A 31-Year Old Woman With a B.A. in Photography Owes $170,000 for It. Her Boyfriend Broke Off the Engagement.
Sept. 14, 2010
I have followed these stories for years. This article reports on the worst I have read about. It's in the New York Times.
A 31-year-old woman owes $170,000 in student loans. She admits that she never wanted to know the total, but she had to find out when her boyfriend wisely asked for her credit report. He broke off the engagement three days later.
Who could blame him? The bankruptcy law does not cover student debt. He would have saddled himself with a lifetime debt. Try getting a mortgage when you owe $170,000.
The woman destroyed her future prospects. She works part-time as a photographer.
She could have learned the trade as a paid assistant. She would not be a marriage pariah. But no one warned her. She self-consciously refused to find out what she owed.
She was like Congress.
But it's not the worst story. The second one in the article is about a woman who is running up a bill for $250,000 -- and knows it.
What other sector of the economy would loan $250,000 to a person under 25 with no visible income?
These stories are legion. People who are careful about other spending go out of their minds with greed -- that's what it is -- when they decide to go to college. If it's not greed, then it's keeping up with the Joneses. It's peer pressure. It's just plain stupid.
It all adds up to disaster. It's not necessary. You can go to work at Wal-Mart and earn an accredited degree from American Public University for a reasonable price. Or use CLEP, AP, asnd DSST exams to quiz out of the first two years. Then get the degree by distance learning at under $100 per semester credit.