I owe about $30,000 total (I’ve paid some of that already), and I think that is a lot. It’s tough owing money and getting a car, house/apartment, other expenses. This poor girl owes $200,000 in Student Loans and pays about $891 a month, soon to be $1600+. That’s like two GD mortgage payments. I don’t know what to think about Sallie Mae and these stupid loans, but it seems the more you try to be successful the harder you get kicked in the dick.
Poor girl? Who feels bad for people that go to stupid expensive undergrad programs that have little income potential and do not go on to better grad programs. This broad just sucks.
That just seems like a not so smart individual. One year studying abroad, probably ZERO scholarships or grants, most likely didn’t work during school, and just took out loans to live while at school. Completely believable at that point.
I could’ve racked up the same when I went to RIT; hell, that’s close to 30-40k a year if you live on campus and don’t work (aka living off loans).
she needs to call one of them debt ending solution 1800 numbers!!!
I’m finishing up law school and owe around there somewhere.
Also…God forbid she have to work for it but. Three years to her country and it would be gone, on top of that she would still make around 50k/year to start. There I even just found her shitty lazy ass a 100k+ job. Actually not sure what amount of her loans would qualify.
This is why I didn’t go Ivy League and took the full scholarship locally. Decided I’d rather pass up more cash flow in my 40’s and 50’s for more cashflow in my 20’s and 30’s when I know I can enjoy it. Also, I wanted to have a life in college.
I am on the boat with how is this a “poor girl” situation.
Sadly, I know a lot of people who went to a private school for undergrad and their graduate programs for a program that will land them a $40k a year job at best. There is a basic concept called return on investment that some people need to learn when picking schools and programs.
People who rack up these bills on poor majors is like someone buying a $2,000 Armani suit for a McDonald’s cashier interview.
While it’s a viable solution, the military isn’t for everyone.
What I meant by poor girl was more of a “Poor girl doesn’t know which way is up” rather than “Poor girl, we should all chip in our money to help her”. I just can’t imagine paying $1600 a month, I hate paying $300+ for mine.
I couldn’t get to the page at work so I don’t know whether to laugh at her or have sympathy yet. If she got a business degree that isn’t in management or marketing, engineering (never mind, she’s female), math or science, JD, etc. and is just getting boned by the economy, that really does suck.
If it’s philosophy, art history, or communications, I will personally point and laugh at her.
The average 2009 college grad had $24,000 in student loan debt. But in today’s debt-wracked world, some have it much worse. Meet one of the outliers: 23 years old, more than $200,000 in student loans, begging for help.
Kelli Space is 23. She graduated from high school in 2005, and went to Northeastern University—“the first person in my family (including extended family!) to attend college,” she says. Unfortunately, that may have deprived her of the opportunity to have someone tell her that the American college dream isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Kelli emerged in May of 2009 with her diploma, and this:
What 0,000 in Student Debt Looks Like
That, friends, is goddamn frightening. (For an undergrad degree. The total was boosted by summer classes, books and miscellaneous expenses, and a year spent studying abroad.) Kelli writes us:
The severity of my situation goes a bit deeper than "I owe this money, help me" - I am actually forced to live with my parents (forced = I am lucky! But...) as the monthly payments for just my private loans are currently $891 until Nov 2011 when they increase to $1600 per month for the following 20 years... attached is my payment plan. I also mentioned I have a job - which is great! And I probably have my college education to thank for that! Except there is still no way to make these monthly payments, and live on my own as a contributing member of society. Neither of my parents, nor I, really knew how this would pan out — unfortunately — and now that I'm here, I see no real light at the end of the tunnel.
She’s so desperate that she’s set up a website soliciting donations from the public, TwoHundredThou.com, with the vague hope that it might go viral like that “Million Dollar Homepage” thing did. Her donations so far total ten cents. To Kelli’s credit, she’s not unaware of how that sounds; she accepts responsibility for her predicament, and acknowledges that there are surely more worthy charities out there than hers.
But she’s desperate. She currently owes Sallie Mae alone nearly $190,000. At 23, that’s a hell of a lot of debt to stare down. So even if you don’t donate to Kelli’s debt relief effort, take her cautionary tale as proof that knowledge is not, in fact, priceless. Sometimes it’s much too expensive.
No major found, I am suspicious. Northeastern is a good school if it’s a halfway decent one.
Yeah couldn’t find one on her donation site either. I’m always looking for new opportunities to make money. Business opportunities, partnerships (so-to-speak), my blog, etc. etc.
She’s probably a med school student. She’ll probably walk out of med school making 3-4x as much as you do. Don’t feel THAT bad.
It does suck that is costs that much money to get an education, but fuck, that information is invaluable.
Maybe she has her PhD in Web Scams?
OK, nevermind. The article says it’s an undergrad degree.
She probably took loans to pay for “living expenes” (read: alcohol and shitty food) instead of getting a job.
well, NEVERMIND on all of what I said. With room and board, it’s $50k/year
Add books and food, and it’s probably way more than $200k.
This is a tough situation…
I am def. understanding on both sides, to a degree…
For instance, my fiance’ will be graduating with about 180K of debt for her 4 year degree…in medical school though…not too many ways around that, and also, it’s a far more certain path to pay back that money in a relatively reasonable amount of time…
HOWEVER…the moron with the liberal arts degree from Harvard and no job prospects afterwards will get llittle sympathy from me…I never got people that did that. They want the prestigious degree, but who’s going to pay for it?
As a child of parents who never went to college, I can undersatnd and appreciate the mess this girl is in. While not as drastic, I have/had a similar situation in thinking that I was doing the right thing by going to an elite college. I have a great job from it no doubt, and am never really stressed going to work…but I do have the loans that rival a mortgage to deal with.
Some financial aid counselors aren’t always looking out for the student and will happily guide them to a funder like Sallie Mae who will hand out money at will. College recruiters are great at selling a school of higher education, often instilling over amounts of confidence into the young student that they’ll graduate with a great paying job.
We don’t know the exact details of this young girl…so I’ll hold of further judgements. Point of this story is that these problems exist in the US and it’s a dangerous one at that that really needs to be addressed on some level. College has turned into a business rather than an tool for the progress of our nation, in my opinion.
well if shes really really really REALLY fucking hot, shes only gotta sleep with about 400 men to pay it off
Wow I just reread it and caught that it was an UNDERGRAD degree. I hope shes in debt her whole life for her idiot spending and shame on her parents for not saying “What the hell are you thinking?!”
The total was boosted by summer classes, books and miscellaneous expenses, and a year spent studying abroad.
Tuition*
$36,360
Room and board† $12,310
Mandatory student fees‡
$762
Total annual cost
$49,452
I know people who went to Med School and have jobs with less debt than this. Everyone in this country wants a hand out.
Edit: LOL http://twohundredthou.com/progress Total donations: $0.35