still out there.

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What sucks is I pay 2k a month for my student loans. Have a good job and career in a place i love. However I make too much money for me to write off my loan interest . That's not fair at all for me to be successful and I can't write them off. This needs to be changed

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So you borrowed money, bettered yourself, and want a tax deduction because of it?

Honestly,

I started taking out loans in 2006 because I worked throughout college...lost TOPS, and could not make payments during undergrad. I went on to pursue Teacher Certification and I had NO money saved to pay for it...nor would anyone help me...so I paid for it all with Student Loans.

I have about 60,000 in loans to pay back and I am just now at a comfortable stage in my life where I have started making payments...they have so many affordable options out there that I'm not worried at all. I just pay a small amount every month on auto-pay and dont even think about it.

Sometimes, we dont all get 6 figure jobs out of graduation and dont have mommy and daddy around to pay for things. I did it my way and on my own, and it's not breaking my bank.

Graduating undergrad in the 2008 recession had a LOT do do with my deferment of payments and I'm not the only one in my boat.

So do not be too quick to judge. I had a lot of lean years where I still have not gone on extravagant vacations and I still drive a 2007 GMC Sierra crap truck.

Without reading this whole thread, let me guess the comments:

1) A bunch of old people will bash millenials as lazy

2) A bunch of old people will bash millenials as just wanting a handout

3) A bunch of OT ballers will comments about how they pay cash.

The issue is simple. The rising costs of tuition require debt levels that cannot be serviced by the job earnings of most grads.

When earnings adjusted for inflation are flat, and tuition adjusted for inflation is up 5% a year, this is the end result.

Having a college degree is the barrier to entry at the vast majority of jobs - including many where it absolutely shouldn't.

In order to be in any position of management in my company, you have to have a 4 year degree. Junior level managers absolutely don't need a college degree to complete the job, but they set it as a minimum in order to easily narrow the candidate pool.

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Not shocking due to the time period- graduating 07 through say 2010 is just like asking to default even if you had a good career field unless you actually used all of your extensions and deferments.

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I graduated 08, have never had a lapse in employment and have already paid off my $15k+ student loans...Since paying them off I am contributing the same amount of my payments into a retirement plan monthly.

It was a priority of mine.

A lot of my friends spend every extra dime they have traveling the world. While I admit, I have missed out on some trips, and fun experiences now, I feel like I have set myself up to be able to live comfortably in the future. Without waiting on a student loan forgiveness plan that may never come.