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   posted: Apr. 29, 2008 @ 7:13p

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I have been a watcher for a long time, thought it is time to participate.

Here is my situation:

27yrs old
Unemployed
$275,000 in student loan (250K)/credit card debt(25K)
B.S. Biology

I am 27 yrs old, with $250,000 in school loan debt and no degree beyond a bachelors degree in Biology (which btw is pretty useless). I also have 25K in credit card debt.

I was going to medical school on the east coast for 2.5 yrs (where all the student loan debt comes from) and then I stopped school bc I failed a class and was dismissed. I stayed living on the east coast for another 1.5 years having only minimal income, so I used credit cards a lot. I built up $55K in credit cards debt. (Have paid that down to 25K as of now).

I currently moved back in with my family so I have zero expenses. I do not have a job per say but I help out with the family businesses and sell on eBay too here and there.

As hard as it was getting dismissed from school, I now have gigantic debt with no upper level degree to show (or to pay off) for it. I only have B.S. Biology. (With honors)

My time to put off the school loans has come to an end, of the deferments and forbearances. Two months ago the loans became due, and I can not pay. XXbank, who I have school loans with started calling almost everyday, so I was forced to get a prepaid cell phone and put that number on file with XXbank so they didn’t call my house all the time. (Got the phone for free, and it costs only $15 for 6 months time roughly so its inexpensive-kind of ironic how I was driven to spend $ bc of someone who wants $ from me. The best $15 I ever spent!)

I am hesitant to get an outside job bc if I have income they are going to want to collect on my income, the school loans collector will come knocking and probably garnish wages.

I want to move on with my life and work and save some money for a car and a house or apartment, health insurance would be nice, but how can I do that when I have a $1,000 /month bill for student loans. I can’t.

My credit score is 729. I have a great history of paying bills. Never missed a credit card payment, I have maybe 1 late payment a year if at all. Just within the past 2 months these student loans bills are coming in asking for 895$ a month, the next month since I didn’t pay the first month, they ask for $1800 for that month, etc etc. Unrealistic.

I have no health insurance.

Basically my question is what should I do? Is this an extreme case that might qualify for bankruptcy? Any ideas/feedback is appreciated.

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   posted: Apr. 29, 2008 @ 7:17p

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hide until the limitation expires

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   posted: Apr. 29, 2008 @ 7:21p

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I didn't know that they dismiss you from medical schools for failing a class?

Your situation seems extreme. Have you tried finding a decently paying job using your BS in biology? You could apply to universities to work as a lab techinician, that will be start.

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   posted: Apr. 29, 2008 @ 7:25p

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Can you enroll in a community college and defer the student loan?

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   posted: Apr. 29, 2008 @ 7:36p

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SUB said:Can you enroll in a community college and defer the student loan?

That is something I should have included in the original post. I have both Private and government student loans. The private ones from my understanding- require that you are enrolled at least half time (6 credit hours) and the public ones only require that you are enrolled period. So just taking one class would qualify.

Right now in the immediate time I think this is going to be my best option. I am lo0king into enrolling on an online class so that will defer the public loans, and then I have 1 yr left to defer the private loans. How ironic, going back to school and getting more school loans just to defer my current loans... Honestly with all these loans, it is hard to keep track of what is what and every time I email them or call them and ask to talk to someone who can really help me ( I could pay maybe $200 a month or so if they took me out of the late list- but i don't see any point in paying if I am going to be harassed with mail and phone calls daily asking for payment.) Every time I call though, I can never talk to a supervisor, or manager , it is just the normal phone operators and they can just tell me what is on their screens, (i.e. they offer me reduced payments of $700 a month instead, instead of working with me to find something even if it is as low as $200 a month, which is better than nothing) I need someone who can REALLY work with someone like me. I want to pay, but I iwll never be able to pay this at that rate

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   posted: Apr. 29, 2008 @ 7:52p

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$200/month for a $250k loan? I doubt that Methuselah could get that kind of arrangement... The $700 that you scorn sounds great already.

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   posted: Apr. 29, 2008 @ 8:00p

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rickross said:I was going to medical school on the east coast for 2.5 yrs (where all the student loan debt comes from) and then I stopped school bc I failed a class and was dismissed.
You are vastly overqualified for a job telling doctors what to do. And you can make 6 figures working only 10-20 hours a week.

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   posted: Apr. 29, 2008 @ 8:05p

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Hate to be the realist, but I guess I have too.

Student loans can almost never be dismissed in bankruptcy. They will keep on going after you and tacking on interest. If I was you, I would try to transfer those credits to another school and finish there. 250k in debt and show nothing for it is really bewildering. Its very strange that a college would not work with you on the grade factor. None the less, if that is not an option, you have other alternatives. It makes life harder, but it is doable and legal. Open up a corporation and use that as your banking account. They could not take the money out of that bank account. You should be able to be paid to the company and not you personally; depending on the company you choose to work for. Big corps will not do this, small ones may. You can pay off the debt, but again, that seems fruitless at this point. The most extreme, and far out option would to move to Canada or Mexico and get a job there. They cannot garnish your wages there even still being a US citizen. Just make sure you deposit the funds in a Canadian or Mexican bank account.

Like I said, there are options, but it really depends on how you want to proceed. If you let it hang over you with no degree and pay, it can seriously ruin your life and future. You need to weigh the pros and cons of your situation and the different options you can choose.

Best of luck to you.

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   posted: Apr. 29, 2008 @ 8:19p

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I'm sorry, but I'm not feeling quite as sympathetic as the rest here. I hate when people use debt as an excuse not to work a "real" job -- meaning a job that actually reports your income to the IRS -- which you should be doing anyway even if you're working in a family business and making money on eBay.

What were you going to do in your first years as a resident with that amount of debt? From what I understand, they do not make all that much to begin with -- especially if they almost fail out of med school. So would you have refused a job as a resident because the lenders would demand that you actually pay the loans that you signed for?

I've got student loans of my own and I would love to go back to school, but realistically, I know that I cannot afford to rack up more loans and work fewer hours right now... even if it's just for a couple years and could mean a higher paying job eventually. I understand that you're overwhelmed right now, but you are coming off like you have no culpability here. And you kinda sound like one of those deadbeat dads who works "under the table" for 20 years so that the child support agency can never find him.

Have you even talked to the loan companies or looked into consolidating your loans at this point? Can you borrow any money from family so that you can at least start to make good faith payments and show the lenders that you're willing to work something out?

I think you need to be a little more realistic about your situation and your goals right now. Get the idea of buying a house out of your head... you pretty much bought one when you signed for those school loans.

You sound like you are asking for permission to file bankruptcy which, as a previous poster pointed out, is not going to get rid of your student loans.

Ignoring them is not the answer. Maybe if you call the company instead of waiting for them to call, that you will allow you to be more selective about who you talk to. Lenders want guaranteed payments. Even if it's less than what they're asking for. They also are more willing to deal with folks who look like they're going to keep paying... i.e. folks who are employed full-time. Your credit rating is good, but a steady income is going to be more attractive to a lender building an alternative payment plan with you than if you are working odd jobs and can't tell them when you'll make next month.

All this to say, get a job and start hacking away at it.

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   posted: Apr. 29, 2008 @ 8:22p

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SUB said:mikef07 said:My advice is to find a job that you are good at making $80K or so, throw $30K at your loans per year, live on $50K and you will be out of debt in 10 years or so.

Since the OP spent 1.5+ yrs on "minimal income" I doubt he can easily find a job that pays $80k

If he is decent looking he can be a pharmaceutical rep. He will pull in $70,000-$80,000 in his first year. By year 4 he should be over $100,000. the love guys like him, biology major with some medical school.

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