Firstly I would like to say; greetings to everybody reading this entry. My name is Nicholas and my story is probably not as terrible or sad as many others. My want or goal in writing this is not to depress or to acquire sympathy or pity. I sincerely hope that my story helps someone, anyone, when dealing with all this loan hub-bub.

I was born in a small town in Michigan; I was raised with very simple but very strong values. Never to steal, always to say what I mean and mean what I say, and always work for whatever I receive. My parents instilled these values and others into my brother and myself all throughout our lives. When it came to going to college I, like any other, thought it was best to work my hardest to get into college pass my entrance exams and even get some college credit while in High School to make my college experience a little easier. I was on the fast-track to a college degree, and I was never honestly worried about finishing school or then in turn getting a job, it was meant to be. I however was ignorant to many facts about college, and all there was to do about how to pay for it or even how expensive it “actually” is. My loving parents tried to do all they could for me, and explained to me all they knew and what their experiences in school were like. I was ready and willing, and so I took the plunge into University. This is when I hit my first walls in life, my first truly tough decisions and honestly not school or class before hand prepared me for these decisions and they would be forever life-altering.

Firstly, I tried to acquire grants and scholarships, the American dream of not having to “pay” for school. However, like so many others, I did not either; 1) Qualify, due either my parents being above a certain tax-bracket or that I did not know the right people, or 2) There were only some slots available for the “reward” of a scholarship and even though I was exactly what fit their category I did not make it for the reward. Granted I did receive some merit scholarships, and a few Government issued Grants, for example the Pell Grant, but not nearly enough to pay for an entire year of my University’s tuition which at the time of my entry was $16,000. At this point I could have made the smart decision to stay back and work part time and go to a local college to get my prerequisites done, however then I did not know about this route and any mention of a local college was literally frowned upon by my councilors at my High School. So I decided, ignorantly, that my education would be served best by going to this University and that Student Loans were the way to go.

Then I entered into the second phase of my college entrance experience, getting the loans. It seemed so very simple at first, you apply for an amount that you would then in turn payback in increments when you graduate from college, with a degree or if you leave for any reason. Federal loans were my answer to get in and pay for my school and so I applied, and then shortly after got denied. The reason that I was denied was that I had absolutely no credit history, I had not been employed beforehand, and that is due to my location (my home town had a lack of jobs due to Michigan’s failing economy and I unfortunately did not have a vehicle nor did my parents have the means to buy me one.) . Although I was 18 and considered an adult, because I did not have a credit history, I could not receive a loan. That was a fact that hit me hard, and was not ever addressed in school, especially by the people that were supposed to help you get into college the school councilors. I contacted the loan providers, which many may know as the Department of Education and they provided me with information regarding a form called the FAFSA form as well as what my parents had to do to help me a long. With my values I did not want my parents to have to do anything, and they could not afford it in the first place. However, they took it upon themselves to acquire a Parent Plus Loan to help me finish paying for my school, not being informed that after a year they would have to start paying on it. This was a federal loan, and it too has several pieces of hidden information that make it very difficult to clearly label what needs to be done and exactly when paying or “your” responsibility occurs. After getting my loans I went to school and then hit another road-block, my tuition did not cover class expenses, meaning books, materials etc. Now, I would not doubt that many of you understood this, however my original university did not clearly state what the tuition was used for and on their informational packet included “class” as part of the expense therefore I did not know that I was required to also have enough money to cover the rest. Needless to say there is a severe lack of information provided for understanding how much school costs and what routes one has to take to actually get funding. Eventually I had to start getting not only federal loans but also private loans.

Private loans are the bane of existence for college students. These loans are by far the most confusing and uninformed type of loan that exists for students. Companies that provide these loans are businesses that clearly only want to make money without any real regard for the person they are entrapping into their obligations. With any loan there is risk involved, and it all involves “credit” without that magical word you as an individual even as an adult can not basically get any form of loan, thus co-signers are involved which adds another level of stress and management required to receive a loan. From my experiences and with the failing economy I eventually had to have a co-signer that had a “credit rating” of close to 720, just to co-sign my loan. Firstly to state that number seems irrelevant, however, consider a freshmen in college that has zero (0) credit rating and is just starting to build his/her credit, hitting 720 is very difficult especially if you have federal loans already out so its practically like you are forced to include another individual into your misery just to provide the loan business insurance that they will get paid. It definitely seems reasonable when you are looking at the big picture. Dream sequence approaching… “Sure I’ll get my degree and get a good job and be able to pay this back.” That is the usual plan and that is exactly how I viewed my chances for getting repayment done. However, life does certainly have its ways.

After discovering the high credit required to co-sign a loan, I ran out of money to finish school. My merit scholarships had run out, the Pell Grant was removed by the government during that time, and loans were my last option, however I could only receive so much from the federal government so I was then forced, if I wanted to finish my school, to get private loans, with amazingly steep interest rates and obligations that are not clearly explained or understood. How I ran out of money was simple, no one that I knew had a credit rating over 720, and therefore I could get no more loans, and in turn, I had to drop out of school because I could not pay for it. My last year, before I could get a degree and I ran out of money and by that time in 2008 I had accrued literally $65,000 in student loans. That seems high doesn’t it? Well consider that my cost of tuition rose from $16,000 the first year, to $17,000, the next, and then to $19,000 during my junior year, and that was only for tuition. $52,000 and that is not including my cost of travel or class expenses or in that matter any other expenses, which the rest of my loan money paid for. Now after 6 months of being out of school I am required to defer, forbear, or pay my loans in installments or go into default and have several nasty effects happen to me. 1) Have my wages siphoned, 2) have my property repossessed (not that I have any), and 3) my credit rating horribly mangled (and it already is because of the loans anyway.). Simply the one thing that no-one tells a student applying for a loan is that a loan does not go away if you go bankrupt. Literally, now considering that private loans legally are treated like federal loans which is another article entirely, the only way to end the loan debacle is to pay ( the proper way), to be permanently disabled (no thanks really), or to die (ouch). Those stipulations I can understand for federal loans, and honestly dealing with the government loans are very easy, they provide for income based payments, or to be able to forbear for up to 3 years if you are economically challenged (like many of us are today), and various other helpful ways to get the payments done without killing your finances, that including consolidation. However, the bane that is private loans does not provide you with anything like the federal version. They only give you two options, forbear for one (1), yes only one, year in 6 month increments or to pay, and they allow a “graduated” version which means you pay less at the beginning then it moves up through the years. That’s clearly unfair even considering that federal loans can be reasonable while private loans are not but are both protected by the same law.

Due to these loans, I have a crushing debt of $65,000, about $40,000 of that being in student loans due to being limited to the amount I can get from the federal government. Since I was unable to finish my degree my job chances were slim just like that of a High School graduate, and luckily I was able to get a full time job paying $10.00 an hour. But I have rent expenses, now a vehicle expense, and my fiancée lives with me and she is unemployed due to our failing economy. How am I to support myself, her, and the necessary requirements of life, a home, food, and a vehicle to get to work (which I live a half an hour away from because the living expenses are lower)? I have set our budget out and started working it all out and we are barely scraping by, but if anything happens to our finances, an emergency for example, I will slip into default. I of course would love help, but I do not expect it. I have worked for everything I have, and soon I may lose it all, because trying to pay to work yourself to a better life, then due to numbers have it ripped away has now possibly cost me my future of having a decent life. I honestly hope that no one else fears this like I do or has to face anything like this, but the fact is I know there are others and that is why this entry now exists and is followed by so many others. I honestly hope I can get through it, and I honestly hope my story provides incite and maybe hope to others. Remember, you are not alone, and many of us are facing something that seems insurmountable. Thank you for your time, and expect to see many more hopefully helpful articles from me.