This article is simply a different version of the sob stories that have been reported regarding home buyers who got in over their heads. At what point does personal responsibility get into the picture? It sure didn't in this case!

SELFISH!

Your sense of entitlement is galling. You should be ashamed of yourself.

It’s just a thought.

"Valerie Bertinelli hanging on to fat clothes"

or

"Nutritious snacks on the go"

These were both on the front page of CNN.com today.

The keyword is chose. You chose this path. Now deal with it. You don't need an expensive degree, especially an undergraduate one, to succeed in your field. I went to a state school for undergrad and work at do research at the top medical school in this country.

I was raised to understand that a four-year university degree was expected of me...as well as graduate school immediately after. And that I should do whatever was necessary to achieve that. I'm now sitting on about $120k in loans.

It must feel so nice to be so financially secure, and to brag about it on the internet. But that won't help to solve anything. Apathy is what got this country into the mess it's in to begin with. If all you have to contribute to the discussion is, "Well, I didn't have any problems... and you're just being pathetic and whiny"... take it elsewhere. I want to hear comments that are supportive and helpful.

All I have to say is don't stop reaching for your dreams, a college degree is something to be proud of but don't feel entitled just because you have one because I will pull up next to you in my Vette at the stoplight and I wont feel sorry for you while you are driving your Hyundai feeling so damn proud you graduated from Duke. There's always someone out there who will achieve more than you ever will and will make twice as much money as you ever will...just remember that.

This is what I would do:

A new Gov't run student loan program and some new tax laws

1) All families or individuals can receive up to $15k in tax deductions per year and per child for college tuition expenses if the child GRADUATES (exceptions will be made for death of student/ medical situations/ disabilities incurred/bad family situations). So after graduation you can start deducting education expenses up to $15k per child with a $30k cap in any year. Thats up to a $60k deduction per child.

I would say it could be capped for family who are paying at $30k per year (twins) but you can deduct up to $60k of costs per child over time so you will get the tax benefit eventually but you can't have families paying no taxes in some years.

There will be no income cap on this deduction – all american families can benefit, rich and middle class. There is no better investment than higher education for future tax revenues for the gov't even if it means losing some tax revenue today.

So in Sam's case if her family didn't take on the loans or take the tax deduction Sam could deduct $15k a year from her income and pay taxes on the lower amount and maybe pay the loans down quicker or get a better apartment etc. This would give her some cushion.

Why $15K – seemed like a fair number – can't deduct the full amount but we all should get some benefit for completing higher education. You want to go private school well that is great but you have to shoulder most of the cost – state schools are already tax payer subsidized so you win 2x if you go there.

2) Interest on student loans will also be tax deductible after still subject to deduction caps above.

3) Student loans will begin amortizing 1 year from the date of graduation. (so basically a 31 year loan).

I never understood why they don't match revenues with expenses on these loans. People hit their peak earning years 10-15 years+ after graduation why would they have to pay the loans back over 10 years. Stupid

4) No interest will be charged on the loans until the graduation date or drop out date. You need to complete undergraduate school in 5 years (some exceptions noted above)

5) You can have a 1x, 2 year principal grace period where the principal amount will be added to the end of the loan – this is for people who may want to go back to school, have some hardships etc. You will need to pay interest on the loans but principal is deferred. You need to submit a written reason for the deferral.

6) INterest rate will be the 30 year T-Bill rate capped at 6% – this should be affordable and priced fairly.

A lot of people are saying that Samantha needed to take these loans on to get into a good school, and this helped her get a job, so she shouldn't have to worry about paying them back. So what about the student who, in a similar situation, got accepted to the more prestigious, more expensive school, but chose instead to go to the state school because they knew they could afford it. Where's their bailout? Instead, they should pay off their debts on their own, and then have to pay more out for people who didn't make the financially sound decision? Plus, apparently, they'll have a harder time getting a job anyway.

I agree with most if not all of the people here in that the cost of higher education and the policies around it need to be changed. However, changing the rules after the fact just creates more inequality, and the people that suffer are the ones who made the better decisions with the rules that they were given at the time.

I do hope things work out for the best for Samantha.

PS i will have it paid off this year.

Other points to consider before passing judgment on students who take out loans that then plague them for decades (which, since this seems to be the case with a majority of students, points to problems in our higher education system and its costs and financing options): A) parental income affects the amount of federal aid students receive regardless of whether parents are actually contributing anything to their students' educations (and it's not an easy process to be declared independent for financial aid purposes prior to turning 23), which forces many students to consider unsubsidized and private loans regardless of whether they are at an in-state public school, private school, or (as is the case for some students) a community college, B) not every school has the program a student needs (sometimes students have to look out of state or to private schools to get a degree in the field of their choice, so it's overgeneralizing to say students can always choose a cheaper option or forgo a private education), C) many of the parents who recently had or now have students in college are still dealing with their own student loans, making it difficult for them to help put their children through college and forcing more current students to need to look toward loans (vicious cycle?), and D) we now live in a world where our students compete globally for jobs, and many students elsewhere in the world receive free or nearly free higher educations, thus entering the workforce able to earn less and still make ends meet since they are not saddled with the same debt as our students–this doesn't make our graduates very competitive on global scale when other elsewhere can do the same job for less.

This is a complex issue, and overgeneralizing, assuming, or failing to realize that things have changed in the last couple of decades does not help clarify what's wrong with our higher education system nor how it could maybe be improved.

If I had won a scholarship I wouldn't pay tax on that. My B average through college means that I have to pay 20-30% more for college plus interest.

Bahh Hum Bug

T

Sam – you got yourself into this mess. You do not, and did not, have a 'right' to go to college right out of high school. Frankly, I think most 18 years olds should NOT be going straight into school, but instead take 2 years to work, volunteer and otherwise grow up a bit before going after the additional education.

I am dealing with a 140k+ loss on the short sale of my home in Maryland after a job-related relocation that occurred almost 18 months ago. Would I like a bit of assistance? Sure. But I'm not sitting here on CNN.com whining about the decisions that I've made and their affect on my credit. They are a consequence of my actions, and I have to deal with them, just as your high loan balances are a direct consequence of your decisions and actions.

Having a job in the current economy already has you up a step. Prioritize your expenditures – if all you can afford is rent, electricity and food, then that's what you're paying for. As mentioned by other posts – find a second job. Being an adult means eschewing Thursday through Saturday night partying if necessary for you to make ends meet. 20 hours a week at 8 bucks an hour can make a big difference in how much you feel you're making overall, and it might make the darkness of debt a bit brighter.

When taking out a loan, figure out what hte monthly payments will be and make sure you can pay it off in 5 or 6 years. If it seems too much, don't borrow it and find another way.

It's simple. $100K non-mortgage loans are insanity.

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If people couldn't borrow so much, the demand for college would go down and tuititions would go down. Right now, ANYONE can borrow whatever the college says is the price and they are getting whatever they ask.

Teach our children better than this-